Pascal Praud, host of the flagship show 'L’Heure des pros' on CNews, has become the iconic face of Vincent Bolloré's ultra-conservative media empire. Ignoring warnings from Arcom, he surrounds himself with increasingly radical guests, propelling the channel to the top of ratings in 2025 with a 3.4% audience share.
Pascal Praud has undergone a notable transformation over the years. In October 2001, as a sports reporter on TF1, he commented moderately on the pitch invasion during the France-Algeria match at the Stade de France: 'Il ne faut pas dramatiser. C’est une poignée de quelques spectateurs (...). La grande majorité du public, beaucoup de jeunes Français originaires d’Algérie, avait envie de chanter les deux hymnes, ensemble.'
Twenty-five years later, the 60-year-old host stirs passions. Since 2017, he has led 'L’Heure des pros', aired in the morning from 9 to 10:30 a.m. and evening from 8 to 9 p.m. on CNews. The show set a record with 720,000 viewers on October 8, 2025, for the morning segment. The evening edition sometimes exceeds a million viewers, contributing to the channel's dominance.
Praud tells Le Monde that 'cette émission, on la fait à deux', referring to Marine Lançon, his editor for nine years. Yet, he is surrounded by columnists mostly from the right or far right. A recent selfie with a fan in Paris's 7th arrondissement highlights his image as a 'savior of the homeland' for some, who say: 'Heureusement que vous êtes là. Vive la France, vive la patrie!'
Despite repeated warnings from Arcom, the audiovisual regulator, Praud persists, strengthening CNews's role as a platform for radical voices within the Bolloré empire.
