Even if he denies it, the shadow of Vincent Bolloré hovers over the appointment of Geoffroy Lejeune at the head of the “Journal du Dimanche”. The Breton billionaire has been building a media empire for ten years, by reproducing the same patterns “from editorial to editorial.”
The strike started by the employees of the JDD since June 22 was renewed Friday at 95% and therefore prevents the publication of the newspaper, Sunday July 9, for the third consecutive week. The editorial staff still opposes the appointment as its head of the former director of the weekly Current values, Geoffroy Lejeune, marked on the far right. An appointment which – for many – was decided by Vincent Bolloré. While the European Commission has given the green light to the takeover of the Lagardère group, to which the Sunday newspapere (JDD), by VivendiIhe Breton billionaire has already bent many editorial staff with a similar method.
>> Canal +, i-Télé, “Paris Match”… Before the JDD, Vincent Bolloré’s stranglehold on other media turned many editorial staff
At the start, there is always an announcement experienced within the editorial staff as a provocation. At JDD, it is therefore the appointment of Geoffroy Lejeune. Seven years ago, the arrival of Jean-Marc Morandini at i-Télé caused a month-long strike. The elders of Europe 1 believe for their part that the takeover had been more “sneaky”less “violent”. “At Europe 1, we have not had an announcement as strong as the one our colleagues from the JDD are encountering today.underlines Olivier Samain, former journalist of Europe 1, trade union representative SNJ. We did not have the appointment of a director like Geoffroy Lejeune but we quickly understood, with the announcements that fell on us in the spring of 2021, that in the short term, the antenna of Europe 1 was going to lose a large part of its soul and strongly immersed in the content and practices of the CNews channel.”
Strikes, petitions… then departures
Faced with these changes which modify the identity of these different media, what follows is therefore strikes, motions of no confidence, petitions, then departures. The editorial staff of Europe 1, i-Télé, Canal+ or Paris Match were decimated. The journalists who remain are those who agree to be loyal to Vincent Bolloré, says a former Canal+ employee. “For me, it’s obvious that Vincent Bolloré is behind all all the decisions”, assures Isabelle Roberts, co-founder of Jours.fr. This journalist dissects the billionaire’s hold on the French media. “I have been working on Vincent Bolloré for seven years.”
“At Jours.fr, we often say that Vincent Bolloré is a serial killer of editorial staff and that’s really it.”
Isabelle Roberts, journalist and co-founder of Jours.frat franceinfo
“It’s really the same operating modes of writing in writing”, continues Isabelle Roberts. For his part, Vincent Bolloré explains that he does not have the power to appoint anyone. Moreover, regarding the Sunday newspaperEurope 1 and Paris Match, normally, he does not have the right to do so because these media still belong to the Lagardère group. There is currently an investigation by the European Commission to find out whether or not Vincent Bolloré took control of all his media before being authorized to do so.
Before the “JDD” how did the previous media takeovers by Vincent Bolloré take place – the report by Valentin Dunate
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