Boulez, did you say?

Written by Riviera Reporter

A few years ago we ran an interview with British writer Peter Mayle in which he was asked to sum up the appeal of France. His answer: �In one word � lunch.� This drew irritated comments from French readers who wondered why he hadn�t talked about the country�s culture and its contribution to world civilisation. In a token way, at least, this is a familiar reaction at every social level. Priority should go to Balzac and Debussy rather than bouillabaisse and dinde aux marrons.

So no surprise, then, when TIME magazine ran a cover story entitled �The Death of French Culture� there was much Gallic huffing and puffing, especially at the verdict that France had �lost its status as a cultural superpower�. Sure, the quantity�s there � last year 727 novels were published and some 200 films produced � but not the quality. The films were, said TIME, mainly �amiable low-budget trifles�, too full of talk, while the novels were at once slight in content and obscure in style. Neither had much appeal beyond l�Hexagone. This provoked an outburst from Olivier Poivre d�Arvor (brother of Patrick, below) who was allowed to rant at length about France�s cultural superiority. �Say the names Boulez or Mnouchkine in all four corners of the world; those who love music or theatre will tell you of their outstanding creativity.� Give it a try ...

After eight

We rarely meet English-speaking expats with much good to say of French television though they are often equally critical of, say, its British and American counterparts. Especially unpalatable, though, seems to be the main evening news on TF1, presented now for two decades by Patrick Poivre d�Arvor and regularly attracting an audience of seven million viewers. The man is smugness incarnate and his immense self-satisfaction is nourished by his star treatment in other media. Even former CBS anchor Dan Rather seems modest in comparison.

But can Poivre d�Arvor be as bad as he seems? Well, yes. Five of his colleagues, using the pseudonym Patrick le Bel, have got together to offer a profile of the man and of TF1�s news director Robert Namias. From the pages of �Madame, Monsieur, Bonsoir ...� Les dessous du premier JT de France (France: Panama), PPDA (as he�s often known to the public, though he�s �Nero� in house) emerges as an all-round Mr Nasty (�with not a single friend in the building�). He is given to fierce rages, inexplicable personal prejudices and manic jealousy of anyone who seems likely to overshadow his star status (black summer stand-in Harry Roselmack, even his ex Claire Chazal). He seems unable to behave to anyone other than with condescension: a bright young journalist, allowed a few seconds en direct on the evening news, gets an unsmiling assurance that this is �an immense privilege�.

Much of what the book reveals about �the manufacture of news� could be applied, of course, to other television channels and to print media. But Poivre d�Arvor and Namias have created a system in which common dysfunctions are aggravated. Favouritism and cronyism play a notable part in deciding who and what gets on screen; ageing journalists and (especially) women with fading looks are pushed aside. Reports get spiked for reasons unrelated to �objectivity�: so nothing about Rachida Dati�s brother�s run-ins with the law or a wave of workers� suicides at Renault (a major advertiser). Political bias is subtle and quite volatile: Sarko came only slowly into full favour but as his triumph in May became clear the news studio was awash with champagne. Sad to think that when millions of people have had their nightly dose of PPDA they feel they understand the world.

From Riviera Reporter Issue 126: April/May 2008