Beautiful Virgin Islands

Monday, Jun 05, 2023

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

Beautiful Virgin Islands
Close
0:00
0:00
The driver has been described by authorities as a 21-year-old woman from Tallahassee
I have a dream, MLK inspiring speech
Joe Biden falls at the Air Force Graduation
Aretha Franklin, Marvis Staples - Oh Happy Day
America's Got Talent…
BVI Freedom Song
Nvidia Joins Tech Giants as First Chipmaker to Reach $1 Trillion Valuation
Billy Preston - You Can't Beat God Giving (Live)
Drone Attack on Moscow's Wealthiest Neighborhoods Suspected to be Launched by Ukraine
VIRGIN ISLANDS REGGAE CARIBBEAN RIDDIMZ
AI ‘extinction’ should be same priority as nuclear war – experts
Oh Happy Day Edwin Hawkins - Anthony Brown w FBCG Combined Choir
Prominent Hacker Forum RaidForums Suffers Substantial Data Breach
'Stand by Me' performed by Karen Gibson and The Kingdom Choir
Nvidia CEO Huang says firms, individuals without AI expertise will be left behind
National Anthem of the British Virgin Islands - Oh, Beautiful Virgin
WPP Revolutionizes Advertising with NVIDIA's AI Powerhouse
Hello Dolly
Two US Employees Fired For Chasing Robbers Out Of Store As They Broke ''Company Policy''
for KING & COUNTRY - Amen (Reborn) [feat. Lecrae & The WRLDFMS Tony Wi
If you donated to BLM, you got played
Bob Marley - Get Up Stand Up
Pfizer, the EU, and disappearing ink - Smoke, Mirrors, and the Billion-Dose Pfizer Vaccine Deal: EU's 'Open Secret
Yes He Can
Actor Tom Hanks told Harvard University graduates to be superheroes in their defense of truth and American ideals, and to resist those who twist the truth for their own gain
What A Friend We Have In Jesus
The Sussexes' Royal Rebound: Could Harry and Meghan Markle Return to the UK?
Unforgettable
A provocative study suggests: Left-Wing Extremism and its Unsettling Connection to Psychopathy and Narcissism
Touch The Hem Of His Garment
France Arrests 10 on Suspicion of Failing to Respond in Time to Migrant Drowning
The Lord's Prayer
Neuralink Receives FDA Approval for First-in-Human Clinical Study
THE GOD MOVEMENT...BEAUTIFUL BVI
Is Saudi Arabia the holiest place in the world? Ancient Hebrew Inscriptions from "The Mount Sinai Stand" Discovered in Saudi Arabia
Siyahamba
Ukrainian Intelligence Official Admits to Assassination Attempts on Putin
Ray Charles And The Voices Of Jubilaton, Oh, Happy Day
WATCH THIS: democracy in Russia is so bad!
Ramblin' Rose
Ed Davey: It is possible for a woman to have a penis
Protoje - Who Knows ft. Chronixx
Bernard Arnault Loses $11.2 Billion in One Day as Investors Fear Slowdown in US Growth Will Reduce Demand for Luxury Products
Pressure - Virgin Islands Nice
Russian’s Wagner Group leader: “I am not a chef, I am a butcher. Russia is in danger of a revolution like in 1917.”
Phil Wickham - House Of The Lord
TikTok Sues Montana Over Law Banning the App
My God Is Real (Yes, God Is Real)
Ron DeSantis Jumps Into 2024 Presidential Race, Setting Up Showdown With Trump
The Lion King Circle of Life by LEBO M. — LIVE at the HAVASI Symphonic
Steve Jobs introducing Apple's iPhone, exactly 16 years ago.
Louis Armstrong - When The Saints Go Marching In
Banking Behemoth vs Ex-Boss: The PMorgan-Epstein Entanglement
Kanye West Sunday Service - hallelujah, salvation, and glory
China overtakes Japan as world's top car exporter
Jonathan Nelson - I Believe (Island Medley
Last Walmart in North Portland Closing Down
From The Virgin Islands Sqad Up
Banking Behemoth vs Ex-Boss: The PMorgan-Epstein Entanglement
Common, John Legend - Glory
Florida's DeSantis seeks to disqualify judge in Disney case
Anthony Evans vs. Jesse Campbell - If I Ain't Got You
Talks between US House Republicans and President Biden's Democratic administration on raising the federal government's $31.4tn debt ceiling have paused
I have a dream, MLK inspiring speech
Biden Administration Eyeing High-Profile Visits to China: The Biden Administration is heating things up by looking into setting up a series of top-level visits to Beijing by top officials in the coming months
Aretha Franklin, Marvis Staples - Oh Happy Day
New evidence in special counsel probe may undercut Trump’s claim documents he took were automatically declassified
BVI Freedom Song
A French court of appeals confirmed former President Nicolas Sarkozy's three-year jail term for corruption and influence peddling
Billy Preston - You Can't Beat God Giving (Live)
Debt Ceiling Crises Have Unleashed Political Chaos
VIRGIN ISLANDS REGGAE CARIBBEAN RIDDIMZ
Weibao Wang, a former software engineer at Apple, was charged with stealing trade secrets related to autonomous systems, including self-driving cars
Oh Happy Day Edwin Hawkins - Anthony Brown w FBCG Combined Choir
Mobile phone giant Vodafone to cut 11,000 jobs globally over three years as new boss says its performance not good enough
'Stand by Me' performed by Karen Gibson and The Kingdom Choir
Elon Musk compares George Soros to Magneto, the supervillain from the Marvel Comics series.
National Anthem of the British Virgin Islands - Oh, Beautiful Virgin
Warren Buffett Sells TSMC Shares Over Concerns About Taiwan's Stability
Hello Dolly
New Study Finds That Secondary Bacterial Pneumonia Is a Major Cause of Death in COVID-19 Patients Who Require Ventilator Assistance
for KING & COUNTRY - Amen (Reborn) [feat. Lecrae & The WRLDFMS Tony Wi
The Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines calls the British monarchy "an absurdity" he wants to remove in his lifetime
Bob Marley - Get Up Stand Up
Remarkable video from our Fox drone team
Yes He Can
The official tapes of Trump's deposition in the E. Jean Carroll battery (rape) and defamation case have been released.
What A Friend We Have In Jesus
×