Christine Kelly

Christine Eugénie Kelly, (née Tigiffon July 13, 1969) in Lamentin (Guadeloupe), is a French radio and TV presenter, journalist, and writer.

She has been working in the medias since 1992, first in Guadeloupe, then in metropolitan France. She was a member of the Conseil supérieur de l'audiovisuel (CSA) from 2009 to 2015. She then chaired the Alice Millat foundation, a European foundation for feminine sports.

She has presented Face à l'info on the TV channel CNews since 2019.

Early life


Christine Kelly was born on 13 July 1969 in Lamentin, Guadeloupe, France. Both her parents are schoolteachers who lived in a tied cottage in a school. They then lived in a house build by her parents in Lamentin. She is the second of four children.

Her mother was violent and her father was an alcoholic. She has reported she suffered from child abuse was battered during her childhood. Her mother left Guadeloupe to settle in Paris. Her father who stopped drinking joined them a year later.

After multiple suicide attempts, Kelly left home when she was 20.

Professional career
After a scientific education, Christine Kelly thought of becoming a flight attendant but decided against it and turned to television.

Presenter in the Guadeloupean media (1992–1996)
In 1992, Christine Kelly joined the private channel Archipel 4, to present Caribscope, a (French-English) bilingual TV show. At the same time, she histed a free broadcast on K’danse FM. Two years later, she became a presenter on RFO Guadeloupe.

Beginnings in France (1996–2000)
In 1996 Christine Kelly gave up presenting to become a journalist, at 27 years old. She was trained at the Institut national de l'audiovisuel then at the Institut de journalisme Bordeaux-Aquitaine. She then did reportages for different regional stations of France 3, while working at the same time for the political service of RFO, the radio station Chérie FM and the newspaper Sud Ouest. In 1997, she participated to the creation of Demain. TV, a channel that discusses employment and professional training. The channel is owned by the Canal+ Group. In 1999, she work on La Chaîne Météo and Voyage.

Journalist at LCI (2000–2009)
In February 2000 she joined the continuous news channel LCI to present the morning journal. while presenting a monthly program on RFO and becoming consultant for the UNESCO. She is the first Black women to present a show on TV in metropolan France. From March 2005 to July 2006, she was the editor-in-chief and presenter of a show on sustainable development, Le Magazine, on Ushuaïa TV.

After six months of research on a biography of François Fillon, she returned to televisionr in February 2008 to present the afternoon jnews on LCI and co-present Terre-Mère, a weekly show on the environment.

In September 2008 she started presenting LCI Matin week-end on Fridays from 6 to 9 am and the Saturday and Sunday news programmes from 6:30 to 10:30 am.

Member of the CSA (2009–2015)
On January 24, 2009 and without having applied, she is appointed to the Conseil supérieur de l'audiovisuel (CSA), the authority of regulation of audiovisual content in France, by Gérard Larcher, the Speaker of the Senate. She is the youngest member of the CSA and the first from an overseas territory. At that period there are talks from Nicolas Sarkozy to give her a governmental mission or even the ministry of the overseas but she said that she preferred to finish her CSA mandate.

At the CSA Christine Kelly persuaded the television channels to iclude subtitles on their programs for the deaf and lower the sound level of ads, after 20 years of waiting in France, a world first. She also asked to the information channels that they make News broadcasting in sign language, a first in France.

In 2009 a law project was discussed in the parliament to regulate food ads during programs destined to children. To face the risks of an interdiction, the CSA established a « food charter » in which the advertisers formulated commitments. As the chief of the mission « Santé et développement durable » (health and sustainable development) of the CSA, Christine Kelly defended this text. The charter is considered inefficient by the UFC-Que Choisir, a consumer organization and by nutrition experts because it is non-binding and favoring, according to them, media financing of the fight against obesity. the regulation of advertising for aliments pour des aliments qui sont fatty, sweet and salty destined to minors showed its efficiency following scientific studies, experimentations and even its implementation in other countries.

In 2012 she preconized the reduction from five to two weeks of the period during which candidates of a presidential election have an equity of speaking time.

In 2013 Christine Kelly made it possible to cite Facebook and Twitter on television, which had been forbidden until then. She also defined the rules about product placement in fictions, which was also forbidden until then in television.

To face the lack of attention to women's sports, Christine Kelly, who was also president of the sports mission of the CSA, decided to create the first international day of women's sports in the medias: 24 heures du sport féminin (2013). A second edition was organized by Christine Kelly on January 24, 2015.

After the CSA (2015–2018)
In 2015 she launched a project of European museum of medias called Villa Média, which was supposed to be opened to the public in 2019 in Saint-Denis, and of which she became president. In line with this project, she organizes days of debate and reflection devoted to media education, in which participated many known personalities. In the same time she is elected as chief of the 2015 jury of the Globe de Cristal Awards, a reward awarded by récompenses décernées par la French press in the domains of art and culture.

Until October 2020 she was president of the Alice Milliat foundation, the only European foundation for women's sport, launched in 2016 in presence of François Hollande, the President of France at that time. She is an ambassador of the Euro 2016, nominated by François Hollande.

In March 2018 she joined the team of Touche pas à mon poste !, on the channel C8, as a chronicler. During the summer of 2018, she presents a program in which she retraces the journey of a guest every Sundays on RTL. She also presented an daily debate on CNews (channel in which she intervened in a program called Punchline in company of Laurence Ferrari). Since the media return of 2018, she is also chronicler in the new emission of Cyril Hanouna, Balance ton post !, on the channel C8.

Presenter of Face à l'info (since 2019)
Since the media return of 2019, Christine Kelly Presents the program Face à l'info on CNews, between 19 and 20 pm from Monday to Friday.

The show is controversial because of the place given to the writer and polemist Éric Zemmour. As soon as it is launched, personalities announced that they will boycott the channel, at the same time, Christine Kelly received death threats. She is subject of numerous critics and pressures, her detractors thought that she was too complacent with the ideas of his chronicler. She publicly took distances with the opinions of Éric Zemmour.

Soon, Face à l’info became the flagship show of the TV channel and realizes record audiences, with almost one million viewers in 2021, which allows CNews to come ahead of the news channels in this time slot and contributes to its growing success against BFM TV.

Since January 2021 Christine Kelly presents every Sundays on CNews the program La Belle Histoire de France (The beautiful history of France), with Franck Ferrand and Marc Menant.

In November 2021 Christine Kelly filled a complaint after receiving death threats by SMS. In January 2022, the case is taken up by the Paris public prosecutor's office. The harasser is condemned in October of the same year to 18-month of suspended prison sentence, a "stage de citoyenneté" (citizenship course) against cyberharassment and a prohibition of direct and indirect contact with Christine Kelly during five years.

In April 2023 elle sponsors the on line media Factuel, politically oriented to the right.

By its decision of the 17-01-2024, the Arcom sanctions CNews to a fine of 50 000 euros for the program Face à l’info of the 26-09-2022, presented by Christine Kelly, due to a breach of the obligation of honesty and rigor in the presentation and Processing of information.

Associative commitments
From 2006 Christine Kelly is a member of the steering committee of the Reporters d'Espoirs agency.

She creates in April 2010, the la Foundation K d’urgences, under the aegis of the Fondation de France, a foundation dedicated to the help for single-parent families. This engagement echoes to the part of her childhood in which she suffered from child abuses and was alone with her brother and mother.

A functioning of free speed-dating between Huissier de justice and single-parent families was put in place by the foundation to help them recuperate the unpaid alimony. It is supported among others by, Charles Aznavour, Claire Chazal and Michel Drucker. The foundation organises every year the journée K (K day), which welcomes nearly 3 000 families, making it the biggest single parent families gathering in France. In 2017, the fifth edition f the journée K has been organized under the patronage of Valérie Pécresse, president of the région Île-de-France.

At the sart of 2013 Christine Kelly made 10 proposals to help single parent families that she gave to François Hollande. In June 2014, she launches the charter of single families, which is signed by 22 companies, in favor of the employment for single parent families.

In 2015 she is nominated administrator of the Engie foundation by Gérard Mestrallet, that supports projects for the benefit of the youth and employment.

Media journey

 * 1992–1996: Caribscope sur Archipel 4
 * 1997: presenter on Demain TV
 * 1999: presenter on La Chaîne Météo
 * 1999: presenter on Voyage
 * 2000: presenter on RFO
 * 2000–2007: Morning journals on LCI
 * 2005–2006: Le Magazine on Ushuaïa TV
 * 2008–2009: LCI Matin week-end sur LCI
 * 2008–2009: Journals of the Saturdays and Sundays from 6:30 to 10:30 am on LCI
 * 2018–2019: Touche pas à mon poste ! on C8
 * 2018–2019: Débat sur CNews
 * 2018–2020: Balance ton post ! sur C8
 * 2019: Présumé innocent sur C8
 * Since 2019: Face à l'info on CNews
 * Since 2021: La Belle Histoire de France sur CNews
 * 2023: Mourir n'est pas tuer: le débat on C8

Distinctions

 * 2010: Ordre national du Merite Chevalier ribbon.svg Chevalier de l'Ordre national du Mérite.
 * 2021: Ordre national du Merite Officier ribbon.svg Officier de l'Ordre national du Mérite.