Support for journalists at France 3 in their third week of strike action
The Broadcasting Expert Group (BREG) of the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), which represents public service media experts from all over Europe, strongly supports the strike by France 3’s local programs.
Since 4 September 2023, an absurd, fast-track reform has been imposed on employees, suppressing national news editions and putting regional editions in serious difficulty.
Our colleagues in local newsrooms across France are having to produce much more content without additional resources. Staff are already stretched to the limit, and there is a shortage of additional journalists across all local programs. Employees are exhausted, overworked and stressed. They do not have the means to absorb the extra work that management wants to impose on them.
The strike, which is blocking or damaging the production and broadcasting of all the television news programme, both midday and evening, and which has already disrupted 200 of 230 TV news programmes, is therefore directed against management’s irresponsible plans to squeeze work and the quality of journalistic work. Well-researched, locally-based, quality journalism is the most important antidote to disinformation, and a pillar of democracy that must never be called into question.
As BREG, we salute the struggle being waged by our colleagues in France and stand in solidarity with them. The employees and their unions – united (CFDT, CGT, FO, SNJ and SUD) – are not only fighting for acceptable working conditions, but in particular for an informed democratic life in the country.
The European Media Freedom Act (EMFA), still in discussion, shall oblige and remind European governments not to jeopardise public service media and to provide them with the necessary resources to carry out their mission, which is fundamental to democracy and pluralism.
