Staff at the French public radio station France Inter went on strike on Sunday, September 13, 2026, in protest at the hiring of Charles Sapin, a senior editor at the conservative magazine Valeurs actuelles, who now delivers a weekly commentary on air.
Sapin, who moved to Valeurs actuelles this summer after previously working at the weekly Le Point, became the magazine's deputy editorial director. Since August 30, he has delivered a two-minute-thirty political editorial on France Inter every Sunday morning.
Radio France management defended the hire as a matter of pluralism ahead of the presidential election. The move was immediately contested by staff. In a motion adopted on September 2, employees expressed what they called categorical refusal, arguing that Valeurs actuelles was not compatible with public broadcasting.
Valeurs actuelles and its record
Valeurs actuelles describes itself as a conservative magazine and has been convicted in court on several occasions, including for a 2020 depiction of Danièle Obono, a Black member of parliament from the left-wing France Insoumise party, as a slave.
Unions have also pointed to the presence among the magazine's shareholders of billionaire Pierre-Edouard Sterin, who is described as close to the far right.
Protest outside Radio France
On Sunday afternoon, at the call of a joint union coalition, several dozen people, including staff and listeners, gathered outside the Maison de la Radio, Radio France's headquarters in Paris.
Agnes, a 65-year-old Parisian listener, said it would be fine for Sapin to be invited to take part in a programme, but not for him to be hired by Radio France.
Julien Ente, a teacher, said a red line had been crossed, but added that it had not come out of nowhere. He said there had been a drift over several years in which opinion had taken precedence over journalists' work.
Radio France's response
Questioned on air on Thursday by Radio France's ombudsman, France Inter's director, Celine Pigalle, defended the recruitment. She said pluralism was fundamental for a public radio station and one of its primary missions.
Pigalle pointed to other editorial contributors hired from outlets with varying political leanings, including the Nouvel Obs, Alternatives economiques and the Financial Times.
She said Sapin had assured her that he had joined Valeurs actuelles in order to change its editorial line. Pigalle said she believed she could trust him not to put France Inter's broadcasts at risk.
