Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

France’s Citizen Kane tests EU media freedom ambitions

France’s Citizen Kane tests EU media freedom ambitions

Conservative billionaire Vincent Bolloré’s publishing takeover would make him a media titan just as the EU seeks to protect media pluralism

Brussels wants media concentration to become a European Union issue. French billionaire Vincent Bolloré is testing how serious it is.

The European Commission is set to decide by Wednesday night whether to open an in-depth probe into the takeover of France’s leading publishing group Lagardère by Vivendi, the media conglomerate owned by controversial media tycoon Vincent Bolloré. The deal is facing strong criticism from lawmakers and economists warning that media freedom in France is in danger and urging Brussels to intervene. 

Bolloré – who started his businessman career by turning around his family’s paper factory and is now one of France’s richest men – has become a controversial character partly because of his conservative political leanings and a series of takeovers in the media industry. His empire now spans from logistics in Africa to videogames.

Bolloré’s Vivendi brings together communication agencies, publishing houses, gossip magazines and TV channels which have been criticized for spreading far-right ideas and contributing to the rise of far-right presidential candidate Eric Zemmour. More recently, Bolloré’s C8 channel has been under fire, including by French regulators, for letting a popular TV host insult a member of parliament who criticized Bolloré during his show. 

The proposed deal would make him the full owner of France's leading publisher Hachette, and also of printed newspapers Paris Match and Journal du Dimanche as well as radio stations including Europe 1. His bid to take full control of Lagardère – a group in which he already has a majority share – has sparked worries in France from left-wing politicians and also among allies of French President Emmanuel Macron.

All eyes are now on the EU competition officials who have to decide whether to clear the deal or to extend their investigation, which raises the prospect of a potential veto. 

“It’s a risk for democracy,” said David Cormand, a French Green member of the European Parliament who, together with some of his French colleagues, urged the Commission to block the deal in a letter first reported by POLITICO. 

The group of lawmakers, including an MEP from Macron’s Renew group, argues that an EU clearance would see Brussels reneging on its bid to become the watchdog of media freedom on the Continent. This is the ambition of the European Media Freedom Act proposed in September which still needs to win political agreement. Even if it does enter into force, it won't give the Commission any new powers to block deals in the name of media pluralism. 

“The EMFA does not aim as such to prevent media ownership concentration – the proposal does not set any thresholds for media market concentrations or for national media market measures,” a Commission spokesperson said. The text will set out ways to assess the effects of deals on media pluralism and editorial independence via a procedure “separate to the one done under competition rules.”

Another Commission official stressed that "preserving media plurality is not within the remit of EU competition rules. EU merger reviews solely concerns the competition effects of proposed transactions." Indirectly, competition enforcement "contributes indirectly to media plurality," the person said.


'A media is not a baguette' 


But French politicians and some media experts would like the EU’s competition watchdog to also step in and use the Vivendi/Lagardère case as an opportunity to change its approach and do more to protect media pluralism. 

“We should probably change our paradigm,” said Céline Calvez, an MP from Macron’s LREM party, noting that merger reviews that focus on a company's share in a precise market –such as news magazines or book publishing – don’t properly measure groups that stretch across different media industries, such as Vivendi.

For Julia Cagé, a left-leaning media economist, the EU authority's narrow focus on economic competition "basically amounts to regulating the size of bakeries."

"A media is not a baguette," she said, calling for competition regulators to approach the industry differently and take a holistic view of the “attention market.” The Vivendi/Lagardère combination would reach more than one-third of the French population, she said. 

Vivendi has so far only pledged to address competition concerns related to its publishing activities. Vivendi owns Editis, France’s second-largest publishing company, while Lagardère owns the country’s biggest publishing group Hachette. Vivendi has already said that it is ready to divest Editis to soothe regulators.

It didn’t bother to offer that divestment last week, a sign that it's willing to face an extended probe. A longer merger review can allow companies more time to try and challenge regulators' concerns and shape a more complicated offer to remedy any issues.

A Vivendi spokesperson declined to comment on any offer, stressing that "Vivendi's strategy is to build a world leader in the media, content and communications sector" and that the acquisition of Lagardère would contribute to "a better distribution of culture" in France and abroad.

Bolloré's politics worry some politicians more than his market power, said Patrick Eveno, a media historian at Paris Panthéon-Sorbonne University.

A devout Catholic, Bolloré has been accused of infringing on newsrooms' independence to push for stories in line with his views. Journalists from the weekly news magazine Paris Match, already partially owned by Bolloré, criticized editorial choices including putting a radical cardinal on the magazine's front page. Journalists from Le Journal du Dimanche – also under Vivendi's control – openly criticized the appointment of a new editor-in-chief, accused of being too close to Bolloré.

According to Eveno, Bolloré imposed a clear editorial line on media he took over and pushed for "a political vision at the service of the extreme right and its own business interests.”

“It is not a problem of concentration, but of Bolloré’s political toxicity on newsrooms,” Eveno said.

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
France Faces New Political Crisis, again, as Prime Minister Bayrou Pushed Out
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
EU Proposes Phasing Out Russian Oil and Gas by End of 2027 to End Energy Dependence
More Than 150,000 Followers for a Fictional Character: The New Influencers Are AI Creations
EU Prepares for War
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Big Tech Executives Laud Trump at White House Dinner, Unveil Massive U.S. Investments
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
‘Looks Like a Wig’: Online Users Express Concern Over Kate Middleton
Florida’s Vaccine Revolution: DeSantis Declares War on Mandates
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
"The Situation Has Never Been This Bad": The Fall of PepsiCo
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
The Fashion Designer Who Became an Italian Symbol: Giorgio Armani Has Died at 91
Putin Celebrates ‘Unprecedentedly High’ Ties with China as Gazprom Seals Power of Siberia-2 Deal
China Unveils New Weapons in Grand Military Parade as Xi Hosts Putin and Kim
Rapper Cardi B Cleared of Liability in Los Angeles Civil Assault Trial
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Druzhba Pipeline Incident Sparks Geopolitical Tensions
Cost of Opposition Leader Péter Magyar's Economic Plan Revealed
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
Eurozone Inflation Rises to 2.1% in August
Russia and China Sign New Gas Pipeline Deal
Von der Leyen's Plane Hit by Suspected Russian GPS Interference in an Incident Believed to Be Caused by Russia or by Pro-Peace or by Anti-Corruption European Activists
China's Robotics Industry Fuels Export Surge
Suntory Chairman Resigns After Police Probe
Gold Price Hits New All-Time Record
UK Fintechs Explore Buying US Banks
Greece Suspends 5% of Schools as Birth Rate Drops
Apollo to Launch $5 Billion Sports Investment Vehicle
Bolsonaro Trial Nears Close Amid US-Brazil Tension
European Banks Push for Lower Cross-Border Barriers
Poland's Offshore Wind Sector Attracts Investors
Budapest Central European Fashion Week Kicks Off
U.S. Celebrates Labor Day
Hungarian National Team Captain Scores Epic Goal
×