Following her departure from the CNews channel, journalist Sonia Mabrouk resigned from Europe 1 radio on Friday and left the media under Vincent Bolloré's control, following the controversy surrounding host Jean-Marc Morandini.

"For the sake of consistency, after my resignation from CNews, and despite a strong attachment to Europe 1, I have made the decision to leave my position as a political interviewer which saw me take my first steps in this radio station," she said in a statement to AFP.

"My thanks go particularly to the loyal listeners and the teams who have seen me grow over nearly fifteen years," she added, also thanking Constance Benqué, the CEO of the parent company Lagardère Radio. She also ended her collaboration with the JDD and Fayard publishing house, which are also part of the Bolloré group.

"I will now focus on a happy event that is coming soon, as well as on the continuation of my professional career," concludes Sonia Mabrouk, who is pregnant with her second child expected in the spring.

She had resigned a week ago from CNews, France's leading news channel in terms of audience share, after Jean-Marc Morandini was kept on the channel despite his final convictions, notably for corruption of minors.

The journalist had then reported a "certain and effective alteration of (her) relationship with part of the management of CNews" since she distanced herself from the retention of Mr. Morandini.

Since then, the presenter has stepped down from the airwaves for an unspecified period. Mr. Morandini, 60, intends to help "restore the calm necessary for the work of the newsroom," he explained on Monday on the social network X.

Sonia Mabrouk, 49, hosted "La grande interview" every morning on Europe 1, co-broadcast on CNews, as well as "Midi News" on CNews.

The French-Tunisian journalist was a pillar of these media outlets and their audiences, having joined Europe 1 in 2013 and CNews in 2017. She conducted her last morning interview on Tuesday, and had been absent since.

- Tensions and boycott -

In an unprecedented scene, his guest on Monday morning, MEP François-Xavier Bellamy (LR), shouted at Jean-Marc Morandini: "Leave, resign!" The show was broadcast live from the Europe 1 studios and simultaneously on CNews.

Shortly afterwards, he hosted his usual program from 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM, for the 1,803rd episode of "Morandini Live". But, at midday, he announced his withdrawal from the airwaves.

CNews (Canal+ group) has been in turmoil since Jean-Marc Morandini's first final conviction on January 14 and the initial decision by its management to keep him on the air.

Sonia Mabrouk was the first to distance herself from this decision, followed by other star presenters Pascal Praud, Laurence Ferrari and Philippe de Villiers.

Many political figures had criticized this decision and boycotted his daily debate program.

In addition, the conservative billionaire Vincent Bolloré is to be summoned at the end of February by the parliamentary commission of inquiry on public broadcasting and questioned on the case of Jean-Marc Morandini.

Internally, some are calling for his permanent departure. The +Libres de Canal+ union thus demanded in January "the departure without compensation of Jean-Marc Morandini", as the management of the channel then called iTélé had committed to in 2016 in the event of a conviction.

On January 14, the Court of Cassation upheld Mr. Morandini's conviction for corruption of minors, for sexually explicit messages sent to three teenagers between 2009 and 2016. For these offenses, he was sentenced to two years' imprisonment, suspended. He is permanently banned from working in any profession involving contact with minors.

In addition, the presenter gave up on January 22nd contesting a conviction for sexual harassment in another case, which makes it final.

In this case, he was sentenced on appeal in January 2025 to 18 months in prison with a suspended sentence, found guilty of having "used pressure to obtain a sexual act" from a young actor.