Pierre Ménès accuses L’Equipe of damaging its evening show

Pierre Ménès has accused L’Equipe’s management of weakening L’Equipe du Soir through its latest overhaul, warning that the changes could help justify ending the programme if its audience drops. His criticism adds pressure around the future of one of the channel’s best-known football shows.

The programme returned in late August with only four regular commentators after the departure of Johan Micoud and most of the long-standing panel. New faces, including Nicole Abar, were brought in, while the show initially removed its customary “rivière” and duels before restoring them after complaints from regular viewers. It is presented by Olivier Ménard.

Ménès said he had only watched extracts online and no longer considered the programme worth following. He also challenged the decision to have equal numbers of men and women discussing men’s football, arguing that the format would damage viewing figures. He believes the channel’s management could later point to falling audiences as the reason for cancelling the show, despite having created the conditions for that decline.

No audience figures have been released for the programme’s return. Its future had already been questioned in March, when the possibility of an end after the 2026 World Cup was raised because its audience had fallen substantially in recent years. The show has remained on air, but its long-term position is still uncertain.