UPDATED: Career civil servant takes up the mantle for audiovisual and digital communications
Martin Ajdari takes up his role as the head of the French telecoms and broadcast regulator, Arcom, on 1 February for a term of six years. He was chosen by the President of France, Emmanuel Macron. The 56-year old Ajdari is a career civil servant and replaces Roch-Olivier Maistre.
Arcom is responsible for audiovisual and digital communications. It began operating on 1 January 2022, formed from the merger the French Conseil supérieur de l’audiovisuel (CSA – media regulator) and the Haute autorité pour la diffusion des oeuvres et la protection des droits sur internet (Hadopi – online copyright authority).
Continuity and stability
Continuity seems to be key to France’s approach to regulation of audiovisual and digital communications: Delphine Ernotte and Sibyle Veil were reappointed as Presidents of France Télévisions and Radio France respectively in 2020 and 2022. In 2023, Marie-Christine Saragosse was given a third five-year term as President of France Médias Monde.
Prior to becoming the head of Arcom, Ajdari was Deputy Director of the Paris Opera, appointed in 2020. He graduated from the ESCP Business School, one of the highest ranked in the world, in Political Studies School of Paris (Institut d’études politiques de Paris). He also studied at student of the École nationale d’administration (ENA) in the 1990s.
Ajdari started his career in the Ministry of Economy and Finance, before being appointed Deputy Director of Radio France in 2004. He then became Director of Resources, and General Secretary of France Télévisions (2010 to 2014), before being appointed Cabinet Office Director to the Minister of Culture and Communication (Aurélie Filippetti and then Fleur Pellerin). In 2015, he was appointed Director of Media and Cultural Industries inside the Ministry.
An earlier version of this story wrongly stated Ajdari was appointed head of telecoms regulator Arcep.
