France Télévisions removes La Grande Librairie replay following Adèle Haenel speech on Gaza

Removal of the broadcast replay

France Télévisions removed the full replay of the literary program La Grande Librairie from its france.tv platform on 10 September at approximately 10:30 am. The episode, hosted by Augustin Trapenard on France 5, originally aired live on Wednesday evening, 9 September. César-winning actress and author Adèle Haenel, who previously brought abuse allegations against director Christophe Ruggia, appeared as the primary guest on the broadcast. She attended to present her debut novel, Viser juste, published by Éditions L'Arche, which portrays the transformation of a child tracing their own disappearance through life and art. At the conclusion of the broadcast, Haenel delivered a solo segment titled "Droit dans les yeux," in which she addressed the war in Gaza.

Haenel's remarks on Gaza and sexual violence

During the closing segment, Haenel drew parallels between the silence surrounding gender-based and sexual violence and the public discourse regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Speaking directly to the camera, the 37-year-old author criticized what she described as television silence engulfing the country regarding military actions in the Palestinian territories.

“It is necessary to speak to repeat what is in this silence, so that everyone hears it: the State of Israel is committing a genocide in Palestine and France is complicit.”

Haenel concluded her monologue by urging viewers to reject the ongoing violence, calling for sanctions against Israel and the liberation of Palestine.

Broadcaster justification and regulatory review

France Télévisions defended the withdrawal on 11 September in comments to AFP and Télérama, stating that the action constituted a precautionary measure rather than censorship. The public broadcaster indicated that it received multiple referrals and complaints regarding the broadcast. Management stated that under the network's strict charter requirements, Haenel's statements lacked opposing viewpoints to counterbalance her perspective during the live broadcast. The network suspended the complete replay pending an evaluation by Arcom, the French regulatory authority for audiovisual and digital communication.

“There is no censorship.”

The broadcaster added that Haenel spoke freely about her book during the main discussion and was chosen among all guests to deliver the concluding carte blanche.

Political reactions and public responses

The deletion provoked responses across the French political spectrum. Left-wing representatives, including Socialist politician Olivier Faure, Communist Party senator Ian Brossat, and members of La France insoumise, condemned the removal as censorship on public television.

“The principle of a carte blanche is to give the floor. Are there forbidden viewpoints? Were there remarks that constituted an offense? In the absence of justification, this suppression is a shame.”

Conversely, National Rally deputy Julien Odoul criticized Haenel's appearance, stating that she relayed Hamas propaganda without nuance or contradiction. Following the removal, Haenel commented on Instagram that she had recorded her screen during the broadcast anticipating that France 5 might pull her segment, though she had not anticipated the deletion of the full episode. She noted that the removal also silenced other authors who participated in the panel discussion, asserting that France Télévisions demonstrated the very prohibition against specific topics that she had addressed.