# Christine Kelly

Christine Eugénie Kelly, (née Tigiffon (1969-07-13)July 13, 1969) in Lamentin (Guadeloupe), is a French radio and TV presenter, journalist, and writer.
She has been working in media 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 women's sports.
She has presented Face à l'info [fr] on the TV channel CNews since 2019.

## Biography
### Early life

Christine Kelly was born on 13 July 1969 in Lamentin, Guadeloupe, France. Both her parents were schoolteachers who lived in a tied cottage in a school. They then lived in a house built by her parents in Lamentin. She is the second of four children.
Her mother was violent and her father was an alcoholic. She was physically abused during her childhood. Her mother left Guadeloupe to settle in Paris. Her father joined them a year later after she stopped drinking.
After multiple suicide attempts, Kelly left home when she was 20.

### Professional career

After a scientific education, Christine Kelly considered 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 hosted a free broadcast on K’danse FM. Two years later, she became a presenter on RFO Guadeloupe [fr].

#### 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 [fr]. 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 was the first Black women to present a show on TV in metropolitan 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 television 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 9am and the Saturday and Sunday news programmes from 6:30 to 10:30am.

#### Member of the CSA (2009–2015)

On January 24, 2009, without having applied, she was appointed to the Conseil supérieur de l'audiovisuel (CSA), the regulatory body for 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. There were recommendations from Nicolas Sarkozy to give her a governmental mission or even the ministry of the overseas, but she opted to finish her term at the CSA.
At the CSA Christine Kelly persuaded the television channels to include subtitles on their programs for the deaf and lower the sound level of ads after 20 years of campaigning in France, a world first. She also asked information channels to include 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 fiction, which was also forbidden until then in television.
To address 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 media: 24 heures du sport féminin (2013). A second day 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, a program many celebrity personalities have participated in. In 2015 she was also 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 [fr], 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 a 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 ! [fr], 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 January 2024, the Arcom sanctions CNews to a fine of 50 000 euros for the program Face à l’info of the 26 September 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 [fr] 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 of the journée K has been organized under the patronage of Valérie Pécresse, president of the région Île-de-France.
At the start of 2013, Christine Kelly made 10 proposals to help single parent families that she gave to François Hollande. In June 2014, she launched the charter of single families. This was signed by 22 companies, all in favor of employment for single parent families.
In 2015 she was nominated administrator of the Engie foundation by Gérard Mestrallet. This foundation supports projects for the benefit of the youth and employment.

## Summary of her professional activity
### Publications

* L'Affaire Flactif: enquête sur la tuerie du Grand-Bornand. Paris: éditions Calmann-Lévy. 11 May 2006. ISBN 2-7021-3655-9.
* François Fillon: le secret et l'ambition. Paris: éditions du Moment. 15 November 2007. ISBN 978-2-35417-020-2.
* La Parole est à la défense. Paris: éditions du Moment. Cowriter: William Gallas. 21 November 2008. ISBN 978-2-35417-035-6.
* Le Scandale du silence: familles monoparentales. Paris: éditions Léo Scheer. 14 March 2012. ISBN 978-2-7561-0368-6.
* Invitée surprise. Paris: éditions du Moment. 18 November 2015. ISBN 978-2-35417-455-2.
* François Fillon: les coulisses d'une ascension. L'Archipel. 11 January 2017. ISBN 2809822026.
* Libertés sans expression. Cherche Midi. 9 June 2022. ISBN 978-2-7491-7219-4.

### 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: Chevalier de l'Ordre national du Mérite.
* 2021: Officier de l'Ordre national du Mérite.