Léa Salamé leaves the France Inter morning show to become the face of France 2's 8 p.m. news

"We are happy to be able to count on his talent and his strong connection with the public to uphold, with the entire editorial team, our standards for the big 8 p.m. news," announced France Télévisions president Delphine Ernotte Cunci in a message to AFP.

Earlier in the morning, the 45-year-old Franco-Lebanese journalist announced her departure from the morning show on France's leading radio station, which she hosts with Nicolas Demorand.

Léa Salamé also presents the talk show "Quelle Epoque!" on France 2, on Saturdays in the second part of the evening, a show that she will continue to host.

"A great journalist and public service figure, Léa has in recent years brought major democratic and civic events to the forefront and has skilfully embodied the coverage of the Paris 2024 Games. For the past two years, she has been renewing the Saturday evenings of the public service with Quelle Epoque!" , boasted Ms. Ernotte Cunci, immediately after signing the contract with the journalist.

Speculation has been rife for several days about the succession of Anne-Sophie Lapix , who has hosted the 8 p.m. news on France 2 for eight years.

Caroline Roux, presenter of "C dans l'air" on France 5, said no, remaining "very attached" to her "public service" program. Nevertheless, "I was very honored by the offer" because "in our profession, the 8 p.m. news is considered a Holy Grail," she testified in Le Figaro.

Léa Salamé's name was also mentioned as a possible landing on BFMTV, the channel of the Franco-Lebanese billionaire Rodolphe Saadé.

"unavoidable"

But the star journalist has chosen to remain in the public service.

She is the partner of MEP and leader of Place Publique Raphaël Glucksmann, among the potential left-wing candidates for the 2027 presidential election. This connection should lead her to step back from political issues and event evenings if Raphaël Glucksmann actually takes the plunge.

Léa Salamé began her career at France 24 and iTélé (which became CNews in 2017). Sometimes a sniper, always energetic and lively, she led a daily interview at 7:50 a.m. on France Inter from 2014, before taking the reins of the morning show alongside Nicolas Demorand from 2017.

"France Inter owes her a lot" and "it is a source of pride to see the essential journalist she has become today," said station director Adèle Van Reeth in a statement.

Nicolas Demorand is expected to remain on France Inter after the summer break, but not necessarily in the morning show, a choice he will discuss with management.

On television, Léa Salamé was a columnist on Laurent Ruquier's show "On n'est pas couché" on France 2 between 2014 and 2016. She then presented or co-presented "L'Emission politique", "Vous avez la parole" and "Elysée 2022" on the same channel. She launched "Quelle Epoque!" in 2022.

His mission will be to revive the public channel's 8 p.m. news. TF1's weekday news, hosted by Gilles Bouleau, is leading the ratings charts.

On Wednesday, for example, the first part of the France 2 news (between 8:00 p.m. and 8:35 p.m.) attracted an average of 3 million viewers, compared to 4.4 million for the first channel's news.

Since September, the length of the France 2 news has been extended to one hour, to better "take the time for information" and "attract new audiences" , according to France Télé.

Ousted, Anne-Sophie Lapix, 53, will present her last newscast on June 26, a departure that has finally been brought forward.

The journalist quickly found a new home: she will be joining RTL radio in the fall to host the 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. slot, as well as the M6 ​​channel for an interview on Sundays.