France's Most Popular Satirical Evening TV Show Loses Its Emblematic Host

FRANCE'S popular satirical evening TV show Le Petit Journal is losing its host and founder this summer - in the latest of a series of changes at broadcaster Canal+.

Yann Barthès has hosted Le Petit Journal - France's equivalent to The Daily Show in the States - as a standalone show since 2011. The programme is known for mocking politicians, deciphering and fact-checking their speeches and revealing some of the secrets of the political PR machine.

It peaked at 1.8 million viewers in 2013, making it the channel's most-popular free-to-air programme and overtaking the flagship magazine show Le Grand Journal.

However audiences have fallen to 1.2 million this year - due in part to a later timeslot and the decision to encrypt the satirical Spitting Image-style programme Les Guignols.

The show has also suffered from the decline of Le Grand Journal, after its host, former Eurotrash presenter Antoine de Caunes, left last year.

French Newspaper Le Figaro describes Le Petit Journal as the last-remaining part of the irreverent "mocking spirit of Canal+".

The newspaper says: "The decision is mainly explained by the uncertainty over the future of the channel, while [owner] Vincent Bolloré wants to encrypt more programmes and cut costs".

Barthès has reportedly been approached by other channels - while the Petit Journal name remains the property of Canal+.