Manufactured
A person claiming to be close to Delphine Ernotte, the president of France’s public broadcaster France TV, accused her of favouring Emmanuel Macron’s presidential campaign, in a video circulating on social media. However the authenticity of this interview, shared on March 16 on the Twitter account of David Rachlinel, the National Front Mayor of the town of Fréjus, is unclear. Envoyé Spécial, the flagship current affairs show on France 2 [part of France TV], denied having conducted the interview when contacted by CrossCheck.
In the video, a man whose voice is distorted speaks with his back to the camera. “We are in constant contact with The Élysée Palace [the office of the French president]. Of course when [current President François] Hollande was no longer a candidate, obviously we had to at all costs support [Emmanuel] Macron with the clear objective of beating Marine Le Pen”, he says. “Macron and Delphine Ernotte have an openly strong friendship, they greet each other warmly, in an informal manner.”
Contacted by CrossCheck, David Rachline confirms having found this video “on the internet”, without citing other sources.
This is not the first time that a member of the National Front has accused Ernotte of supporting the ‘En Marche!’ candidate. On Sunday March 12, the National Front’s candidate for president, Marine Le Pen, said on the channel C8 that “the public broadcaster is on Emmanuel Macron’s side. Emmanuel Macron and Delphine Ernotte are good friends, they pat each other’s backs, they are informal, they kiss.”
