His presence in the show “Touche pas à mon poste” (TPMP) was quick to arouse criticism. The deputy Quentin Bataillon, president of the commission of inquiry into the frequencies of digital terrestrial television (TNT), went, Tuesday April 2, to take stock of his work on the set of host Cyril Hanouna, who -even been interviewed by this commission.
In “TPMP”, broadcast on the C8 channel, the elected representative of the presidential majority wanted to do educational work on the subject of the work of the commission, which was launched by the La France insoumise (LFI) deputies in the fall to shed light on the allocation of TNT frequencies, including those of C8 and CNews brought into play this year. Its rapporteur, “the Insoumis” Aurélien Saintoul, will write his report “alone” by the beginning of May, and “I imagine that he will be marked”, said Mr. Bataillon, wishing to “get out of the hunt for witches, hunting for presenters, journalists, channels”.
“We need to make recommendations on the framework” for the choice of frequency holders, he said. “We don’t go into people’s homes to tell them what is good, what is bad” and, “sometimes, the contempt that some people may have for your show is transferred to those who watch it,” argued the parliamentarian .
“I have done everything to keep the relations as cordial as possible” with Mr. Saintoul, added Mr. Bataillon, while relations have become strained over the course of the hearings, that of Vincent Bolloré, billionaire who controls the Canal group including C8, to that of the Minister of Culture Rachida Dati.
Irony and criticism
Aurélien Saintoul was ironic about the presence of Mr. Bataillon in TPMP: “Thank you for your experimental approach to move the commission of inquiry forward,” he wrote on the social network check if we can now name or even criticize V. Bolloré in TPMP without risking being attacked by C. Hanouna,” he added in reference to an episode from November 2022 where LFI deputy Louis Boyard, guest of the broadcast, had been insulted live. This resulted in a record fine of €3.5 million for C8.
Several deputies then criticized Mr. Bataillon’s intervention on the channel. For Alexis Corbière (LFI), “no one can believe in their independence and objectivity anymore”. “Here’s another one who is damaging Parliament and getting tired of destroying democracy,” according to environmentalist Benjamin Lucas, also on X.
During the show, Quentin Bataillon scratched a host competing with Mr. Hanouna, Yann Barthès, who was also heard by the commission: “I think it’s the first time I got angry, he had a “Quotidien” on TMC. The first secretary of the Socialist Party, Olivier Faure, tackled Mr. Bataillon on his own arrogance of “going to Hanouna to spit on Barthès while chairing a commission of inquiry into TNT”.
