AFP Management

Jean-Luc Bardet has been France Director since October 2017 and Deputy News Director since January 2019. A graduate in law and political science, he joined AFP after completing his training at the Centre de formation des journalistes (CFJ). After working as a regional reporter and later in the United States and on the political desk in Paris, he went on to hold senior roles in the economics department and the foreign desk, before becoming Brussels bureau chief and then France Editor-in-Chief. 

Christine Briemel has been AFP’s Human Resources Director since May 2021. She holds a postgraduate degree in International Human Resources and began her career with the French Army in Germany before moving into the healthcare and nuclear sectors. She has held senior HR roles within major US groups, including Johnson & Johnson and Westinghouse Electric Company, as well as German organisations, with responsibilities spanning multiple countries and regions. 

Christine Buhagiar is Director of Development and Diversification. A graduate of Sciences Po Paris and the CFJ, she worked as a reporter on the political and economics desks before becoming London News Editor. Upon returning to Paris, she oversaw the creation of AFP’s video operation, initially in France and later in London, where she expanded its English-language output and international client base.

Appointed Europe Director in 2015, she supervised coverage of the war in Ukraine and positioned AFP within EU-backed media support programmes focused on fact-checking and innovation. Since last summer, she has also been developing new AFP services for corporate and institutional clients. 

Anne Calchera has been AFP’s Chief Financial Officer since May 2019. A graduate of ESCP, she began her career in audit at Ernst & Young. She joined AFP in 1996 as a management controller, later becoming Head of Management Control and then Financial Analyst supporting senior management. She was appointed Deputy Chief Financial Officer in 2010, a position she held until 2019. 

Aurélie Dognon has been Director of Procurement, Real Estate, CSR and General Services since July 2024. With over 20 years’ experience in procurement and around a decade in real estate, primarily in the healthcare and social care sectors, she has a strong commitment to embedding CSR in her work, particularly through responsible purchasing, and balanced and sustainable business practices. 

Bio not available

Mehdi Lebouachera has been Global Chief Editor since November 2024. He has worked in Nicosia, Jerusalem, Gaza and Baghdad, as well as in Central America and Mexico as a video journalist, before becoming Chief Video Editor for Latin America. He was subsequently appointed Global Video Chief Editor in Paris, and in 2021 became Chief Asia Editor. 

Yacine Le Forestier is Deputy News Director in charge of organisational projects. After an initial career in radio, he joined AFP in 1989 and held several journalistic roles across the network, including in London. He went on to serve as Brussels bureau chief, International Economics Editor, and Head of AFP operations in Germany, including its local subsidiaries, overseeing nearly 140 staff between 2015 and 2025. He also served as Deputy Director of the Europe region between 2020 and 2025. 

Grégoire Lemarchand joined AFP in 2000 and worked as a sports reporter, football editor and journalist in the Rome bureau and on the media desk. In 2012, he took over the agency’s social media unit and launched the digital investigations team in 2017, which he subsequently led as Chief Editor. Since 2024, he has been Deputy News Director in charge of digital strategy, as well as Brand and Communications Director.

Guillaume Meyer has been Deputy Global News Director in charge of video and audio since September 2024.

He began his career at the regional daily Le Télégramme in Brest in 2004, before contributing to the launch of BFM TV (2005) and France 24 (2006) in Paris. In 2007, he became Washington correspondent for the international news channel, and joined AFP in 2012 in the video department, first in Washington and then in Los Angeles from 2014 to 2016. Returning to Paris in 2016, he served as Deputy France Chief Video Editor (2017–2019), France Chief Video Editor (2019–2021), and was appointed Global Chief Video Editor in 2021. 

Patrice Monti has been AFP’s Chief Commercial and Marketing Officer since 2018. He has spent his entire career in media sales functions (advertising, circulation and content) with experience at Lagardère, EMAP and The New York Times, and a strong international focus since 1998. He trained at ESSCA, CELSA and HEC Executive Education.

Claudia Rahola is Deputy Global News Director for photography. She joined AFP in 1995 on the Spanish desk in Paris and built extensive international experience in Los Angeles and London. She has also served in the Global Chief Editor’s department and Head of the Spanish desk. From 2020 to 2026, she was responsible for journalists’ mobility and projects within the Global News Management department. 

Bio not available

Christophe Walter-Petit holds three postgraduate degrees from the universities of Aix-en-Provence and Paris-Assas. He began his career in the United States, where he spent five years working for a publishing group, before serving as Legal Director in several companies, including Numericable and Radio France Internationale.

He has been AFP’s Legal Director since 2012 and has played a leading role in the fight to secure neighbouring rights for news agencies, both during the drafting of the European Directive and its transposition into French law, as well as in negotiations and litigation with major technology companies.