An interview with Mohamed Kaci, the news presenter of “64’ Le Monde en français”

How is Le Monde en français different from other television news shows?

Our goal is to provide a transversal, Francophone perspective. To accomplish this, we choose societal subjects – such as end-of-life care – and compare approaches in Belgium, Switzerland, France, Quebec, and even Francophone Africa. That enables us to have an overall editorial policy and to cover each of the five continents. For example, we regularly discuss New Orleans and have a large audience in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. We want to tell stories that stand out from the constant rolling news footage, to take our time, take a step back, and make connections between the world’s different regions. In my opinion, the fact we are not focused exclusively on France is a major selling point that helps us expand our perspectives. 

How do you manage to find enough Francophone stories?

It’s a real challenge which has pushed us to think and work differently. We rely on our partner channels and look for connections. For instance, we discuss Airbus, which is headquartered in Blagnac in France, and cover events in Wuhan by talking with local Francophone doctors and examining collaborations between French and Chinese laboratories. Since the show began seven years ago, we have given a lot of air time to the terrorist attacks in France and Belgium, and to the Francophones who have left to fight the jihad… More recently, we have covered the apology offered by the King of Belgium and the polemic about statues.

Your show also stands out through its original guests. How do you choose them?

The idea is to tell stories, to present figures in the flesh, such as a Syrian doctor who has fled his country, or someone who has been affected by the current crisis. We portray different destinies with a little more humanity than the traditional press. It is just as natural to have interviewed French economist Thomas Piketty as a former prisoner who had spent many years in jail, and who now campaigns to abolish life sentences. I just try to avoid interviewing “specialty specialists.”

Have any of your guests left a lasting memory?

I interviewed American historian and bread expert Seven Kaplan. He arrived in France with nothing, and moved to Ivry – which is where I was born! He had an incredible story, and I brought him a baguette from my town for the show. I also received a very elderly lady, Elaine Mokhtefi, a Jewish New Yorker who had married an Algerian author. She had supported the National Liberation Army in Algeria and worked as a translator for the Black Panthers.

How have you adapted to the pandemic?

At the start, we continued the newsflash segments with images edited from home. I then started presenting a reduced, 18-minute show on 18 May. We slowly increased the running time to 26 minutes before restoring the original format on July 6. It was strange; the makeup artist had to wear a mask, goggles, and a visor. Meanwhile, we have continued working with our correspondents across the world so they can tell us what is happening where they are.

The pandemic has totally changed our methods; we now rely on remote working and the use of software for live interviews. It has been a really surreal time, and there are still challenges to be faced. The world has been shaken up and new forms of solidarity have appeared, which is exactly what we are trying to show.

Which major subjects will you be covering in the coming months?

The fiftieth summit of the International Organization of La Francophonie – a major event for our show – was supposed to be held in the fall but was postponed until 2021. We will of course cover the development of the pandemic, along with international politics and different elections in the Francophone world. Unfortunately, in September everything will depend on the economic and financial context – we are being warned of the biggest recession since World War II. Just like in 2008, our economy segments will become more prominent. Not to offer theories, but rather to shed light on these issues. Last but not least, Brexit will be the main story we will be covering in Europe.