PARIS: Staff at France’s public radio broadcaster began a two-day strike on Sunday over the appointment of a commentator whom unions accuse of promoting far-right ideas ahead of next spring’s presidential election.
Charles Sapin, deputy editor-in-chief at far-right weekly Valeurs Actuelles, has since late last month been presenting a weekly political commentary segment on France Inter, the country’s most-listened-to radio station.
Management has defended the appointment in the name of pluralism ahead of the AprilMay election to choose a successor to President Emmanuel Macron.
Polls suggest far-right leader Marine Le Pen has her strongest chance yet of winning the Elysee Palace.
Staff have expressed their opposition to the appointment, arguing that Valeurs Actuelleseditorial values are at odds with Radio France’s public service mandate.
Due to the strike, Sapin’s weekly column, scheduled to air early on Sunday, was not broadcast.
Other segments of France Inter’s morning programme were also taken off the air and replaced with music.
Morning programmes on franceinfo and France Culture, the public group’s other radio stations, were broadcast as normal.
The magazine, which describes itself as conservative, has faced numerous legal controversies, including convictions for racial public insults.
In an opinion piece on Saturday, around 300 public figures including filmmakers, writers and lawyers described the recruitment of Sapin as ‘outrageous’ and called for him to be stripped of his political commentary slot.-AFP