The interview with Sergueï Lavrov on France 2 sparked a strong controversy. Considered complacent by several experts, it rekindled the debate on the management of Russian propaganda in public broadcasting.
The interview of the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergueï Lavrov, by journalist Léa Salamé on Thursday, March 26 in the 8:00 pm news on France 2, has been harshly criticized by geopolitical specialists who found it too lenient.
Pre-recorded and conducted remotely with Mr. Lavrov in Moscow, ten minutes of the interview were broadcast on the public channel, watched by 3.4 million viewers. A longer one-hour version was also published on the website franceinfo.fr.
“This is a catastrophic segment on public service,” expressed Russia specialist Dimitri Minic from the French Institute of International Relations (Ifri) on social media, criticizing it as “an unnecessary, poorly prepared, and ultimately dangerous interview.”
“If the France TV teams still underestimate the informational battle, they need to understand that Moscow has made it a central weapon in its war against the West,” he added.
“An embarrassing interview during which a minister from an adversarial power can comfortably speak for an hour on the main French public channel almost without any counterarguments,” lamented French researcher Etienne Marcuz from the Foundation for Strategic Research on social media.
“This is not a demanding interview; it is a platform given to Russian propaganda to present its narrative,” judged another researcher, Antoine Bondaz.
Analyst Louis Duclos criticized Léa Salamé for not questioning Mr. Lavrov about the “war crimes of Russia in Ukraine.”
“Why not talk about Bucha? Mariupol? Izyum? Drone safaris in Kherson? Torture of civilians, rape of children and teenagers in front of their parents before being murdered?” he expressed his indignation.
Many other reactions echoed these sentiments.
France Télévisions did not immediately respond when contacted by AFP.
In January, journalist Philippe Corbé replaced Alexandre Kara as the head of information at France Télévisions, following several mistakes within the public group’s information sector.
These errors included confusion in reporting the circumstances of the deaths of professors Dominique Bernard and Samuel Paty on France 2’s news programs, presented by Julian Bugier and Léa Salamé.
