Media. Charles Sapin’s editorial transformed into a contradictory debate? The strike maintained at France Inter

The management of France Inter proposed this Thursday to transform the contested weekly editorial of a manager of Current values in a contradictory debate, but this proposal did not satisfy the staff, who are maintaining the strike for September 21. The continuation of this day of strike voted on Tuesday, after two first ones on September 13 and 14, was decided at midday during a general meeting of the staff of the public group Radio France, to which France Inter belongs.

Since the end of August, staff have opposed the recruitment of Charles Sapin, deputy editorial director of Current valuesarguing that this magazine carries far-right ideas. The journalist writes a 2:30 minute political editorial on Sunday morning around 7:40 a.m. on France Inter, two issues of which have already been broadcast. According to union sources, the director of France Inter, Céline Pigalle, proposed this Thursday to “transform this editorial into a debate”, with modalities to be defined. But this proposal did not satisfy the general assembly.

“The problem is not so much the format as Current values himself”, who acquires a “patent of respectability” by being “associated with France Inter”, declared one of these sources. This magazine, which claims to be conservative, has been condemned several times in court, notably for public insult of a racist nature after depicting the black LFI elected official Danièle Obono as a slave in 2020. It was then directed by Geoffroy Lejeune, who in 2023 moved to the Sunday newspaper.

The Radio France unions also point out the presence of the billionaire close to the far right Pierre-Edouard Stérin among the magazine’s shareholders. The arrival on France Inter of Charles Sapin, who joined Current values this summer from Pointwas justified by the radio management in the name of pluralism. In addition to France Inter, the recent arrival of Charles Sapin on the Franceinfo television channel was also contested by the unions of the public group France Télévisions. The subject of pluralism in public broadcasting has been a hot one since the start of the 2025 school year. Accusations of bias in favor of the left motivated the creation last year of a parliamentary commission of inquiry by the UDR, a party allied to the RN.