Paris (AFP)
The antennas of BFMTV, RMC and RMC Découverte were disrupted Wednesday morning by the first strike in its history, against the layoffs planned by the subsidiary of Altice.
"This is a First edition manufactured under special conditions after the announcement of a restructuring plan which provides for job cuts," said one of the presenters of the BFMTV morning show, Christophe Delay. "All the antennas are today disturbed given the concern aroused by these projects"
In place of Jean-Jacques Bourdin's morning show, the RMC radio rebroadcast until 8:30 a program from "Grandes gueules" and the RMC Découverte channel an episode from "Constructors of the extreme". The journalist was able to conduct his interview with the President of the National Assembly, Richard Ferrand.
The morning show at BFM Paris was also disrupted.
"We decided to go on strike today and give up on broadcasting because an unprecedented social plan threatens the NextRadioTV group. Because we are proud of our jobs and we are attached to it," tweeted several journalists and technicians chain.
The last municipal debate in Paris is scheduled for Wednesday evening on BFMTV and BFM Paris.
The media subsidiary of the Altice group (BFMTV, RMC, RMC Sport, BFM Business, RMC Découverte, RMC Story ...) had unveiled on June 17 a vast plan of savings and "recovery" to cope with the impact the Covid-19 crisis and increased competition (especially in sport).
It plans in this context to remove "330 to 380 CDI and up to 200 freelancers and intermittent", or about a third of the workforce, out of a total of 1,600 employees, according to the inter-union.
A plan that the unions had immediately denounced, deeming "this drastic cut incomprehensible" within a structurally profitable group. And they had called a general meeting Tuesday at the group's headquarters in Paris, which brought together many employees and approved the principle of a work stoppage.
© 2020 AFP