The editorial staff of “Marianne” opposes its takeover by Pierre-Edouard Stérin, presented as close to the National Rally

The legislative elections disrupt the sale of Marianne. Repulsed by press articles claiming that billionaire Pierre-Edouard Stérin has links with the National Rally (RN), the magazine’s editorial staff ultimately opposed him buying the title, even threatening to strike. “What appeared to be an individual ideological commitment turns out to be a partisan enterprise”estimated Thursday June 27 in a press release relayed on Marianne (SRM). The editorial team therefore “pronounced unanimously (…) against the takeover of the magazine by Pierre-Edouard Stérin”reversing a previous vote, on June 21.

This spectacular about-face comes the day after an article in World entitled “How the billionaire Pierre-Edouard Stérin places his pawns in the RN”. In this article, the daily ensures that several LR-RN candidates for the legislative elections come from the “Sterin galaxy”by being notably linked to the Common Good Fund, a philanthropic structure created by the 50-year-old billionaire, at the head of the Otium Capital investment fund. The world also cites another article from the magazine Challenges, according to which Pierre-Edouard Stérin and Otium number 2, François Durvye, bought the Le Pen family property in Rueil-Malmaison (Hauts-de-Seine) in November, via a real estate company (SCI). According to Challengesthis property, where Jean-Marie Le Pen, the founder of the National Front – who became RN in 2018, still lives – was sold for 2.5 million euros.

“The latest elements brought to our attention concerning Pierre-Edouard Stérin make the guarantees of independence obtained by the editorial staff insufficient to exercise our profession with serenity”, argued the SRM. According to her, “the nature of the takeover offer is definitively altered”.