Raphaël Glucksmann at the Frankfurt Book Fair in October 2017. His entry into the 2027 presidential race led Léa Salamé to step away from France 2’s 8 p.m. newscast. Credits: Harald Krichel / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Léa Salamé stepped back on Monday, August 24, from presenting France 2’s 8 p.m. newscast. A prominent French television and radio journalist, Salamé had anchored the flagship bulletin since the start of the 2025 season. This decision follows the official announcement of her partner Raphaël Glucksmann’s candidacy in the 2027 presidential election. Decided with France Télévisions, this preventive measure aims to preserve trust in the impartiality of public service broadcasting. Jean-Baptiste Marteau is taking over, while the journalist remains on Quelle époque !, without covering the campaign.
A Step Back Announced When Léa Salamé Was Named to the 8 p.m. Newscast
The decision had been prepared, but it was no less immediate. Raphaël Glucksmann officialized his candidacy on TF1’s 8 p.m. newscast on Sunday, August 23. The next day, Léa Salamé announced her temporary withdrawal from France 2’s evening news. She had held this anchor chair since the start of the 2025 season.
The main points of her Instagram post were reported in an AFP dispatch. In it, the journalist recalls the commitment she made when she arrived. She writes: “I made that commitment on day one, and I’m sticking to it.” She describes this choice, made with her management, as professionally difficult but necessary in light of the upcoming campaign.
The 8 p.m. newscast is a major stop in political life. Candidates are interviewed there, and their proposals are examined. Campaign milestones also regularly take center stage there. The anchor would therefore have been exposed night after night to news directly tied to her partner. Her withdrawal puts that situation at a distance before it affects the making of the newscast or the public’s perception of it.
The move does not mean that Raphaël Glucksmann is already the sole candidate for a camp. The co-president of Place publique also announced that he would take part in a primary organized with the Socialist Party in the fall. Its terms still need to be finalized. The distinction matters: the campaign is underway, but the nomination process is not yet complete.
A Deontological Precaution, Not a Sanction
France Télévisions frames this withdrawal within its policy for preventing conflicts of interest. A proven conflict would require that a personal interest actually influenced a professional decision. Here, the group is acting in advance against another risk. A private connection could cast doubt on the newsroom’s independence, even without any intervention or demonstrated bias.
In its institutional explanation published by franceinfo, France Télévisions stresses two limits. The step back does not punish the journalist, and it does not amount to attributing to her her partner’s views or vote. It seeks to prevent suspicion, even unfounded, from weakening trust in public service broadcasting.
The group has a professional guide devoted to preventing conflicts of interest. An internal memo links roles at France Télévisions with an elected mandate. It also covers the case of spouses of candidates or elected officials. A decision-support table accompanies the system. Managers can thus adapt the response to the position held and the subject covered.
This internal framework is not a general legal ban applying to any journalist living with a political figure. The response depends on editorial exposure and the closeness between each person’s role. Presenting France 2’s main newscast during a presidential election puts the issue at its most sensitive level.
Who Is Replacing Léa Salamé on France 2’s 8 p.m. Newscast?
Jean-Baptiste Marteau, the presenter’s regular substitute, is anchoring the 8 p.m. newscast starting Monday, August 24, according to AFP. He is already familiar with the program and the newsroom, including having replaced Léa Salamé during her absences. France Télévisions has not publicly specified whether this interim assignment covers the entire campaign or under what conditions a return might be considered.
The withdrawal concerns the televised newscast, not Léa Salamé’s entire range of activities within the group. The journalist is expected to continue working on other content for France Télévisions. She also retains the hosting role for Quelle époque !, the Saturday night magazine program.
That continuity comes with an explicit editorial boundary: the show will not cover the presidential campaign. The arrangement is intended to isolate political subjects that could create ambiguity. The precautionary measure therefore does not amount to a blanket removal from the air.
The schedule remains open. As of August 24, no exact end date or detailed conditions for a return to the 8 p.m. newscast had been made public. The outcome of the primary could change Raphaël Glucksmann’s political situation. At this stage, it does not allow for any conclusion about what comes next for the anchor.
Precedents for Women and Men Alike
Léa Salamé had already adjusted her work twice. In 2019, during Raphaël Glucksmann’s first European campaign, she stepped away from France Inter’s morning show. She also left her political duties on France 2. In 2024, she stayed on air but gave up political interviews and avoided covering news involving her partner.
Other broadcasting figures have gone through similar adjustments. Anne Sinclair left 7 sur 7 in 1997 when Dominique Strauss-Kahn entered the government. Marie Drucker stepped away from Soir 3 in 2006 after François Baroin was appointed minister. Béatrice Schönberg moved away from France 2 newscasts in 2007 while Jean-Louis Borloo held government responsibilities.
Men are affected too. In 2021, Thomas Sotto stepped away from France 2’s political programs during the presidential campaign. That decision stemmed from his relationship with an adviser to Prime Minister Jean Castex. In other cases, journalists have kept part of their duties. They have nonetheless given up interviews or oversight of topics related to their partner’s area of activity.
These precedents therefore do not point to a single rule. They show a graduated logic: the more directly a journalist’s role intersects with the political sphere occupied by a close partner, the greater the adjustment. Full withdrawal from a program is only one possible response among others.
Impartiality Also Depends On Public Perception
Professional ethics is not only about sanctioning proven influence. It also aims to prevent situations that could make collective work harder or fuel a constant challenge to its credibility. This requirement is particularly strong for public broadcasting, funded to inform all citizens and subject to constant political scrutiny.
France Télévisions’ choice primarily protects the newsroom from an apparent conflict of interest. It prevents every assignment of topics, every invitation, or every question from being interpreted through the relationship between Léa Salamé and Raphaël Glucksmann. It also protects the journalist from a reductive equation between her professional choices and those of her partner.
This distancing does not decide anything about the quality of her work or her personal beliefs. Rather, it recognizes that in the run-up to a presidential election, editorial independence must be seen as well as asserted. The system chosen by France Télévisions will now be judged on its clarity and consistency. It must also ensure equal treatment for all candidacies.
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