It was Jacques Victor, a Communist General Councilor, who uncovered the issue by recognizing a General Council of Alpes-Maritimes employee being interviewed for a report praising the merits of the parental responsibility contract, which was broadcast on TF1’s 1 PM news.
The news spread rapidly on the web, and from Le Parisien to L’Express via Le Monde or the more assertive Rue 89 or Bella Ciao, the fake testimony by the press officer of the General Council of Alpes-Maritimes, playing the role of an overwhelmed mother in a report broadcast on TF1’s 1 PM news, places President Eric Ciotti at the center of a national controversy for the first time.
But who is truly responsible in this story?
Following the revelation of the affair, the press officer submitted her resignation to her hierarchical superior, the President, who accepted it, claiming “not to be aware” and that this request came from TF1.
Catherine Nayl, the news director at TF1, immediately reacted by declaring that she had suffered substantial damage and was angry about how the journalists at Nice Matin, who work as part of agreements with the regional daily press, had created their report.
It is through Frédéric Touraille, delegated general director, that things are clarified from Nice Matin’s side: “The affair does not involve the editorial staff of the regional daily whatsoever, but rather a subsidiary (NMTV) that produces reports as part of correspondence contracts with TF1.”.
In short, a game of “it’s not me, it’s him,” which strongly resembles a hot potato, too hot for some who do not hesitate to pass it to their neighbors, even if they are from the same family.
The only declared victim at this point is the press officer, who will pay dearly for her brief national TV appearance with the loss of her job.
But there is little doubt that the list will grow in the coming hours and days, as it is unimaginable that the bizarre idea of using staff from the community and, furthermore, making them lie about their situation could have been the sole idea of the poor resigned individual.
It’s also hard to believe that Eric Ciotti could take such a risk or accept such a setup, considering the man’s known rigor and managerial skills.
This leaves all the others, TF1, Nice Matin, and the various services around the President who, to a greater or lesser extent, participated in the conception, filming, editing, and, finally, viewing of the report without once considering that this wasn’t exactly the idea of the century.
So, was no one able to assess the proven dangers of such a maneuver, both in terms of information, on the side of TF1 and NMTV, and within the county council for the image of its President?
The beginning of the week is likely to be as heated in the corridors of the Alpes-Maritimes General Council as in those of the Nice Matin headquarters, which, incidentally, are only a few hundred meters apart.
