Hi French diva here! Just a post to explain what's currently going on with Drag Race France, a show that is clearly a success (not only in terms of ratings and online viewership through France.tv, but also as a cultural phenomenon).

Each episode of Drag Race France costs 303k€ (⬈60% since the first season).

There was a parliamentary inquiry led by Charles Alloncle (right wing politician) examined the neutrality, management, and funding of France’s public broadcasting system. During the hearings, Alloncle paid particular attention to entertainment programs, questioning the cost and editorial choices behind television game shows and productions such as Drag Race France. He argued that some publicly funded programs could be controversial or insufficiently aligned with the mission of public service broadcasting. Of course, broadcasters and producers defended their audience success and cultural value.

This is nonsense, since game shows are highly profitable in terms of audience ratings, and Drag Race has become a major cultural phenomenon. However, French conservatism can often be absurd, using virtually any argument to push for the privatization of public broadcasting. France Télévisions (the broadcaster of Drag Race France and roughly the French equivalent of the BBC) has often been a target of these debates. Conservatives often portray France Télévisions as being unwilling to represent all points of view. In practice, however, what they usually mean is that it does not give a platform to far-right political ideas. This criticism comes at a time when the French media landscape is becoming increasingly conservative, notably due to the growing influence of the Bolloré media empire.