Martin Ajdari will indeed be the next president of Arcom

Parliament confirmed his profile, which had been proposed by the Élysée on November 28. He will succeed Roch-Olivier Maistre at the head of the audiovisual regulatory authority in February.

Lhe senior civil servant Martin Ajdari, current deputy general director of the Paris Opera, will indeed be the next president of Arcom, the audiovisual regulator, after the validation of his candidacy on Wednesday by the National Assembly and the Senate.

The Cultural Affairs Committees of the Assembly and the Senate approved the appointment of Martin Ajdari, 56, who was proposed by the Élysée on November 28. He will replace Roch-Olivier Maistre, who will leave his position on February 2, 2025.

Deputy Director General of the Paris National Opera since January 2020, Martin Ajdari previously held several positions related to audiovisual. He was notably deputy general director of Radio France from 2004, then deputy general director for resources and general secretary of France Télévisions (2010 to 2014).

He was then director of the office of the Minister of Culture and Communication (Aurélie Filippetti then Fleur Pellerin), then general director of media and cultural industries within this ministry (2015). Candidate for the presidency of Radio France in 2014, Martin Ajdari had already been tipped, according to the press, to head the CSA in 2019.

Arcom (Regulatory Authority for Audiovisual and Digital Communication) succeeded the former Superior Audiovisual Council (CSA) with expanded prerogatives. Its mission is in particular to allocate TV and radio frequencies, to guarantee pluralism on the air but also to supervise compliance with the obligations of online platforms established in France.