He can be heard at the start:
Normally presenters speak clearly, but I struggle to understand this man, Christophe Hondelatte. To me he sounds like he has several plums in his mouth.
Could native French speakers please tell me their impressions e.g. is the accent regional or posh, is it clear, does it sound affected, is he trying to make a statement with his style etc.
I think native speakers, which I am not, can follow the man well. He speaks quickly, and the point is to recognize the meaning (not the translation) of the quickly spoken words. That only works after years of experience with the language. A problem is the references to all kinds of geographical indications, which are probably a piece of cake for the Frenchman, but not for the average language student.
I can understand faster speakers, but to my ears he slurs his words and mumbles.
A lot of comprehension is based on prediction and not understanding every syllable, yes it requires many years of experience.
In this article he states that he has developed polyps on his vocal cords. You can sometimes hear the pain in his voice when he speaks:
https://www.google.com/search?q=Christophe+Hondelatte+“cordes+vocales”
He was a television host and radio presenter for years before his voice changed due to the polyps. He may be a heavy smoker, which can contribute to the problem. I can understand him – I guess I got used to all kinds of voices while I was living in France. People smoked like chimneys there back in the 1980s.
My French is very lacking, but I don’t struggle much more to understand him. I think it’s just a matter of getting used to that speech impediment. He reminds me a lot of RFK, maybe not the easiest to follow along for English learners.
Thank you, that makes sense.
Hi, I’m native French. From a native’s (and French as a foreign language teacher) perspective he speaks quite slowly and clearly, much slowier and clearer than any French you’ll meet in everyday life 
. Sorry 
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For you, but not for a non native with English as his L1. I’ve listened to hundreds of French speakers, and of all presenters, he is the hardest, I can understand some presenters who speak very fast. It’s not the speed. And he does not use fancy language. It’s the fact that there is a mumbliness to his voice that makes it hard for me to recognise consonants. It just doesn’t sound like he articulates syllables properly. I am getting used to him, and with good headphones I can follow him easily, but while driving in a car, he’s still hard. With time I will tune in to his voice.
Curiously today I was listening to an old interview with an American WW2 veteran talking in English about the war in the far east, and I struggled to understand him. He spoke somewhat slowly but he mumbled in the same way as this French presenter.
I completely understand. I was answering your question “Could native French speakers please tell me their impressions” 
. I personnaly love his way of speaking, I find it quite captivating and he’s well known in France. Now, if we talk from a non native speaker’s perspective, c’est une autre histoire 
Christophe Hondelatte s’exprime parfaitement en français, et nous le comprenons tous sans aucune difficulté. C’est un journaliste reconnu, qui actuellement raconte des affaires criminelles, et on l’entend à la radio et on le voit à la télé… Ses émissions sont très appréciées, et même si sa voix a évolué avec les années, pour nous, il s’exprime très clairement, il joue les personnages de ses histoires, comme un acteur, pour donner vie à ses récits. Il a même fait un doublage dans le films “Ratatouille” en français, et il a aussi joué dans un film. Pour nous, Français, il parle parfaitement. mais je comprend que ce soit difficile pour les apprenants de notre langue, courage !