This Thursday, May 30, 2024, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was the “exceptional” guest in an exclusive interview with the TF1 group channel, LCI. An interview that La France Insoumise denounced. A rally took place the same evening in front of the tower of Martin Bouygues’ group in opposition to this interview.
It is almost 7 p.m. when thousands of demonstrators proudly displaying their flag in the colors of Palestine are heading towards the TF1 channel tower. Three processions are heading to Boulogne-Billancourt, the city in which the group’s head office is located. According to the Prefect of Police, 2,500 demonstrators came together to defend the same cause. And denounce the choice to give the floor to the Israeli Prime Minister, in a tense context with Palestine.
“Everyone hates Netanyahu”
A choice that a young woman named Célia denounced to our colleagues at Libération: “How can we have on the one hand an arrest warrant against Netanyahu, and on the other France, a country of human rights, which invites him to one of its biggest channels? ». However, the thousands of demonstrators will be “stopped” in their desire to make themselves heard. The perimeter around the tower is blocked. Blocked by a major security system put in place by the police. It is important to remember that the movement took place without incident. He was rather “pacifist” at this level.
Within the demonstration, it is not uncommon to hear different slogans against Israel. On both sides, several people are shouting at each other: “Free Palestine” or again and in chorus: “Everyone hates Netanyahu”. Others chant “Murdering Israel”in a freezing atmosphere. Since October 7, this is the first time that the Israeli Prime Minister has done an interview for French media.
“Sabotage this show”
A desire to demonstrate, launched in part on X, by the elected representative of the Republic, Rima Hassan of La France Insoumise: “Employees and interns of the TF1 group take your responsibilities! Sabotage this show. » before adding: “There is no question of the word of a war criminal being broadcast tonight. »she concludes. There are still several points to raise. “Sabotage” a program “sponsored” by an elected representative of the Republic, isn’t that an obstacle to freedom of expression? Isn’t this an obstacle to press freedom?
In France, freedom of the press is a fundamental vector. Journalists report information regardless of who they talk to in front. The most important thing is not asking questions to the guest but the way in which you receive them. If asking questions to a political representative with whom La France Insoumise disagrees is “unwrapping the red carpet”… Then they do not understand the role of the press. The journalist’s job is also to ask questions. Should we invite personalities who are only in agreement with LFI? In this case, should press freedom be reduced?
Unrolling the red carpet for Netanyahu?
In addition, Darius Rochebin was criticized for not really interrupting the Israeli Prime Minister. But also to leave him on the air for around thirty minutes. In reality, it may partly be a technical reason. The two interlocutors speak to each other at a distance and there is a strong shift between them. To this must be added translations. Obviously, if the journalist had cut him off further, the interview would have become inaudible. He cannot cut him off or intervene further as when the guest is in front of the journalist.
Besides the fact that there is also a protocol when dealing with a Head of State, we do not measure the quality of an interview by cutting off the floor but rather by the quality of the exchange and the questions. Darius Rochebin who did not hesitate to ask his interlocutor questions, even the most annoying ones, and did not spare him on the fact that Gaza is not Israeli territory when the Prime Minister compared this land to “ landing in Normandy before the attack on Germany”: “The difference is that it’s not your land”, retorted the journalist. He didn’t really “roll out the red carpet” for her.
On CNEWS and Europe 1, during the debate on Europeans, the head of the list of La France Insoumise, Manon Aubry criticized the interview given to the Israeli Prime Minister on LCI: “The place of this genocidal political leader is not on TV sets, it is in the dock. ». An intervention having been delivered the day before the pro-Palestinian gathering in front of the TF1 television channel tower.