Politicians without Politics, a Polity without Citizens: The Politics of the Chat Show in Contemporary France

Abstract

Since 2000 the majority of politicians’ appearances on French television have occurred on chat shows and ‘sofa programmes’. Media professionals often argue that such a development offers a valuable opportunity for politics to be freed of its more boring aspects, for political coverage to reach a broader audience and for politicians to reveal their true character behind the role masks. This article, based on a sample of the major French chat shows of the early part of the twenty-first century, suggests that such arguments should be met with considerable scepticism. The claim of reaching a larger audience is itself open to challenge. More importantly, such programmes contribute to the institutionalisation of ‘allodoxia effects’, i.e. situations in which political actors and issues requiring specific knowledge and evaluation skills on the part of audiences are presented through frameworks which are usually employed by television to highlight traits such as ‘the nice chap’ or ‘the good performer’. If these programmes can sometimes provide information or interpretative criteria regarding the psychology of politicians, and even prevent some prejudices from taking root, they remain powerless to make sense of the logics of politics or to support a practice of citizenship different from mere consumerism.

Notes

[1] The failure of 36 heures in August 2003 probably suggests a rising consciousness among politicians of the dangers of some kinds of programmes and interactions for their collective image. The private channel TF1 had recorded a pilot of a new programme called 36 heures. The basic idea was to invite a politician to spend two days with an ordinary French family, putting them in contact with what TF1 is accustomed to calling ‘real people’ (les vrais gens). On the grounds that the proposed programme reinforced the view of politicians as members of an elite, completely ignorant of the lives of ordinary French citizens, Prime Minister Raffarin forbade his ministers to take part. Most leaders on the left also took this view. In the end the series was never commissioned.

[2] I have being studying politics on television since 1987 and I cannot remember a single case study which has not included statements from journalists or programme companies claiming that they had invented the magic formula which is able to make politicians tell the truth and be true to their ‘real selves’.