French anchor Léa Salamé steps back from primetime news as partner runs for president

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Journalist Léa Salamé said she will temporarily step down from her role anchoring French public television’s primetime news broadcast, the 20h, while her romantic partner, the MEP Raphaël Glucksmann, runs for the French presidency.

“The 20h is a strategic platform where interviews with the candidates and campaign reports will be among the highlights of the coming year,” Salamé said in an Instagram post on Monday announcing her decision. “Wherever the campaign takes place, I’ll step aside. Everywhere else, I am and will remain a journalist.”

Since taking her seat in the anchor’s chair of the 20h on France TV, Salamé has faced questions over the potential conflict of interest if Glucksmann, who has long signaled his presidential ambitions, were to join the race to replace Emmanuel Macron next year. Glucksmann announced his candidacy Sunday on TF1, France TV’s main competitor when it comes to the evening news.

Asked if he and Salamé, who have been together for more than a decade, discussed his potential candidacy, Glucksmann said he understood what his presidential bid meant “for my loved ones and especially my partner.”

“As with any couple, when one person’s decision has such a strong impact on the other’s life, we had long conversations,” Glucksmann told TF1.

Though France has a history of high-profile working journalists engaged in relationships with politicians, Salamé said at a parliamentary hearing in February that she would step aside if Glucksmann ran for president.

And during the last two European elections, when Glucksmann led the center-left Socialist Party’s list, Salamé recused herself from political coverage while co-hosting public radio France Inter’s morning news show.

Salamé said that her decision, which was taken in coordination with management, was “both obvious and difficult.”

“Obvious, because it stems from the strict code of ethics I have always imposed upon myself,” she said. “Difficult, because I love the news program we have built together night after night for the past year.”