Three months after his appointment, the current general manager of the Sunday newspaper, Jérôme Bellay, has already been replaced by Jérôme Béglé. A surprise announcement that is of great concern to the editorial staff. “We have not received any explanation on the reasons for this decision, which comes less than a hundred days before the presidential election and a few weeks before a takeover bid by Vivendi, of which Vincent Bolloré is the majority shareholder, on the Lagardère group”, indicated the Society of Journalists (SDJ) of the editorial staff of the weekly.
A rapprochement with the CNews channel?
The journalist Jérôme Béglé will take over the general management of the editorial staff of the JDD, a very influential weekly in the political world, from January 24, three months after the previous reshuffle at the head of the newspaper, the Lagardère group announced on Wednesday. “The appointment of Jérôme Béglé, regular columnist for CNews, makes us fear a rapprochement with the chain of the Bolloré group, an opinion media that claims to be such. The drafting of Sunday newspaper opposes it,” announced the SDJ.
“In a context of brutal takeover of Europe 1, we recall our vigilance regarding the editorial line of the newspaper and our attachment to its independence”, she added. The direction of the JDD had already been turned upside down at the end of October, after the dismissal of Hervé Gattegno, replaced by Jérôme Bellay. Lagardère, owner of the publication whose main shareholder is the media giant Vivendi, had remained silent on the reasons for this eviction. On Wednesday, the group had not given a reason for this new change.
The previous Europe 1
On the other hand, Cyril Petit, editorial director, retains his functions and will support Jérôme Béglé to “continue the transformation projects initiated on the JDD, especially on digital,” the group said in a statement. Jérôme Béglé, who worked for the editorial staff of Paris Match, Figaro Magazine and Point, regularly appears on the CNews channel, owned by Vivendi, the group led by conservative billionaire Vincent Bolloré. Under his leadership, radio Europe 1, also owned by Lagardère, made a rapprochement with CNews this season, and caused a hemorrhage of departures within the station.