The decision fell by way of press release, Monday evening July 24, after a fifth week of strike within the drafting of the Sunday newspaper (JDD). Evoking a “breakdown of negotiations” with the society of journalists (SDJ), the management of the Lagardère group, owner of the newspaper, announced the end of negotiations and the arrival of Geoffroy Lejeune at the head of the editorial staff from 1er august.
This announcement comes as the drafting of the JDD massively extended until Tuesday morning its strike against the arrival at its head of the journalist, former editorial director of the magazine Current valuesmarked on the far right.
The management of Lagardère News regrets in a press release “the position of the SDJ, which does not seem to have taken into account the proposed openings” and has “leads to a breakdown in negotiations, which is detrimental to both journalists and readers of the Sunday newspaper ».
“This fantasy of the far right is unfounded”
“I deplore this outcome (…). No one can dispute the shareholder’s right to appoint the managing editor. It’s the law. (…) I say it again, we will not do JDD an ideological tract nor a militant newspaper. This far-right fantasy is unfounded and contemptuous. The JDD will remain a general information publication, open to the general public and open to all currents of thought.wrote Arnaud Lagardère, quoted by the press release.
For its part, the editorial staff of the weekly stressed its “unfailing mobilization” facing a “total break with the identity of a 75-year-old newspaper”, Saturday at the beginning of the afternoon, at the time of the renewal of the strike until Tuesday. The editorial staff reiterated its demands, remaining opposed to the arrival of Geoffroy Lejeune and demanding guarantees of legal and editorial independence.
Many observers see in the appointment of Mr. Lejeune the hand of the billionaire Vincent Bolloré, whose Vivendi group must swallow Lagardère, owner of the JDDof Paris Match and Europe 1, after a successful takeover bid. The situation of the weekly 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.