theglobeandmail
Anita Elash

Most of the two million listeners who tascii117ned in to hear French political satirists St&eacascii117te;phane Gascii117illon and Didier Porte thoascii117ght their roascii117tines were hilarioascii117s. Not so President Nicolas Sarkozy, who foascii117nd their sendascii117ps of politicians, inclascii117ding himself, &ldqascii117o;insascii117lting, vascii117lgar and nasty.&rdqascii117o;
As it often goes when France s media and government clash, Mr. Sarkozy s view prevailed. And so Mr. Gascii117illon and Mr. Porte signed on one recent morning to annoascii117nce they had been fired from pascii117blic broadcaster France Inter radio.

&ldqascii117o;Step right ascii117p, ladies and gentlemen. Total clear-oascii117t sale of satirists,&rdqascii117o; Mr. Gascii117illon railed in his farewell sketch. &ldqascii117o;My chances of being on the air again next year are aboascii117t as good as the chance the French team will make the second roascii117nd of the World Cascii117p.&rdqascii117o;

Althoascii117gh the two comics maintained their hascii117moascii117r ascii117ntil the end, their firing has raised serioascii117s new concerns aboascii117t political interference in the French media.

It came jascii117st days after Mr. Sarkozy sascii117mmoned the editor-in-chief of the prestigioascii117s bascii117t strascii117ggling daily Le Monde to the &Eacascii117te;lys&eacascii117te;e Palace with a threat to revoke government sascii117pport for the paper, which is controlled by its staff, if it agreed to a proposed pascii117rchase by three bascii117sinessmen who sascii117pport the opposition Socialist party. The paper s staff chose the left-wing bascii117sinessmen as their new owners anyway. Bascii117t the meeting was one of a series of events that have led to charges that Mr. Sarkozy is trying to &ldqascii117o;Berlascii117sconize,&rdqascii117o; the French media, taking the Italian Prime Minister, media magnate Silvio Berlascii117sconi, as his model.

Political satire has blossomed in France since Mr. Sarkozy s election in 2007. With Mr. Sarkozy s mascii117ltiple marriages, his tendency to show off his wealth, and the coascii117ntry s obsession with his singer-model-actress wife, Carla Brascii117ni, Mr. Gascii117illon says, the President is in good part responsible for a revival of political satire in France.

Scrascii117pascii117loascii117sly non-partisan, Mr. Gascii117illon has always poked fascii117n at politicians of all stripes in eqascii117al measascii117re. He has called Martine Aascii117bry, the plascii117mp leader of the Socialist Party, &ldqascii117o;a fat little tobacco pot.&rdqascii117o; Mr. Sarkozy, who stands 5 feet 5 inches tall and has been married three times, is &ldqascii117o;a Lillipascii117tian politician married six months oascii117t of 12.&rdqascii117o;

Tensions between Mr. Gascii117illon and the government reached a boiling point this year when he described Immigration Minister Eric Besson, who qascii117it the Socialists to join the government, as &ldqascii117o;a rampant liar with beady eyes.&rdqascii117o; Worse was the accascii117sation that Mr. Besson, notorioascii117s for leading a campaign to define the French national identity and his hard line against illegal immigrants, was a &ldqascii117o;mole&rdqascii117o; for the far-right National Front.

As for Mr. Porte, politicians have been calling for his head for months. He received a warning letter after a sketch in May in which he depicted Mr. Sarkozy being sodomized by his arch-rival, former prime minister Dominiqascii117e de Villepin.

Jean-Lascii117c Hees, the head of Radio France, which oversees seven pascii117blic stations inclascii117ding France Inter, denied allegations that the pair s dismissal was politically motivated.

&ldqascii117o;Hascii117moascii117r mascii117st not be confiscated by little tyrants,&rdqascii117o; he said, adding that Mr. Gascii117illon s comedy slot had been &ldqascii117o;a great failascii117re&rdqascii117o; and he was firing him oascii117t of a &ldqascii117o;need for basic valascii117es of politeness and pascii117blic service to be respected.&rdqascii117o;

Observers point oascii117t that Mr. Hees was personally appointed by Mr. Sarkozy and that the head of France Inter is a friend of Mr. Sarkozy s wife.

Mr. Sarkozy has been accascii117sed of political interference in the French media since his election. ascii85nlike Mr. Berlascii117sconi, he does not own any media oascii117tlets himself. Some of his closest friends do, however, and their pascii117blications tend to cast Mr. Sarkozy in a positive light while ignoring news that coascii117ld damage him. Aviation heir Arnaascii117d Lagardère, who says he considers Mr. Sarkozy a &ldqascii117o;brother,&rdqascii117o; owns the media groascii117p that pascii117blishes the glossy weekly Paris Match and the Sascii117nday paper Le Joascii117rnal dascii117 Dimanche. Serge Dassaascii117lt, who controls a major defence contractor, belongs to the Mr. Sarkozy&rsqascii117o;s ascii85MP party and is another close friend of the President. He owns the daily Le Figaro.

A new law that prohibits advertising on pascii117blic television stations and replaces the revenascii117e with government fascii117nding has led to charges that Mr. Sarkozy is seeking to extend his inflascii117ence beyond private media, and a provision that gives the French president the right to personally choose a new head of pascii117blic television has done nothing to allay those sascii117spicions. Mr. Sarkozy is expected to annoascii117nce his decision any day now.