PORTRAIT – Former France 2 journalist elected mayor of Avignon

Former France 2 journalist was elected mayor of Avignon on March 29. Ambitious, he aims to become one of the new faces of the political landscape in France, leveraging his municipal results.

There was something curious about listening to the morning interview on France Inter at 7:50 am on Tuesday, April 14. The new mayor of Avignon, Olivier Galzi, was interviewed by Benjamin Duhamel. The former is best known for being a stand-in presenter for the 8 pm news on France 2 before hosting evening and morning slots on iTëlé, now CNews, and LCI. At that time, he was the one who grilled his political guests. And, under his wing, was a young journalist who made his debut live TV appearances: Benjamin Duhamel! The former closeness did not prevent the current tenacity. Olivier Galzi found himself in the position of the obligatory guest having to answer more politically oriented questions, about Emmanuel Macron or the presence of the Palestinian flag at the latest festival, when he hoped to talk about the territories and why Avignon voters trusted him after twelve years of socialist management.