Particle.news

France Inter Names Hadrien Brachet to Replace Contested Sunday Editorialist

This change ends a staff revolt over a Valeurs actuelles editor, putting pluralism at the center of debate about public broadcasting.

Overview

  • France Inter confirmed that Hadrien Brachet, deputy political editor at Le Point, took over the Sunday 7:40 a.m. political editorial and broadcast his first column on Sunday, September 27.
  • Charles Sapin of Valeurs actuelles stopped his two-edition editorial on September 19 after refusing the station's offer to convert the slot into a debate.
  • The appointment and Sapin's brief presence prompted two days of strikes that disrupted France Inter on September 13 and 14, when Radio France staff protested what they saw as platforming a publication tied to the extreme right.
  • Management defended the original hire as an act of pluralism, but unions and journalists argued Valeurs actuelles has been legally condemned and should not be normalized on public radio.
  • The episode has broader political echoes because UDR deputy Charles Alloncle criticized France Inter as having 'capitulated' and is promoting a book with a publisher linked in coverage to Vincent Bolloré, sharpening concerns about political and commercial influence over public media.