"I'm having a blast, I was very well received": Nice's Bertrand Chameroy joins the France Inter morning show with a spicy column linked to current events

This isn't the first time we've spoken to Bertrand Chameroy, the local figure of the stage, as they say in cycling jargon. Born in Nice, where he studied, the Côte d'Azur native is a local figure we've been following closely for several years.

It's been five years since the columnist joined the C à vous crew, France 5's flagship prime-time show featuring Anne-Elisabeth Lemoine. This fall, the columnist has added another string to his bow: a daily column on Nicolas Demorand's France Inter morning show, the most-watched morning slot in France, no less.

Last spring, while the incumbent, Matthieu Noël, was on paternity leave, Bertrand Chameroy tried his hand at the role for six weeks. It was a resounding success. So, for this fall, the radio station decided to continue the adventure with the Nice native.

"I'm having a blast, I was very well received," he says from the outset. "I had fun during my interim in the spring and I didn't hesitate for long when France Inter offered me the chance to do the season with them, you'd have to be crazy to refuse the first morning show in France ." (laughs) Every morning, he takes over from Benjamin Duhamel's interview to bounce back after 7:50.

A stylistic exercise

It's not an easy exercise in style, but one that Chameroy masters to perfection. "I try to adapt right up until the last minute, to bounce back from the interview even if my column is written in advance. I can't come and freeze the atmosphere by being off the mark; you have to find the right tone," he explains. For that, his working method is well-oiled.

"Once I know the guest's name, I start my research on him and I go to bed with the idea, I never write the day before but I have already written my article in my head. The night takes its effect and I write the same day, it is possible that I change version several times before going on air." While he had made his debut on Europe 1 before shining on television, Bertrand Chameroy was madly eager to return to the airwaves.

"It's like riding a bike, you never forget it. On television, I make introductions with two or three jokes and I launch the images, on radio we use more formal writing, where the words are important. I always manage to get away with a pirouette on the radio, even if the tone is solemn, you have to find the right one."

Having to comment on the news morning and evening, Chameroy has to make sure he doesn't "recycle" jokes. "I have people who listen to France Inter and watch C à vous , and since I comment on the news, I have to make sure I approach the subjects from two different angles. Unfortunately, at the moment, the political world is an inexhaustible source of inspiration, we are sometimes in pure parody, as if the real world had joined the parody articles of Gorafi, " he continues.

Like many of his colleagues, Bertrand Chameroy struggles to listen to and/or observe himself. And to avoid being unconsciously influenced, he doesn't listen to his colleagues. "I only do it on weekends to keep up with what's happening, and I sometimes debrief our respective columns with Philippe Caverivière."

The former shy man and the power of laughter

Making people laugh is a path that Bertrand Chameroy has always taken. "I was quite shy when I was younger, but I liked being silly, and I realized that people listened to you when you made them laugh. It's a form of power, and you get a taste for it ," he recalls. "I like dark humor, even if it's not the kind I use in my columns, and I love the absurd, even if it's becoming more and more complicated to use because it's becoming so much more and more confusing with reality."

For this workaholic, who gets up at 4:30 a.m. to prepare for the morning show before moving on to C à Vous , the group shows are a real fulfillment. "These are two shows without an audience, so being in a group helps create an atmosphere, and we have to be playful with those around us," he concludes. Nostalgic for the cult Canal + shows that built his universe in his youth, Bertrand Chameroy is enjoying this return to school on all fronts.

"I'm supposed to make people laugh by drawing inspiration from current events that aren't necessarily funny. To avoid being affected, you have to observe a form of detachment, of self-protection." And he's right.