Geoffroy Lejeune will take up his duties as editor of the weekly from August 1, announces the Lagardère group

Geoffroy Lejeune “will take over the effective management of the editorial staff” of JDD from August 1. In a press release published Monday, July 24, the Lagardère group, owner of the newspaper, gave the date on which the journalist Geoffroy Lejeune, former Current values and marked on the far right, must take office at the head of the weekly, while the Society of Journalists has been on strike for more than a month to oppose his arrival.

This announcement comes as the drafting of the JDD massively renewed its mobilization until Tuesday morning. When renewing the strike on Saturday, the editorial staff of the weekly stressed its “unfailing mobilization” facing a “total break with the identity of a 75-year-old newspaper”. Remaining opposed to the arrival of Geoffroy Lejeune, it continued to demand guarantees of legal and editorial independence.

“A breakdown of negotiations”

In its press release, the management of Lagardère News regretted “the position of the SDJ, which does not seem to have taken into account the proposed openings” and has “led to a breakdown in negotiations (…)”. The group’s boss, Arnaud Lagardère, added in the same press release that “we will not make the JDD an ideological tract or a militant newspaper (…) The JDD will remain a general information publication, open to the general public and open to all currents of thought”, he concluded.

Many observers see in the appointment of Geoffroy Lejeune the hand of billionaire Vincent Bolloré, whose Vivendi group must swallow Lagardère, owner of the JDD, of Paris Match and Europe 1, after a successful takeover bid. The situation of the JDD thus recalls the strikes of Europe 1 in 2021 and of i-Télé (become CNews, property of Vivendi) in 2016, concluded each time by massive departures.