Paris
France broke a racial barrier this week when a black man anchored the prime-time news on the main commercial television channel. Harry Roselmack is filling in for channel TF1’s regular anchor, who’s on vacation until the end of August. French newspapers treated the event as a major milestone, describing Roselmack as “gorgeous,” “talented,” and “full-lipped, with the face of a pharaoh.” Smaller French channels have used black anchors in the past, but only during non-prime-time newscasts. TF1’s 8 p.m. newscast draws 9 million viewers every night, nearly half of the French viewing public. Roselmack tried to downplay the hoopla. “When I do interviews, I am neither black nor white, neither man nor woman,” he told Le Figaro. “I am a journalist.”
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Having a mayor: Starmer's struggles with devolved leadersTalking Point Andy Burnham made public criticisms of the Labour government policies without specifically naming Keir Starmer or Rachel Reeves
-
Why is Nasa facing a crisis?Today's Big Question Trump administration proposes 25% cut to national space agency's budget in 'extinction-level event'
-
The 50-year battle for Western SaharaThe Explainer UK is latest country to back Moroccan plan to end decades-long dispute with Algerian-backed Polisario Front
