This article is a partial translation of the Cash investigation article on the French Wikipedia. The image and some of the information it contains were drawn from there.
Cash Investigation is a French television news show. It produces investigative reports in the financial and business space. The investigations cover subjects such as greenwashing, neuromarketing and child labor. They also take on the diversion of public funds, tax evasion, lobbyist influence, conflicts of interest and information manipulation by spin doctors.
Put out by the Premières Lignes ('Front Lines') production group, Luc Hermann and veteran journalist Paul Moreira, the broadcast operates in the tradition of such investigation news shows as 60 Minutes, Panorama, Frontline and Enquête ('Inquiry').
Premières Lignes Prizes
2016 International Current Affairs and Social Documentary Film Festival 2016 - Scam prize for investigation 2015 Press’Tival - Gilles Jacquier Grand Prize - for The unspeakable secrets of our telephones Prix de l'investigation DIG Awards
2015 DIG Awards - Prize for European Investigation 2015 Data Journalism Awards - top prize for LuxLeaks (ICIJ and Edouard Perrin of Cash Investigation) 2015 non-profit Anticor's Prize for Ethics 2014 Press International - Grand Prize 2014 Ilaria Alpi Prize for international investigation 2014 Best Magazine Les Lauriers de l’Audiovisuel (Audiovisual Laurels) 2013 Le Parisien - Best Magazine Star 2013 Media Grand Prize—CB News 2012 European Louise Weiss European prize, decryption category
Broadcasts
Each episode of season 1 (in 2012) also contained, in its second half, a portrait of a whistleblower.
When the broadcast faced cancellation , viewers organized an online petition demanding its reinstatement.Petition soutenons cash investigation , sur petitionduweb.com The show returned in June 2013.
Season 2 had five episodes. The report on tax evasion, broadcast in primetime following the Cahuzac scandal, was a critical and audience success.
In season 3 the show broadcast regularly in primetime on Tuesday evenings.
In July 2015, Premières Lignes put the program's broadcasts online on YouTube..
In season 3, the team for the first time produced an investigation specifically designed for the internet. Broadcast on Francetvinfo.fr, Ces entreprises qui vendent des systèmes de sécurité aux pires dictatures de la planète (These organizations that sell security systems to the worst dictatorships on the planet) completed the investigation outlined on the Business de la peur (The Business of Fear), broadcast of September 21, 2015.
France 2 ordered a fourth season from Premières Lignes, with the first numbers due to be broadcast in 2016.
Cash Investigation episodes are available online for a month after broadcast at pluzz.fr
Season 1 (2012) Number Date Title Director Subject, comments 1 May 18, 2012 « Toxic fringues »("Toxic Togs") Marie Maurice Low cost clothing, (Zara, Inditex) Globalization Child labor Portrait: Erin Brockovich. 2 June 1, 2012 « La mort programmée de nos appareils »(The Programmed Death of our Devices) Anna Salzberg Wandrille Lanos Programmed obsolescence Salt Portrait: researcher Pierre Mèneton. 3 June 8, 2012 « La finance folle »(Insane Finance) Irène Bénéfice Olivier Toscer High-frequency trading Poly Implant Prothèse breast implants, with Richard Abs. 4 June 15, 2012 « Gavés de sucre »("Gorged on Sugar") Edouard PerrinJean-Baptiste Renaud The sugar industry in France Portrait: Pablo Fajardo. 5 May 11, 2012 « Paradis fiscaux: les petits secrets des grandes entreprises » (Tax havens: The Little Secrets of Big Business) Edouard Perrin Tax evasion Portrait: The Yes Men. 6 May 4, 2012 « Marketing vert : le grand maquillage » Jean-Pierre CanetMartin Boudot Greenwashing World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Areva Portrait: Jeffrey Wigand. 7 April 27, 2012 « Les vendeurs de maladies »(The Sellers of Illness) Laurent RichardWandrille Lanos Pharmaceutical industry Portrait: Shanti Senthikuma. 8 May 25, 2012 « Neuromarketing : votre cerveau les intéresse »(Neuromarketing: Your Brain Interests Them) Benoît Bringer Neuromarketing, SNCF, L'Oréal, plus the merchandizing of water (with Jean-Luc Touly).
Season 2 (2013) Number Date Time TitleDirector Subject, comment Audience Audience share 1 TuesdayJune 11, 2013 20h45 « Le scandale de l'évasion fiscale : révélations sur les milliards qui nous manquent »("The scandal of Tax Evasion: Revelations on the Billions We Are Missing") Valentine Oberti, Wandrille Lanos and Edouard Perrin TaxesTax evasion 3.6 million 14.7% 2 Wednesday September 11, 201322h15 « Foot business : enquête sur une omerta »("Foot business: Investigation into a Code of Silence") Martin Boudot Economics of soccer 1.4million 9.7% 3 Wednesday September 18, 2013 22h30 « Les récoltes de la honte »(The Harvests of Shame")Wandrille Lanos Grande distribution, Corruption, Human trafficking 1.3 million 9.7% 4 Wednesday September 25, 201322h35 « Diesel : la dangereuse exception française »("Diesel, the Dangerous French Exception")Edouard Perrin Diesel, Filtre à particules, Health 1.07 million 9.5% 5 Wednesday October 2, 2013 22h35 « Formation professionnelle, le grand détournement »("Professional Training, the Big Detour") Benoît Bringer Continuing education, financement des syndicats 1.4 million 12.1%
Season 3 (2014-2015) Number Date Time Title Director Subject, comment Audience AudienceShare 1 TuesdayOctober 7, 201420h50 « Industrie du tabac : la grande manipulation » Laurent Richard European Parliament Cigarettes Lobbying French government 2.5million 10% 2 TuesdayNovember 4, 201420h50 « Les secrets inavouables de nos téléphones portables » Martin Boudot with Jules Giraudat SmartphoneNokiaApple Samsung Huawei China 3.6million 14.7%3TuesdayMarch 3, 201520h50« Quand les actionnaires s'en prennent à vos emplois »Edouard PerrinSanofi Samsonite (Bain Capital) Pages-Jaunes3.2million
Season 4 (2015-2016) NumberDateTimeTitleDirectorSubject, commentAudienceAudience share1MondaySeptember 7, 201523h05« Mon président est en voyage d'affaires »Laurent RichardFrench foreign policy, Diplomacy, Human rights1,100,000 15.1 %2MondaySeptember 14, 201523h05« Santé: la loi du marché »Sylvain LouvetFee for service, Prescriptions, Social security, Pharmaceutical industry, Pharmaceutical lobby1,100,000 13.7 %3MondaySeptember 25, 201523h05« Le business de la peur »Jean-Pierre CanetNational security, biometric authentication, Identity theft, computer security, video surveillance, Parafe1,084,00013.5 %4October 6, 201520h55« Marketing : les stratégies secrètes »Wandrille LanosSale of personal data (collected through telemarketing, digital footprint, loyalty cards), targeted advertising. iPhone. Danone.La logique du capital mise à nu. L'Humanité 6 octobre 20152,866,00012.2 %5February 2, 201620h55« Produits chimiques, nos enfants en danger »Martin BoudotPesticides, cancers, congenital disorders, multinational corporations 3,120,00013.2 %6March 22, 201620h55« Salariés à prix cassés : le grand scandale »Sophie le GallPosted Workers, Bouygues, SNCF Geodis2,570,00012.1 %7April 5, 201620h55« Paradis fiscaux : le casse du siècle »Benoît BringerShell corporation, tax noncompliance, Panama Papers3,568,00017.1 %8May 24, 201620h55« Climat : le grand bluff des multinationales »Jean-Baptiste RenaudCarbon emission trading, Engie, Total, LafargeHolcim, greenwashing2,659,00012.4 %9June 27, 201622h40« Dopage : ça roule toujours »Sophie le GallDoping in sport, athlete, Bernard Sainz1,051,0007.6 %
Season 5 (2016-2017) NumberDateTimeTitleDirectorSubject, commentAudienceAudience share1September 13, 201620h55« Industrie agro-alimentaire : business contre santé »Sandrine RigaudNitrite, nutrition facts label, ANIA2,764,00013.3 %2October 18, 201620h55« Marchés publics : le grand dérapage »Loïc Tanant, Nolwenn Le FustecPublic–private partnership, Microsoft, Pôle emploi2,901,00013.5 %3January 24, 201720h55« Razzia sur le bois, les promesses en kit des géants du meuble »Marie MauriceIKEA, deforestation in Romania, Asia Pulp & Paper, PEFC, Holzindustrie Schweighofer3,130,00013.6 %4February 28, 201723h00« Cash Impact : les nouvelles révélations des Panama Papers »Benoît BringerPanama Papers714,00010.1 %5March 21, 201620h50« Pédophilie dans l'Église : le poids du silence »Martin BoudotPedophilia, priest, Catholic Church2,175,0009.8 %
Credits
Controversies In June 2012 the World Wildlife Fund sued France 2 to prevent broadcast of an interview of the NGO's management. The courts ruled in favor of France 2. On October 2, 2013, the program revealed that the French government had fined the training arm of Jardiland 3.2 million euros in September 2012. The issue was fraudulent transactions concerning hundreds of false training certificates issued between 2007 and 2011. The certificates allowed them to illegally receive subsidies from professional training organizations. Jardiland announced it would bring a defamation suit against France Télévisions, publicly accusing the Cash investigation report of presenting false information. In April 2015 more than a year later, Jardiland withdrew its suit. In 2015, Rachida Dati criticized the broadcast for the questions it raised about a possible link between Rachida Dati and the Engie corporation (formerly GDF-Suez). In 2015, Élise Lucet took part in a demonstration by the collective named "Informer n’est pas un délit" (Informing is not a crime) against a proposed French law defining trade secrets an amendment to the (Law for growth, activity and equality of economic opportunity), known as the "Loi Macron". She opposed the measure because it would hamper the production of broadcasts like Cash investigation. A book was scheduled for publication in 2015 Avec Élise Lucet, l’indépendance défendue sans relâche (interview). L'Humanité 7 septembre 2015 After the February 2, 2016 broadcast of Produits chimiques, nos enfants en danger (Chemical products, our children in danger), the Association française pour l'information scientifique (AFIS) (French Association for Scientific Information) issued a press release claiming that the documentary misled viewers. It cited the transformation of the summary of the European Food Safety Authority, which said: "Plus de 97 % des aliments contiennent des résidus de pesticides dans les limites légales dont 54.6% ne contiennent aucun résidu détectable" (More than 97% of foods contain pesticide residues within legal limits; 54.6 of these contain no detectable trace), into "Plus de 97 % des aliments contiennent des résidus de pesticides" (More than 97% of foods contain pesticide residues). Several weeks later AFIS returned to the subject, in a more detailed article, Comment les téléspectateurs ont été abusés par 'Cash Investigation'. The disputed number is cited once at the beginning of the episode.
References
External links Production website