Sarkozy Moves to Control French Media

The President has signaled he aims to tighten his grip on public TV, bringing it more in line with Elysée strategy

By Nils Klawitter and Stefan Simons

President Nicolas Sarkozy has benefited more than almost any other politician from the media's growing obsession with celebrity. France's "téléprésident" orchestrates politics like a reality show — and now he intends to tighten his grip on public television.

Nicolas Sarkozy had something different in mind for his televised appearance on Monday last week. The French president intended to explain to journalists at France 3, the country's public network of regional broadcasters, how he would use his EU Council presidency to keep Europe from imploding and how he had smoothed things over with protesting French fishermen.

But it wasn't the one-hour interview that made a lasting impression on France. It was an episode that played out just before the interview, when cameras were rolling and Sarkozy said hello to a technician installing his microphone. The man did not return the greeting. The affronted president mumbled, "When you're a guest, the least you can expect is for people to say hello."

"Unbelievable," he added. "And appalling." And then, twice: "That's going to change."

This brief sequence leaked to an Internet magazine called Rue89. Within 24 hours, over a million people in France had seen it. The minute-long clip says a great deal about Sarkozy's style and his relationship to the media. If you're on his side, he'll come through — by feeding a catchy quote, a little inside information or a photo of him with his new wife, pop singer and model Carla Bruni. A veteran reporter at the presidential Elysée Palace says Sarkozy is "an excellent source." But if you're not on his side, you're in for trouble. Like France 3.

Even the reception Sarkozy received when he arrived at the station was less than presidential. More than 400 employees demonstrated against his scheme to ban advertising on public television. What Sarkozy is trying to sell as a plan to free public-service television from the "tyranny of viewer ratings" is seen by the protestors as the erosion of an institution. No funds have been secured to replace the lost revenues and the advertising would migrate to private channels such as TF1, which is owned by real estate magnate Martin Bouyges — the godfather of Sarkozy's son Louis.

For nearly 30 years, French television has served as an experimental playground for presidents. François Mitterrand created the channels La Cinq, TV 6 and Canal Plus. Jacques Chirac privatized TF1. Now Sarkozy wants to completely overhaul France Télévisions, the country's public broadcasting network. He intends to reform this media organization with its 11,000 employees "from the ground floor to the roof."

By his own admission, Sarkozy is a child of the modern era of television. His favorite programs include sports coverage of the Tour de France and "Star Academy" — and he seems to have his own notion of what variety in media is all about. In the future, he wants to appoint the director of France Télévisions himself. He views state television as a business, and says that it is "the majority shareholder who also selects the company CEO."

In effect, he seems to want to integrate public television more closely into the communications strategy of the Elysée. Sarkozy, le téléprésident, calls this giving an "educational spin" to his policies.

'Like a Royal Court '

"This turns back the clock 40 years," says Jean-François Tébaldi, a union representative at France 3. "We're back to the state television that we had under de Gaulle." At the time, the minister of information could press a button on his desk to speak with top television producers and dictate the topics of the day.

Sarkozy's influence is more subtle. "It's like at a royal court," says journalist Daniel Schneidermann, whose widely acclaimed media watchdog show "Arrêt sur images" ("Freeze-frame") was cancelled in 2007. "The prince doesn't even have to lift a finger." His entourage apparently anticipates his every wish.