Close to Pigasse and supporter of Macron, Pascal Houzelot indicted for the resale for €70 million of a TNT channel obtained for free

According to Mediapart , Pascal Houzelot , a former lobbyist at the heart of the PAF, close to Mathieu Pigasse and a vocal supporter of Emmanuel Macron , was indicted in January 2025 for active influence peddling, fraud and breach of trust . He is accused of having resold the Numéro 23 channel for more than 70 million euros , a TNT frequency that had been allocated to him free of charge by the CSA in 2012 .

The judicial investigation, launched following a complaint by Fiducial Médias (Sud Radio) , has revealed many disturbing elements. From the outset, Houzelot is said to have sought to maximize his short-term profits , relying on a facade editorial project around diversity, supported by investors such as Xavier Niel, Bernard Arnault, Jean-Charles Naouri and Pigasse .

The investigation is exploring in particular the abnormal reduction in the legal period before resale , possibly obtained with the help of members of the CSA. Testimonies collected by a parliamentary commission of inquiry indicate that pressure was exerted to force competing projects, such as Urb TV by Luc Besson and Yassine Belattar , to withdraw in favor of Houzelot.

In 2015, the CSA suspended the sale, citing an “abuse of rights tainted by fraud,” but Houzelot won his case before the Council of State and finally collected the sale , estimated at between 70 and 75 million euros . He then invested in a chic restaurant in the 7th arrondissement and a luxury villa in Menorca .