In an interview with Belgian website Télépro, Claire Chazal revealed new details about her departure from the 8pm newspaper on TF1 in 2015.

The man who now leads the antenna group France Télévisions, and who has been replaced by Anne-Claire Coudray on the first channel, admits to having “deeply experienced” TF1’s absence. A chain that he considers an integral part of his life. “That is my family, I am very free and happy. When you have to stop, it’s a shock. I’m not going to stop myself,” he confessed to Telepro.

In the days following his departure, Claire Chazal recalls having found some comfort in the audience which, for the first time, benefited France 2. She also revealed that her dismissal was motivated by personal reasons. “The crowd was right, we were ahead of France 2. The weekend after my departure, France 2 was in front of TF1, it made me smile. I was arrested for personal reasons, it’s hostility from a personal point of view.”

Always loyal to 20H TF1

Claire Chazal made another astounding belief during this interview, stating that she continues, even today, to keep up with the TF1 newscast. “I apologize to Laurent Delahousse, who I really like, but I watched the one from TF1!” he said. Can he one day take over the reins of television news? Journalists don’t think so.

“I can’t believe that the generalist channel would offer me to present an 8 p.m. show. I’m not interested in anything other than a 20 hour diary that lets you tell a story with files, references, historical perspective. It’s the quiet of 8pm that interests me, not permanent information. I can’t believe that I’d be offered an 8 p.m. presentation like this,” he underlined.

Claire Chazal also mentions the end of her career, and the possibility, one day, of taking a well-deserved retirement. A prospect that he had not been able to consider to this day. “I don’t have a date, I will never go. I want to do this to the end, until I can do it,” he said.