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ON THE ART (AND COST) OF AVOIDING POLITICS Democratization of the French talk-show Based on a study of a corpus of talk-show programmes (presented by Thierry Ardisson, Marc-Olivier Fogiel and Michel Drucker) that have become the main forums for guest politicians, the author considers the way in which these programmes reconstruct the political debate. Many of the changes observed can be related to a process in which politics is losing its sacred aura, and in which testimonies are being substituted for programmatic discourse. Justifications for these changes, in terms of closer connection to a broader public and popularization of the political message, hardly seem convincing. Although it can be argued that talk-shows could be a mean for renewing political debate, the offering witnessed in France suggests above all the development of a perception of political leaders that prompts us to evaluate them on the same criteria as artists, sportspersons and other familiar personalities on television. This study highlights the depoliticizing potential of these mise en sc?ne.