A letter with the airs of call to order.

The director general of the Superior council of audio-visual addressed a letter, of which AFP obtained this Saturday a copy, to Constance Benqué, the president of Lagardère News (Europe 1, RFM, Virgin Radio…).

The CSA reminds Europe 1 and its parent company Lagardère of several of their legal obligations, an approach carried out with a view to the transformation of the group which raises serious concerns within the resort.

After the announcement in April of a plan to transform Lagardère into a public limited company, a major change in status for the group until now controlled by Arnaud Lagardère, he recalls that the company is subject to a series of legal obligations, included in the audiovisual law of 1986 and in several agreements concluded with the CSA.

The CSA pushes the Lagardère group to act as quickly as possible

These provisions give in particular to the CSA the power to withdraw an authorization of diffusion of a service of radio or television on the hertzian waves, "in the event of substantial modification of the data in view of which the authorization had been delivered, in particular of the intervening changes. in the composition of the share capital or of the management bodies and in the financing methods ”, according to the text of this law.

They also oblige the editors of such a service to “obtain an approval from the Superior council of audio-visual in the event of modification of the direct or indirect control”.

"It is therefore up to the Lagardère group to take the initiative to refer the matter to the Board as soon as possible, and in any event prior to carrying out the envisaged transactions", warned the CSA, which also asked Lagardère to communicate to it the draft new statutes.

The resort in the midst of a crisis

This CSA approach comes at a time when Europe 1 is currently in the midst of a crisis, fueled by the maneuvers around Lagardère and the sights on the station lent to the group's main shareholder, Vincent Bolloré.

The radio employees decided on Friday to go on strike to protest the dismissal of a journalist, against a background of growing unease within the station between the departure plan and the proposed merger with the news channel CNews (Canal + group), controlled by Mr. Bolloré.

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