https://www.lemonde.fr/en/opinion/article/2026/02/06/we-journalists-of-agence-france-presse-believe-management-s-plan-would-lead-to-our-complete-demise_6750227_23.html
Feb 09, 2026
‘We, journalists of Agence France-Presse, believe management’s plan would lead to our complete demise’
AFP’s journalists’ association
In an effort to cut costs, Agence France-Presse (AFP) management wants to reduce the number of expatriate positions by two-thirds. The reform, which would spell the end of staff mobility, would result in the loss of the agency’s network, warns the AFP’s journalists’ association.
Published on February 6, 2026, at 4:45 pm (Paris) 3 min read Lire en français
Today, behind the acronym AFP, which readers find at the bottom of thousands of articles on the web and in the newspapers worldwide, without always fully understanding what it stands for, behind those three letters mentionned in passing during news flashes on radio and television broadcasts, or appearing under the photos that illustrate the news, lies a global network of several hundred journalists, driven by an ambition to offer their clients the fastest and most reliable information possible.
AFP has forged its strength from its unique perspective on the world, enriched by the six languages it operates in. This unifying force is a diverse and shared vision, regardless of the nationality of its journalists.
As a wholesaler of news, AFP sells its wires, photos, videos, live coverage, fact-checks and infographics to thousands of clients worldwide, the vast majority of whom are other media outlets that value our unique perspective, our rigor, and our independence.
AFP is facing financial difficulties, like many media organisations. To cut costs, management wants to undermine its very foundation and strength: the mobility of its journalists throughout its global network. Because it believes AFP can no longer afford this, it wants to reduce by two-thirds the number of expatriate positions that last three to five years.
Shortsighted plan
Only 80 to 90 positions would retain the financial support (housing, schooling for children, travel, etc.) they currently receive, while the others would be subject to significantly less advantageous local conditions (contracts under the law of the country, salaries, social protection, retirement, etc..).
The strength of the AFP network lies in the synergy between local and expatriate journalists: the in-depth expertise of the former combined with the fresh perspective of the latter and their mastery of in-house know-how. Expatriates are a key element in this balance. They help spread the company culture within the offices and protect their colleagues from pressure by local authorities, particularly in countries with authoritarian regimes.
Reducing the number of expatriates by more than two-thirds (from 270 to 80) will dangerously weaken foreign offices and undermine the principle of journalist mobility. How can you believe that drastically reducing their compensation packages will convince as many journalists to go abroad in the future? How can you believe that, in return, local salaries will be increased, given that management has set itself the objective of making savings?
More seriously, by effectively killing mobility, this reform will cause the agency’s network to collapse – a network in which management is also considering merging bureaus, with the risk of becoming detached from the field, at a time when being close to what is happening has never been more important.
We are obviously aware of the financial difficulties that AFP is facing, like all players in the sector. But we believe that management’s short-sighted plan – driven solely by accounting considerations, would lead to our complete demise.
Without a strategy or a vision for the future, the Agency might stabilise its finances, but its integrity and purpose will die. If what constitutes the very essence of AFP is diluted or disappears, what added value will we have compared to our competitors?
The French state helps fund our international network in the name of our public service mission. If we turn our backs on who we are, there is a real danger that this public funding will diminish or even disappear.
As news agency reporters, we work behind the scenes, in the shadow; our names are not in the spotlight. We have only one ambition: to inform, and keep informing; to be on the ground everywhere; to go where others do not go or no longer go.
Today, given the gravity of the situation, we are appealing for the support of all our clients –media outlets, institutions, NGOs, businesses – of all those committed to maintaining the only international news agency of French and European origin in this world where information has become a battlefield.
AFP’s journalists’ association, with the support of all trade union organizations (SNJ, SNJ-CGT, FO, SUD, CFDT, CFE-CGC, CFTC) and employee representatives on the AFP board of directors.
AFP’s journalists’ association
Translation of an original article published in French on lemonde.fr; the publisher may only be liable for the French version.
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