Radio France strike begins: TV network affected from next week

Workers at France’s national public broadcaster Radio France started an unlimited strike on Thursday (June 26) over proposed reforms to the network. 

The walkout en masse led to an ongoing lack of programmes on the network in the morning, with listeners instead hearing a repeated message stating that the broadcaster was “unable to broadcast all of [its] usual programmes.” 

Radio stations including France Inter, France Ici, France Info, and France Culture are affected.

The strike is backed by all major trade unions in the sector and will coincide with protest action by workers at the public service broadcaster FranceTV from next week (June 30), affecting Channel 16. 

Plans by Culture Minister Rachida Dati to bring the separate institutions together, along with the INA (Institut national de l'audiovisuel) are vehemently opposed in the sector. 

Workers say thousands of jobs are at risk by the plan, which would group the separate entities under one CEO in an attempt to cut costs. 

Alongside this major overarching plan, several smaller cost-cutting measures are also planned, including the closing of some radio stations. 

The changes were previously set to be debated by MPs in 2024 – leading to major strike action from employees at the public service broadcasters – but discussions over the changes were continuously pushed back. 

The restructuring will now be discussed in the Assemblée nationale from Monday (June 30), leading to the renewed strike action.

There is one aim to the strike, the unions said in a joint press release, and that was to “force the government to back down.” 

“Associated budget cuts have already begun and [the restructuring] will have serious consequences if adopted,” the unions stated. They say they are defending the right for people in France to continue receiving the highest possible quality of public broadcasting. 

Read more: What are some good radio shows to learn about French culture?