2023-07-08 21:47:07
The drafting of Sunday newspaper (JDD), on strike for 16 days against the appointment of Geoffroy Lejeune as its head, called on Saturday July 8 in a letter published by West France Emmanuel Macron to “grab as soon as possible” issues of press independence. “Many personalities and organizations have publicly shown their support for us”recalls the editorial staff in this open letter. “But with the exception of a few rare expressions from ministers, discretion has prevailed on the side of the executive, which thus seems to endorse this new blow to the independence of the media”she believes, fearing “die in silence”.
Even if Arnaud Lagardère, boss of the group that owns the JDD, denies it, many observers see in the appointment of Mr. Lejeune, a journalist marked on the far right, the hand of billionaire Vincent Bolloré, with opinions deemed ultra- conservative.
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The president ordered to “take a public position”
This appointment comes just after the green light given under conditions by Brussels to Vivendi, the group of Mr. Bolloré, to swallow Lagardère (Paris Match, Europe 1, Hachette, etc.) Before a third Sunday in a row without the publication of the JDD, the renewal of the movement had unsurprisingly been adopted very widely on Saturday (90 for, 3 against, 8 who did not decide), until Tuesday 9:30 a.m., and a new meeting of employees, according to the Society of Journalists (SDJ) of the title.
“While appointments in a press company obviously come under private law, information is not a commodity like any other”advances in his letter the drafting of the JDD, insisting on the” emergency “ to guarantee “the independence of editorial staff and the impartiality of information”. She therefore asks the President to “grasp this issue as soon as possible. First by taking a public position on this decisive issue, then by changing the legal framework..
Culture Minister Rima Abdul Malak received a delegation of JDD journalists last week, a few days after expressing her deep concern for the “republican values” on Twitter. “It is not up to the State today to interfere in the choice of an editorial office in the private sector”said Olivier Véran, government spokesperson, on June 27 in the National Assembly, without specifying the date of the “States General of the Right to Information”promised by Emmanuel Macron.
A strike fund was opened to support this unprecedented movement – the previous strike in 2016 had affected only one Sunday of publication – and a petition was launched, collecting more than 38,600 signatures on Saturday.
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