TNT commission of inquiry: tensions between LFI deputies and Macronists before the vote on the report

Will the report of the commission of inquiry into TNT frequencies be buried? Its members must decide this Tuesday, May 7 at the end of the afternoon, behind closed doors, on the publication or not of the report by Aurélien Saintoul (LFI), rapporteur of the commission of inquiry. And the vote seems to be off to a bad start, while the elected official claims that deputies from the presidential majority have requested the withdrawal of some of his proposals, an “attempt at censorship” according to him.

Initiated by LFI, the commission has heard over the last six months the audiovisual regulator, Arcom, the bosses of numerous public and private channels, as well as star presenters from C8 and CNews such as Cyril Hanouna and Pascal Praud. On the menu: the question of channel control, that of strengthening sanctions in the event of non-compliance with their obligations, and again that of pluralism.

Of the 47 proposals contained in the report, the deputies of the presidential majority allied to the LR have - according to Aurélien Saintoul - requested the withdrawal of 19. According to corroborating sources, confirming information from Franceinfo, these include in particular the removal of the paid DTT model, the establishment of a fee paid by the channels in exchange for a frequency, and again the renunciation of editorialists on news channels as well as youth programs before school.

Proposals are considered off-topic by the presidential camp, such as abandoning the holding project for public broadcasting. “This taints the report,” a Renaissance member of the commission told AFP, who rejects any blackmail and says she is ready for discussion.

But in the eyes of the elected LFI, "the Macronists are looking for a pretext to bury the report, which contains damning elements with regard to the Canal group" and its channels CNews and C8, in the bosom of the renowned conservative billionaire Vincent Bolloré. “It is clearly an attempted coup, an attempt at censorship in the service of their friend Bolloré,” he denounced.

Aurélien Saintoul also plans two reports to the courts, after study of documents and hearings of channel managers, he indicated without further details. The MP carried out a “documentary and on-site inspection” at Canal, as authorized by his role as rapporteur for a commission of inquiry. He himself wants the authorizations of CNews and C8 on TNT not to be renewed.

The president of the commission Quentin Bataillon (Renaissance), who could not be reached on Tuesday, had initially planned to append his own proposals to the report, all to be published on May 14. The RN group has already planned to vote against.

If the report is not adopted Tuesday evening, it will be archived without being made public - the case is exceptional, the latest to have suffered this fate is that of the commission of inquiry into the financing of trade union organizations in 2011. " Authorizing the publication of an investigation report must be the rule,” Christine Pires Beaune, spokesperson for the Socialist deputies, told the press, while emphasizing that the proposals “only commit the rapporteur.”