The announcement of the opening of the TV5 channel’s capital to African countries has caused much debate in Africa and France in recent days. The news has been presented in such a way that African countries will put their hands in their pockets to finance the international channel, which is said to be a vector of the “France-Africa propaganda”. In Senegal, social networks are abuzz with the news that the new President, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, is among the African heads of state who will be signing the cheques.  The current shareholders of this channel, created in 1984, include France, Canada (Quebec), Switzerland, Belgium and Monaco. These countries are represented in the channel through their public television channels and other structures in the broadcasting sector.

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The channel’s annual budget is around 145 million euros. The seven African countries canvassed to become shareholders are expected to contribute a total of 4.2 million euros. The modus operandi will be a form of tontine, with each country contributing 600,000 euros. This means that Africans will be a long way from providing for the chain’s needs! The target countries are Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Congo, Benin, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Cameroon and Gabon. With the exception of Bassirou Diomaye Faye, TV5 officials have completed meetings with the heads of state of these countries, who have given their approval to the project. TV5, which has made the request, is still awaiting an audience with the Senegalese head of state.

A project already proposed to Macky Sall

In December 2023, the idea of opening up TV5’s capital to African countries, put forward since 2022, by Yves Bigot, TV5’s French CEO, was approved. The director of TV5 Afrique, Denise Epoté, talked to President Macky Sall. Senegal was the first country targeted, but the electoral context no doubt meant that the authorities of the State and the Radio-Television Senegalaise (Rts) had their minds on other things. TV5 toured other countries. President Denis Sassou Nguesso, for example, proposed subscribing to all the shares intended for African countries, and thus paying the annual sum of 4.2 million euros. This would give the Congo a permanent seat on the Board of Directors, instead of rotating annually between the seven African shareholder countries. In a way, this is the model for the common shareholding of many African countries in multilateral institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

President Patrice Talon also made a counter-proposal for Benin, which TV5 declined, as it was keen to ensure the diversity of this representation, which was meant to be symbolic. Benin also negotiated a partnership with TV5 in the field of film production, as has the Democratic Republic of Congo for technical support for its national television. Senegal, for its part, has not yet agreed to take a share in TV5’s capital, but Racine Talla, former Director General of RTS, already forged a partnership with TV5 for the training of several cohorts of interns. Presently, a third group of around ten trainees are on the TV5 premises in Paris. In addition, the partnership proposed by TV5 will include the broadcasting of programs from national television partners and a co-production component. In a way, the sums donated by these countries will go back into these programs. The scheme seems to be based on a symbiosis of those of the Union of African National radio and televisions (Urtna) and Canal France International (Cfi).

Senegal more legitimate than any other country for a seat on TV5

Senegal was certainly TV5’s preferred target for opening up its capital to African countries. Negotiations to convince President Macky Sall had begun, but the initiative came up against a certain reluctance or a real lack of interest on Senegal’s part. The priority offer was made to Senegal, and I can say that I myself had to have a word with President Sall to persuade him. Indeed, Rwanda was very interested, but the fact that the Secretary General of the International Organisation of the Francophonie (Oif), Louise Mushikiwabo, who oversees TV5 to some extent, is from Rwanda, didn’t make TV5 too keen to give the country a seat. President Kagamé’s interest was not satisfied, and even Rwanda and Togo, which were originally approached, were rejected in the new offer to several African countries. It has to be said that the geopolitical context in the Great Lakes region also made a joint partnership between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo difficult. Togo, for its part, is in open conflict with TV5 over disputes linked to mistreatment suffered by some of the channel’s journalists in Lomé.

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Senegal, with its democratic model and the state of media rights and freedoms, has major advantages over many other countries. And then there’s history! The country of Léopold Sédar Senghor and Abdou Diouf symbolizes, more than any other, the ideal of the Francophonie in the world. What’s more, President Abdou Diouf was behind the creation of TV5 Afrique at the Francophonie Summit in Dakar in 1989. Mactar Sylla was the first director of TV5 Afrique (1992-1998). When he left the channel, there was talk of replacing him with another Senegalese citizen, but President Diouf didn’t want TV5 Afrique to become a Senegalese preserve. So, he encouraged the appointment of Cameroonian journalist Denise Epoté, Mactar Sylla’s deputy.

The winning move that Diomaye Faye could play
It is evident that President Faye is being falsely accused of being a “supporter of neo-colonialism” or a “supporter of France” by having his country acquire a stake in TV5. The entry into the channel’s capital of certain countries whose leaders appear to be autocrats, provokes the ire of many journalists and media organizations. On the other hand, the possible arrival of Senegal is viewed favorably by TV5’s editorial staff. This positive favoritism would strengthen President Bassirou Diomaye Faye’s negotiating position. It may therefore seem appropriate for him to make a counter-proposal to request a greater Senegalese presence on the channel’s Board of Directors.

We know that some French authorities were receptive to the idea of leaving shares to Senegal, following the arrival of the Principality of Monaco in 2021, via Monte Carlo Riviera. The Principality holds 5.25% of the capital. France, through a number of public entities, holds a 63.16% stake in TV5, distributed as follows: France Télévisions (46.42%), France-Médias Monde (11.97%), Arte France (3.12%) and 1.65% to the National French Institute of Broadcasting (Ina). The fact remains that Macky Sall’s regime did not seem to perceive the stakes involved in acquiring shares in TV5’s capital. A seat on the Board of Directors also gives you the right to take part in the Conference of Ministers, which brings together the ministers responsible for TV5 from the channel’s shareholder governments, and in the TV5 Monde-Afrique Cooperation Council.

Senegal will gain a great deal of visibility on an international channel that is available and followed in 421 million homes in 200 countries and territories. The new Director General of Rts, Pape Alé Niang, would be well-advised to invest in this opportunity. Surely, paying 4.2 million euros a year on a national scale would cost far less than all the institutional advertising costs on the international scene. It is in this spirit of seeking to make a country attractive that Rwanda, for example, pays 34 million euros for the “Visit Rwanda” inscription on the jersey of London soccer club Arsenal for 3 years. However, the “France bashing” currently taking place on certain social networks may dissuade many African leaders from getting closer to anything that could link them to France.

By shouting scandal and hurling insults against African leaders, certain influencers, who act on behalf of other foreign powers, manage to dissuade others. But do Russian, Chinese, Qatari, Turkish, Indian or American media open their capital to African political, cultural or economic elites? It’s also worth noting that, as if by chance, African activists don’t question the presence of Arab news channels with a particular, unequivocal agenda for Africa, and Senegal in particular, as well as the Russian media’s coverage of African news with a propagandist approach and a very obvious undermining agenda. The presence of influential capital from Africa is an absolute necessity if the continent is to make its mark on the global media scene. President Oumar Bongo of Gabon understood this with the radio channel Africa Numéro 1, which was very successful but whose business model was not viable. The same flaws got the better of the pan-African news agency Pana, and are revealing the difficulties of Africa 24. In Europe, Hungarian leader Viktor Orban had the flair to get his hands on Euronews to secure real media influence.

By Madiambal DIAGNE / mdiagne@lequotidien.sn 

  • Translation by Ndey T. SOSSEH / Serigne S. DIAGNE