In the presence of Jean-Marc Morandini on air, Europe 1 was forced to isolate its second-year interns

What to do with high school interns when a sex offender happens to be an employee of the newsroom? This isn't the start of a bad joke, but rather the question Europe 1 has been grappling with since it reopened its doors to Jean-Marc Morandini. This week, the station is welcoming second-year interns, while the host returned to the station on Friday, June 6, as a stand-in for Cyril Hanouna. What was supposed to be a one-off stint has turned into a long-term replacement, with the host of Touche pas à mon poste absent for "personal reasons."

On Tuesday, the journalist was once again at the helm of the program "On marche sur la tête" (On marche sur la tête) . This is a source of concern for the parents of the interns and the editorial staff, as the journalist was sentenced, on appeal, to a two-year suspended prison sentence and a €20,000 fine for corruption of minors. This sentence is accompanied by an entry in the register of perpetrators of sexual offenses and a ban on practicing a profession involving contact with minors.

Europe 1, owned by Breton billionaire Vincent Bolloré since 2021 , has found the solution to the puzzle: install the second-year interns in a room on the mezzanine. A decision announced by the company's social committee (CSE) on Sunday, June 15, which had inquired with management about the "measures taken" to allow cohabitation between the interns and Jean-Marc Morandini. "We were told early this afternoon that these interns will be placed under the responsibility of tutors. […] They will be installed in the "Tropicale" room on floor 0 with different workshops per day. A visit to the studios will be carried out tomorrow morning," details the email sent to all employees.

Management therefore ensured that the high school students did not encounter Jean-Marc Morandini during their morning visit, even though the program he presents is broadcast from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. According to a group employee, union representatives were "assured that Morandini would not be in contact with the interns" during a meeting organized with Arnaud Lagardère, vice-president of Louis Hachette Group, which owns Europe 1. "We hide the children, but not the sex offenders," an employee complained to Mediapart .

Having arrived at the radio station in 2003, the journalist was fired in July 2016 following revelations by Les Inrockuptibles . The investigation into "the practices of Jean-Marc Morandini" described how the presenter took advantage of a casting for a web series about the daily life of a football team, the Faucons , which he produced, to ask actors to undress. Between 2013 and 2016, he is accused of having sent messages with sexual connotations to two 15-year-olds. He had engaged the first on sexual scenarios and asked the second to send him a nude photo. The presenter had also asked, in 2009, a 16-year-old adolescent to undress and masturbate during an audition for a film, produced by his production company, which never saw the light of day. Sentenced to a suspended prison sentence in both cases, Jean-Marc Morandini announced that he intends to appeal to the Court of Cassation.