France Pierron suspended from L'Équipe following childbirth comments controversy

France Pierron has been suspended from L’Équipe following the controversy caused by her comments made on the show L’Équipe de Choc, in which she stated that a father did not necessarily have a place during his partner’s childbirth. These statements were made in reaction to Belgian winger Jérémy Doku’s wish to leave the World Cup to attend the birth of his first child.

In a second statement published Monday evening — after an initial one released Sunday — the group reaffirmed that the presenter’s remarks “do not reflect the values of respect, responsibility and excellence that guide L’Équipe”. The management nevertheless sought to distinguish its editorial condemnation from the support it intends to provide to its employee in the face of online reactions: “L’Équipe Group condemns in the strongest terms the cyberhassment campaign, insults and threats to which our journalist has been subjected. No disagreement can justify such behaviour.”

“In order to allow a calm examination of this situation”, France Pierron will not be on air “in the coming days”. Pierre Bouby will replace her until July 3, marking the end of the show’s season. According to Le Parisien, the journalist has also been called in by human resources for a meeting scheduled for June 30. The newspaper notes, however, that “her future at the company is not in question”.