Sarkozy's tight circle of media friends
A bid by one of French President Sarkozy's best friends to take over a prominent newspaper has journalists pushing for regulations to protect their independence.
from the July 26, 2007 edition
Page 2 of 3
Journalists push for legal rights
The group wants newsroom representatives to have legal standing so they can veto the hiring of top editors. It also wants a journalistic code of ethics enacted into law that includes protections for reporters' notes and sources.
And it wants a law giving journalists the right to sue a media owner for any alleged violation of ethical or professional standards. One impetus for the journalists' demands, says Mr. Malye, is that the number of media jobs is shrinking.
"That way, if you are asked to do something that is ethically aberrant, you could go to court," says Malye of the proposed new rules. "Now if I complain my boss can say, 'Fine, goodbye.' I could just go to another paper before. There was a natural equilibrium. But now there are no other papers."
Among Sarkozy's intimates is Serge Dassault, owner of the historically conservative Le Figaro newspaper and a senator from the president's right-wing party. Martin Bouygues, godfather to Sarkozy's youngest son, controls the biggest French television channel, TF1. A string of media properties is also owned by Arnaud Lagardère, an aerospace company chairman who once said he and Sarkozy were as close as brothers. Journalists at his publications have repeatedly accused Mr. Lagardère of politically motivated interference.
The latest focus of journalists' suspicion is Bernard Arnault, chairman of the luxury goods conglomerate LVMH. The prospect of him controlling Les Échos is causing as much journalistic angst here as Rupert Murdoch's impending purchase of The Wall Street Journal in the US.
His company, LVMH, is the world's largest luxury goods producer, with brands ranging from Christian Dior and Louis Vuitton to the Sephora cosmetics stores. In other words, Les Échos reports regularly on just about everything Arnault controls.
He is in exclusive negotiations with the paper's present owner, the British press group Pearson Plc, and has reportedly offered ¤245 million ($336 million) for Les Échos. The paper's editorial staff has staged two one-day strikes to protest the potential sale and signed up hundreds of big-name political and civic leaders on a petition against a sale to Arnault's LVMH.
If his offer is accepted, newsroom employees fear, his ownership cannot help but have a chilling effect.
"France is a small country, and everything is centered in Paris," says Laurence Bagot, a senior writer at Les Échos. "So there's already the suspicion that everyone knows everyone. When you have a guy like Arnault in charge, it's not only difficult to write about him but it's also a small world."
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