French public broadcasters France Télévisions and Radio France have lodged separate legal complaints against three prominent conservative outlets.
In a dramatic escalation of France’s intensifying media wars, the pair are demanding €1.5 million over alleged negative coverage and unfair competition.
CNews, Europe 1, and Le Journal du Dimanche (JDD), owned by billionaire Vincent Bolloré, are accused of “dénigrement” – a form of slander in French law – amid accusations of unfair competition against the State-funded audiovisual sector.
The move, revealed on November 18, has drawn sharp criticism from culture minister Rachida Dati, who expressed regret over not being consulted and said it was not approved by the supervisory authorities. She did add, though, that the public broadcasters had the freedom to lodge complaints.
The complaints in this case stem from a bitter feud ignited in September by the so-called “Legrand-Cohen affair”, a controversy that has laid bare deep ideological rifts in French journalism.
A leaked video, originally circulated by the conservative online magazine L’Incorrect, captured France Inter columnists Thomas Legrand and Patrick Cohen in private discussions with two high-ranking Socialist Party officials reportedly discussing strategies to promote Socialists and damage conservative opponents.
The footage, which suggested cosy ties between public broadcasters and left-wing politicians, was seized upon by Bolloré’s outlets as evidence of systemic bias in the public sector.
CNews, Europe 1‘s talk radio format, and the JDD‘s weekend editorials, amplified the story, portraying France Télévisions and Radio France as “State propaganda machines” favouring progressive causes.
France Télévisions president Delphine Ernotte Cunci and Radio France counterpart Sibyle Veil have decried the coverage as a “systematic and daily campaign of denigration” designed to undermine public broadcasting’s legitimacy.
In a joint letter to the Regulatory Authority for Audiovisual and Digital Communication (Arcom), the public broadcasters argued that the attacks exceeded legitimate debate, veering into “outrageous and unbalanced” territory that harms their public mission and funding.
Ernotte Cunci went further in a Le Monde interview, accusing Bolloré’s “galaxy” of media assets – which includes the influential Valeurs Actuelles magazine – of plotting the “privatisation” of public broadcasters to weaken State influence in cultural affairs.
Bolloré, a vocal critic of what he sees as “woke” ideologies, has long been targeted by the media regulator and progressive politicians.
CNews, in particular, faces ongoing Arcom scrutiny for allegedly breaching impartiality rules, with fines levied earlier this year for overly partisan content.
Serge Nedjar, CNews‘ director, dismissed Ernotte Cunci’s barbs – including her labelling the channel a “far-right” outlet – as evidence of “irresponsibility” from a taxpayer-funded rival.
Europe 1 declined to comment on the lawsuits but its journalists highlighted in a series of comments how France Télévisions and Radio France relentlessly attack them, CNews and JDD.
Neither France Télévisions nor Radio France have made any direct comment regarding the complaint.
Union of the Right for the Republic MP Maxime Michelet called the legal action “staggering”.
“There is something rotten in the kingdom of public broadcasting,” he said in parliament when discussing the matter with Dati.
“This legal action against competitors is staggering,” he said, adding it showed the public broadcaster’s “feverishness since the Legrand-Cohen affair has exposed the privileged links maintained with the Left”.
Michelet alleged that the public broadcasters were all too eager to denigrate their own ideological opponents and were now using taxpayers’ money to attack those rivals.
An independent expert report conducted at France Télévisions has painted a grim picture of a toxic work environment. https://t.co/FLo9n3QYDv
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) October 24, 2025
