In our 75-year history, Le Journal du Dimanche, France’s leading Sunday newspaper, which is rarely closed. But just before French billionaire Vincent Bolloré took over the paper, the sudden appointment of an editor with a far-right background sparked a mass strike by journalists and caused a firestorm in the French media, prompting the paper to shut down. Suspended this week. and politics.
Bolloré, often referred to as the Rupert Murdoch of France, is steadily building a conservative media empire centered around Fox news network C-News. Former far-right magazine Geoffroy Lejeune was appointed editor-in-chief. racist insultraised concerns that one of France’s most prominent newspapers could be transformed into a right-wing platform.
“For the first time since the liberation of France, a large state media outlet will be run by a far-right figure,” said one person. open letter The paper, published this week in Le Monde, France’s largest newspaper, and as the paper is known, was signed by 400 academics, economists, cultural figures and left-wing politicians who support the JDD. “This is a dangerous precedent that worries us all,” the letter said.
JDD journalists, known for their interviews with government leaders and mostly centrist policy analysis, on Thursday protested the hiring of Lejeune, 34, who was fired last year amid a dispute with Valeur Actuel magazine. voted in favor of extending the strike. Owners take precedence over editorial instructions. It’s the second time the paper has closed on Sunday since it was first published in 1948, but even Thursday evening its website was still topping last week’s news.
More than 1,000 people gathered at a Paris theater this week, hosted by Reporters Without Borders, to denounce Bollore’s efforts to assert shareholder control over the press.
French Culture Minister Rima Abdul Malak said: twitter. “Legally, JDD can be whatever it wants as long as it respects the law,” she wrote. “But as far as our country’s values are concerned, we can’t help but feel uneasy.”
The episode put a new spotlight on Bolloré, a politically connected businessman who hails from traditionalist Catholic circles in Brittany. His business empire includes global advertising agency Havas and has control of media conglomerate Vivendi. He made his fortune in logistics and was known as the King of Africa because he made his fortune in the former French colony through huge commercial deals.
Bolloré has tended to be the main outlet in France in recent years after facing a corruption investigation for allegedly helping the presidents of two African countries gain power in exchange for lucrative business contracts. shifted focus to. Rich enough to influence political elections. More than four of his fifth of private French newspapers, television and radio stations are owned by French or foreign billionaires or investors. France’s national television and radio stations dominate the media landscape.
Pending approval from the European Commission’s antitrust authorities, Bolloré plans to secure a majority stake in Lagardère, the conglomerate that owns JDD and Paris Match magazine, this summer. He would then become the head of France’s largest broadcasting and printing empire.
Arnaud Lagardère, chief executive of the conglomerate that now essentially reports to Bolloré, has tried this week to allay concerns about Lejeune’s employment, but Lejeune has not made any public statements outside of a statement. has not issued a statement. short twitter message He said it was an honor to take the lead. Lagardère insisted his hiring decision was his own decision, but said it was a purely business choice and had no intention of changing editorial policy.
“The illusion that the far right is making inroads into newspapers is not real,” he told Le Figaro. But “JDD must also know how to adapt to a changing world,” he added.
Lejeune said on Twitter last week that he was “hugely honored” by his appointment and that he was “dedicated to succeeding in this challenge.” He didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Under Bolloré, who generally avoided interviews and did not respond to requests for comment, several mainstream news outlets have morphed into right-leaning media outlets, with analysts pointing to Bolloré’s political beliefs and He analyzes that he sympathizes with his personal concerns that Christian culture is being eroded in France. .he recently bought He aimed to grow La France Catholic, a struggling Christian newspaper with less than 10,000 subscribers.
The biggest change came with CNews, the former 24-hour news network. When Bolloré took over in 2015, many journalists were ousted or resigned in protest. Their replacements shifted the focus to debates around points of disagreement and hot issues. , crime, immigration, and the role of Islam in France.
The makeover has catapulted CNews to become one of France’s top TV spots. France has seen a steady increase in the influence of right-wing and far-right politicians, especially in last year’s presidential election.
CNews warned figures like Eric Zemur, a best-selling author known for far-right nationalism, including conspiracy theories about the “great displacement” of whites in France by African immigrants. Inspired by Donald J. Trump, Zemmour became a CNews TV star and ran against President Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen in last year’s presidential election, which ultimately failed.
There has been a similar shift to the right in other media owned by Bolloré, including the Canal Plus news channel and top-tier radio station Europe 1, leading to the departure of reporters and editors.
So when JDD journalists learned of Lejeune’s appointment through the press rather than through official announcements, there was an uprising in the press room.
“Journalists are very concerned about the independence of the media,” says Julia Calle, a media economist at the Paris research university Science Po.
“If you look at what has happened over the past decade, Mr. Bolloré destroyed the media he bought and used it to promote radical right-wing lines, minority anti-rights and Catholic views,” she said. Stated. “In that sense, he has become worse than Rupert Murdoch.”
But in a country where right-wing candidates won more than 30% of the vote in last year’s presidential election, Mr. Bolloré’s platform urged his endorsement to fill a political vacuum in a French media environment dominated by politically correct left-wing journalists. I filled in the place where the person claimed. .
“The French media space is not neutral,” says Dominique Rainier, professor at the Polytechnic Institute and founder of the right-wing think tank Fondapor. “When you bring up issues like immigration or Islamism that are real in France, you get a bad reaction from journalists who think you are right or far right.”
Lejeune’s appointment reflects how the French media landscape is shifting in the direction of “what’s happening in France in terms of elections, it’s moving to the right,” Reignier said. added. “There’s a reader market on that side, and the left-wing press doesn’t read it.”
Bolloré seems enthusiastic about this.
“There are other media owned by businessmen who don’t interfere with editorial policy, but that’s not the case with Bolloré,” said Christian Delporte, a media historian at the University of Versailles.
“If he buys the media, it is with a desire to influence the political future of the country in mind,” he said. “He accompanies the far right to a power grab.”
