The announcement in early July of the abolition of national 12/13 (midday) and 19/20 (evening) from France 3, in favor of 24 regional editions, caused a "shock for hundreds of employees", recall the unions SNJ, CGT, CGC and Unsa in their strike notice.

Entitled "Ici Midi" and "Ici Soir", the future regional newspapers will include subjects on national or even international news, but with a local prism corresponding to the expectations of viewers, argued in early July the boss of France Télé, Delphine Ernotte .

But, behind the "harmless name" of this reform called "Tempo", is "hiding a project of social and editorial damage on a very large scale", affirm the signatories of the notice.

"Under cover of transferring (under very vague conditions) control" of the time slots concerned "to the regional newsrooms, the management wants to liquidate the national information of the 3", already "weakened" by the suppression of "Soir 3" in 2019, say the unions.

In addition, "nothing specific" was offered to the affected employees, "only + possible transfers + several hundred kilometers from home, or the possibility of working for a vague + France 3 + agency project which would manufacture national subjects intended for regional antennas", they worry.

Denouncing an "editorial fiasco" and a "social betrayal", the unions therefore demand "the immediate abandonment of the project", which results, according to them, from the merger of the national editorial staff of France 2 and France 3 denounced "for ten years" .

They also demand the "development of an ambitious editorial project for the national newspapers of France 3" and the end of "job cuts" and "the precariousness of Headquarters services".

Asked by AFP, the management of France Télévisions did not wish to comment.

In early July, the director of information, Laurent Guimier, targeted before the announcement of the reform by a motion of no confidence from the national editorial staff of France Télé, had described the project as "major cultural change".

Laurent Guimier, director of information for France Télévisions, on the set of the program "Elysée 2022" on France 2, February 10, 2022 in Saint-Denis Thomas COEX AFP / Archives

"The national content of the news will be produced by franceinfo and the national editorial services" and made available to regional editorial staff, the director of the France 3 network, Philippe Martinetti, told AFP.

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