France 2: why Thomas Sotto withdraws from “Élysée 2022” – LCI

A romance that changes everything. Thomas Sotto will no longer present “Élysée 2022, the political program of France 2. The journalist explained his decision, during an interview with the Parisian this Sunday, November 7, through the romantic relationship he has with the Prime Minister’s communications advisor, Jean Castex.

“A personal event, which I do not wish to develop, because it concerns my private life, pushes me to make a simple and clear decision. During the presidential campaign, I have chosen to withdraw from Élysée 2022”, he said daily.

Until then co-host of this political meeting on France 2 with Léa Salamé, Thomas Sotto evokes a “difficult decision and, in a way, quite unfair”. “But I must take into account our time, which has become very violent and which tends to hysterize everything”, he said with fatalism, considering this withdrawal “inevitable”. Establish a bond of trust with the French “takes time. It is built up little by little, while mistrust comes at lightning speed”, he argues.

On the other hand, the journalist will continue to host “Télématin” and to replace Laurent Delahousse at the 20 Hours newspaper during his holidays. “Ditto for France Inter, but I did not intend to receive presidential candidates there anyway. On the other hand, according to the same logic, I will no longer do the morning political interview ‘Les 4 Vérités’ when Caroline Roux is on vacation “, he specifies. “My only consolation is to be the first man to step aside for a woman, whereas, until now, it was always them who were asked to stay at home”, he slips, by way of conclusion.

Before him, Béatrice Schönberg, wife of Jean-Louis Borloo, had stopped presenting the 8pm newspaper on France 2 during the 2007 presidential campaign. Audrey Pulvar, then in a relationship with Arnaud Montebourg, had withdrawn from programs which she presented when her companion became minister in 2012. And Léa Salamé had also stopped political interviews when her companion, Raphaël Glucksmann, was a candidate during the European campaign in 2019.