"Dictatorial verticality", "policy of generalized denigration", "insecurity" ... The leader had been in turmoil since the publication this fall of a Liberation investigation into her management methods, based on numerous essentially anonymous testimonies .

"For our collective and for France Culture which I love so much, I want to end this difficult moment", writes the leader, in a letter to her collaborators, consulted by AFP.

"This is why, in agreement with the general management, I have decided to leave the management of France Culture", added Sandrine Treiner, without waiting for the results of an expertise commissioned from an independent firm by the management of Radio France. , scheduled for late January or early February.

Contacted by AFP, the management of the Round House refused to comment on this departure in the absence of the conclusions of the investigation and specified that the president of the Radio France group, Sibyle Veil, would speak soon to the employees of France. Culture.

Passed by Le Monde, France 3 or France 24, Sandrine Treiner had joined France Culture as a columnist for literature and cinema in 2010, before taking the lead in 2015.

Since then, the station has continued "to win over listeners, doubling the number", she argues in her letter.

According to Médiamétrie, France Culture thus attracted 1.7 million daily listeners in November-December 2022 (+25,000 over one year), for a cumulative audience of 3.1%, compared to 2% over the same period in 2015, in start of Sandrine Treiner's mandate.

Proof of the success of its digital shift, over the 2021-2022 season, the station is the second most podcasted radio behind France Inter.

"Disagreements"

But internally, the atmosphere is not festive.

In its investigation, Liberation had pointed to "the despotism of Sandrine Treiner" and the "permanent climate of insecurity and arbitrariness" described by "most of the testimonies collected".

The newspaper then mentioned four reports "for moral harassment" since the beginning of 2022.

Two days after the publication of the article, Sibyle Veil had supported Sandrine Treiner in an internal email to employees, quoted by the daily.

She recalled that "no fact of moral harassment" had then "been established".

The president of the Radio France group, Sibyle Veil, on February 22, 2022 in Paris © STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN / AFP/Archives

She had however recognized the existence of a "malaise" and announced the establishment of a "diagnosis and listening device".

A source working at France Culture confirms to AFP "a little abrupt methods", "a great concentration of powers" and the existence of a degraded climate.

She more generally denounces the "precariousness" of her colleagues, which promotes "self-censorship" and prevents them from working "serenely".

"We have seen some get fired overnight for being a little more critical, more talkative, louder than others," says this source, who wished to remain anonymous.

In her letter to her troops on Tuesday, Sandrine Treiner admits "disagreements".

"I take full responsibility for it here," she says.

"Everything is more dangerous for women. I myself have paid the price in the past. For women in charge, in a particular way", she believes, referring to "well-established social representations ( ...) that sometimes unfortunately we help to maintain".

It takes "a new impetus", adds the resigner.

"The team in place is solid," she judges, quoting Florian Delorme, appointed program delegate for France Culture in October.

He had succeeded Jean Beghin, a leader who was also criticized and retired.

"We have worked together since the fall, with the entire management committee, to improve many points on topics with shared diagnosis and regain serenity", writes Sandrine Treiner.

© 2023 AFP