Benjamin Duhamel Parents: Meet Nathalie Saint-Cricq and Patrice Duhamel

Benjamin Duhamel’s parents are Nathalie Saint-Cricq and Patrice Duhamel, two established figures in French journalism and broadcasting. His mother is known for political reporting and analysis, while his father has worked as a journalist and held senior leadership responsibilities at France Télévisions.

There is another familiar name in the family, too. Political journalist Alain Duhamel is Benjamin’s uncle, rather than his father, a distinction that sometimes causes confusion among viewers discovering him for the first time.

Benjamin’s background has attracted attention as his own broadcasting career has developed. He became widely recognised through BFMTV before moving to France Inter in 2025. In 2026, his work expanded further with the political programme Franc-jeu, broadcast on France 2 and France Inter.

His family connections are an important part of that story. So are his education, early reporting experience and the expectations that come with interviewing political leaders in public.

Who Are Benjamin Duhamel’s Parents?

Benjamin Duhamel is the son of journalist Nathalie Saint-Cricq and broadcaster Patrice Duhamel.

Both parents built their careers in French media well before their son became a recognisable political interviewer. Their experience places Benjamin within a family already familiar with newsrooms, television production and the demands of covering public affairs.

However, their professional paths are not identical.

Nathalie Saint-Cricq’s public reputation is closely associated with political journalism, particularly at France 2. Patrice Duhamel’s career includes reporting and senior broadcasting management.

Together, those careers explain why profiles of Benjamin often describe him as coming from an established media family. His connection to the industry extends beyond simply having a parent who once appeared on television.

It also helps explain why his progress receives scrutiny alongside recognition for his work.

His Mother Is Nathalie Saint-Cricq

Nathalie Saint-Cricq is a French political journalist whose work has made her familiar to viewers of France 2.

She has held political reporting, editorial and leadership responsibilities within public broadcasting. Her career has involved explaining political developments, assessing election campaigns and contributing to coverage of major national events.

For audiences following French politics, her name carries a professional identity of its own. She was an established journalist long before her son began appearing regularly on rolling news television.

That matters when discussing Benjamin’s parents. Nathalie is not simply a supporting figure in his biography. She has her own substantial career, professional reputation and relationship with viewers.

The shared interest in political journalism naturally invites comparison between mother and son. Still, they are separate journalists whose work can be assessed individually.

His Father Is Patrice Duhamel

Benjamin’s father, Patrice Duhamel, is also a journalist and a former senior executive at France Télévisions.

His career connects the reporting side of broadcasting with the management of television organisations. That gives him a different professional profile from someone known primarily for presenting a daily programme.

Senior broadcasting responsibilities involve decisions about programming, editorial direction and how an organisation serves its audience. Patrice’s experience therefore forms an important part of the family’s wider connection to French television.

For readers unfamiliar with the Duhamel family, the simplest distinction is this: Patrice is Benjamin’s father, while Alain is his uncle.

Mixing up those two relationships can produce an inaccurate family profile, even though both men are well known within the same broad industry.

How Is Benjamin Related to Alain Duhamel?

Alain Duhamel is Benjamin Duhamel’s paternal uncle and Patrice Duhamel’s brother.

He is one of the best-known political commentators in France, with a career spanning decades of broadcasting, interviews and political analysis.

The family connection is especially relevant to Benjamin’s early professional experience. Benjamin began working at RTL in 2017, a station strongly associated with his uncle’s long broadcasting career.

Profiles have linked Alain to the opportunity that helped Benjamin enter the station as an intern. Benjamin later worked there as a freelance journalist.

That background is part of the public discussion about his access to the profession. It also makes clear why the family surname was already familiar within political journalism before Benjamin established his own on-air presence.

A Family Background That Brought Advantages

Benjamin has acknowledged that he did not enter journalism with the same starting opportunities as everyone else.

In interviews discussing his career, he has recognised the advantages associated with his family background. That admission is significant because it avoids presenting his route into broadcasting as entirely detached from the people around him.

A family familiar with journalism can offer knowledge of the profession, an understanding of its working culture and access to advice that many applicants do not have.

Those advantages are relevant to any fair account of his career.

At the same time, identifying an advantage does not answer every question about someone’s subsequent performance. Once a journalist conducts a live interview, viewers can assess the preparation, questions and follow-up exchanges for themselves.

What Has Benjamin Said About Being Judged on His Work?

Ahead of his arrival at France Inter, Benjamin discussed the attention surrounding his surname and family connections.

His position was that he recognised his advantages but wanted his professional work to be evaluated on its own merits.

That is a reasonable distinction to examine carefully. A person’s background can help explain how opportunities became available, while their work shows how they use those opportunities.

For a political interviewer, that work is particularly visible. An interview can be replayed, criticised and compared with earlier statements made by the guest.

Benjamin’s family background will probably remain part of his public profile. His own contribution, however, is made through the questions he asks and the reporting he delivers.

His Education Before Entering Journalism

Before becoming a full-time journalist, Benjamin followed an academic route that included Lycée Henri-IV in Paris and Sciences Po.

The supplied profile describes his earlier bilingual education, followed by secondary studies at Henri-IV and entry to Sciences Po in 2012.

He completed a master’s degree in public policy in 2017.

That education is relevant to his later specialisation. Public policy involves understanding institutions, government decisions and the practical consequences of political choices.

It does not automatically make someone an effective interviewer, but it provides useful subject knowledge for political reporting.

His university years also included practical broadcasting experience, giving him opportunities to move beyond classroom discussion and develop an interest in interviewing.

Sciences Po TV Gave Him Early Experience

Benjamin was involved with Sciences Po TV during his studies and served as its president between 2015 and 2016, according to the supplied career account.

University broadcasting offered a setting in which he could practise presenting and questioning guests before entering a national newsroom.

Sciences Po’s own coverage of an April 2017 political event identifies him as a student and political interviewer for Sciences Po TV. He co-hosted the discussion with Ali Baddou.

That contemporary record is useful because it documents his participation at the time, rather than relying only on later descriptions of his career.

It also shows that political interviewing was already a clear interest before his move into professional television news.

His Early Career at RTL and LCI

Benjamin began his professional journalism career at RTL in 2017.

He initially joined through an internship and subsequently worked as a freelance journalist. That gave him experience within an established radio newsroom during an important period in French politics.

In 2018, he moved to LCI.

The transition brought him into rolling television news, where journalists must explain developments clearly and respond to stories as they change.

His time at LCI was followed by another move in February 2019, when he joined BFMTV.

These early steps are worth keeping in order. They show a progression through several news organisations before he became one of BFMTV’s more prominent political interviewers.

How BFMTV Raised His Public Profile

BFMTV was central to Benjamin’s growing recognition among television audiences.

He appeared in political coverage and took on increasingly visible interviewing responsibilities. From September 2023, those included BFM Politique and the Sunday evening programme C’est pas tous les jours dimanche.

He also stood in for Apolline de Malherbe on political interviews and contributed to coverage of major developments.

The supplied profile refers to the appointment of Gabriel Attal’s government in January 2024. That detail places the original account firmly in its historical context.

It should not be read as a description of Benjamin’s current daily schedule. His career continued developing after that profile was written, including a move away from BFMTV.

His Move to France Inter and His Work in 2026

Benjamin left BFMTV in 2025 and joined France Inter’s morning programming.

Coverage of his arrival described responsibilities for prominent political interviews, including the 7:50 a.m. interview and the longer 8:20 a.m. conversation.

The move brought fresh attention to both his interviewing style and his family connections. It also marked an important change from the television role described in the supplied 2024 profile.

In August 2026, he added Franc-jeu, a Sunday political programme shared by France 2 and France Inter.

These developments make it more accurate to describe him as a former BFMTV journalist who moved into public broadcasting, rather than someone still holding all of his earlier BFMTV assignments.

Why His Parents Remain Part of His Public Story

Interest in Benjamin Duhamel’s parents comes from the overlap between a recognisable family name and a visible career in the same profession.

His mother, Nathalie Saint-Cricq, his father, Patrice Duhamel, and his uncle, Alain Duhamel, each have established connections to French journalism.

Benjamin has acknowledged the opportunities that background provided. His education and career record then show how he moved from student broadcasting to RTL, LCI, BFMTV and France Inter.

Understanding both parts gives a fuller picture. His family explains some of the context in which his career began, while his interviews and reporting provide the material through which audiences can form their own judgment.