The question of the day. Do politicians have their place in entertainment shows?
This is the shock duo of the new school year: former minister, 2007 presidential candidate and divisive figure on the left, Ségolène Royal is due to make her debut as a TV columnist this week under the wing of Cyril Hanouna, a host as influential as she is controversial.
Thirty-four years after having attacked Japanese cartoons and tele-massacre in 1989, the socialist finds herself at the helm of the most criticized show on the small screen.
Ségolène Royal is everything I love, assured Hanouna at the end of August on Franceinfo, claiming to have had a crush. According to him, it should debut Tuesday or Thursday.
Broadcast before the evening, Touche pas à mon poste! (TPMP), which mixes entertainment and current affairs debates, is regularly accused of populism, accused of favoring clashes or even of conveying false information.
This and other Hanouna broadcasts have been the source of much controversy in recent years. Last season, this earned the C8 channel (Canal + group) a total of 4.5 million euros in fines from the audiovisual regulator, Arcom.
Its defenders, however, argue that it attracts a more popular audience than equivalent shows, thanks to less formal language.
“Credibility”
Too bad for those who criticize, I do not despise any audience, Ségolène Royal justified herself at the end of June, believing that political speech does not have to select this or that audience.
According to what has been announced, she will appear every week on TPMP. His role will be to answer five questions related to politics, in an educational manner.
For its debut, the chosen theme is politicians’ vacations, Hanouna said on September 7 on Europe 1, adding that the former Minister of National Education would also be questioned about school harassment.
By securing the personal guarantee of Ségolène Royal, Hanouna is seeking “notability, credibility”, analyzes Philippe Moreau Chevrolet, specialist in political communication.
Along the same lines, the host brought in journalists Pascale de La Tour du Pin and Jacques Cardoze this season.
This image work is extremely important for him, it is a strategic approach, continues Philippe Moreau Chevrolet, who however equates the arrival of Royal to reconditioned TV.
Hanouna has had Emmanuel Macron’s ministers as guests but, apart from occasional coups, it is difficult for him to retain people at the height of their glory, explains the expert. So he will take them when they are at the end of their career, when they desperately need to have exposure, to have airtime.
Royal, for its part, targets an audience that is difficult for politicians to reach, in order to maintain a form of popular anchoring, according to Mr. Moreau Chevrolet.
“Bolloré system”
This is quite consistent with what it is becoming, says the specialist, judging that it is flirting more and more with populism, in reference to contested comments on Covid or the war in Ukraine.
But he doubts that this Faustian pact will pay off for the woman who will be 70 years old on September 22: The relationship is very asymmetrical when you go to Cyril Hanouna, he has everything to gain and those who go there are generally losers because it is very marginalizing.
In addition, Ségolène Royal, a woman of the left, enters the Bolloré system, notes Philippe Moreau Chevrolet. Vincent Bolloré, a billionaire with reputedly ultra-conservative opinions, controls C8 via his Vivendi group, owner of Canal +.
According to Hanouna, it was Ségolène Royal who had the idea for the column. Was there a financial negotiation? Not at all, he swore on Europe 1.
She just wanted to be on the air. We offered it to her like all columnists, and she said OK, he added. They earn, according to him, between €300 and €500 per show on average and some earn more.
Ségolène Royal’s participation in TPMP could, however, be called into question if she carries out her idea of leading a list in the 2024 European elections. Because her speaking time would then be counted like that of a left-wing political figure.
This article is originally published on ouest-france.fr
