Can’t You All Just Get Along?

Michael Hedges April 4, 2011 Follow on Twitter

Powerful people play tough because they know that’s the way the game is played. Mixing politics and media with ego and hubris can create a high-tech war zone. This story is about the tricks, trials and collateral damage.

In a 25 page complaint filed last Monday (March 28) French international broadcasting (Audiovisuel extérieur de la France - AEF) Deputy Director General Christine Ockrent charged “Monsieur X” with “mental harassment” including “constantly orchestrating a genuine policy of ostracism.” Though not named directly “Monsieur X” is, without question, AEF Director General Alain de Pouzilhac. The two heavy-weights of French media politics have been at war for months.

Mme Ockrent took the offensive public this past week, charging a “climate of violence, humiliation and unbearable suffering,” in an interview with Le Monde. “He got rid of with brutality a director of information who he judged too close to me and imposed, against my will, a news director who made no secret he wanted my beheading.”

“The stigma is unbearable and unacceptable and it was time to assert my rights,” she told Libération (March 31). Someone, somewhere, is translating Rodney King’s famous line: “Can’t we all just get along?”

France 24 News director Vincent Giret was dismissed (September 14, 2010) and shortly there after deputy news director Albert Ripamonti left for news channel i-Télé. M. Giret was considered close to Mme Ockrent.  M. Ripamonti was reportedly denied the news director’s job by Mme Ockrent.

Two weeks later (October 6, 2010) muckraking newspaper Le Canard Enchaîné published an email sent by AEF CFO Thierry Delphin describing a “significant budgetary shortfall” for 2011 the solution for which would be firing a lot of people. By November Alain de Pouzilhac was quite suspicious because the newspaper article contained other information not found in the emails. He called in investigators.

Then things got really crazy. Investigators discovered a bit of computer hacking. The hacker was identified as Thibault de Robert, who worked for a computer security company. On the home computer of France 24 information specialist Candice Marchal was found 2.5 million documents, reported Le Point, including a scanned copy of Alain de Pouzilhac’s passport and the AEF payroll. M. de Robert had worked for BK Conseil, a company owned by former French foreign minister - and current civil partner of Christine Ockrent - Bernard Kuchner. M. de Robert was also an employee of major media company, and well-connected, Lagardère. 

Christine Ockrent is famous, with plenty of reasons. Early in her journalism career she worked for US network NBC in its Paris office, then to London for US network CBS working with the 60 Minutes news program and then morning news anchor on French national radio channel Europe 1. In 1981 she moved to television, becoming the first woman in France to anchor an evening television news program. Her style on and off the air has been called tough and aggressive. Critics call her Queen Christine.

But indeed, what high flyers aren’t? Her high salary demands led to strikes. Her high profile media career made her a power magnet. Her long-term relationship with former French Foreign Minister and co-founder of Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) Bernard Kouchner made them the power couple in France. That, of course, always brings out the long knives.

The France 24 staff voted last December 85% no confidence in Mme Ockrent. Station management has refused to attend any meeting where she’s present. She steadfastly refuses to resign.

“The power struggle being waged is unacceptable,” said former France Télévisions president, former RFI general director and former media regulator CSA chairman Hervé Bourges to Le Monde (March 31). “They’re giving a totally outrageous public performance that no company will accept.”

“But, oddly, the State that appointed the two executives tolerates this situation,” he complained.  “You can be a great journalist and a great man of communications but pathetic managers.” M. Bourges headed RFI in the 1980’s and opposed combining French international broadcasting services into one entity.

Alain de Pouzilhac is also a high-flyer. He quickly moved through several big advertising companies before becoming CEO of Havas in 1989. Taking Havas through a series of joint ventures and mergers over the next fifteen years M. de Pouzilhac remained at the top. The last big deal, bringing in industrialist Vincent Bolloré as a major Havas shareholder in 2004, was his undoing. A year later M. de Pouzilhac was out at Havas leaving a trail of lawsuits in his wake, not to forget Vincent Bolloré, a close friend and supporter of Nicolas Sarkozy, as an enemy. M. Bolloré is still suing M. de Pouzilhac over one thing or another.

In December 2005 Alain de Pouzilhac was named CEO of international television channel Chaîne Française d'Information Internationale (CFII), the project of French President Jacques Chirac to bring the French message to the world. Originally, CFII was to be a joint venture between private broadcaster TF1 and public broadcaster France Télévisions with significant input from several parts of the French government, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The channel took to the airwaves as France 24 a year later.

Nicolas Sarkozy was elected President of the French Republic and entered office in May 2007 with several plans involving media. One was to combine all French government supported international broadcasting into a single unit. In February 2008 M. Sarkozy named M. de Pouzilhac, who had significant involvement in the election campaign, chairman of France Monde and Christine Orkant deputy general director. Objections were loud and furious. France Monde was renamed Audiovisuel extérieur de la France (AEF).

An AEF board meeting scheduled for last Thursday (March 31) to cast the final vote merging France 24 and Radio France International (RFI) was cancelled at the last minute. The office of French Prime Minister François Fillon directed Alain de Pouzilhac to postpone the meeting, reported Le Point (March 31). Independent directors were advised of the “postponement” Thursday morning, the official reason being continuing work in the building. Boards of RFI and France 24 previously accepted the merger.

Unions representing France 24 and RFI employees have never favored the merger, less so when announced about 10% of the workforce, 122 of 1,205 positions, will be made redundant. “Why not take time for reflection so that the reforms that you are calling for permits genuine development of the AEF entities and, accordingly, the support of employees?” asked the unions in a joint letter to French Prime Minister François Fillon.

Slowing down the France 24 RFI merger seems also on the minds of members of the French Parliament. They’ve started a “mission d'information” into the plan with results to be reported in July. Media wags in France (Ecrans March 31) suggest both Mme Ockrent and M. de Pouzilhac might, figuratively, face the guillotine.

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