“Independence is my honor, and it is above all an essential requirement of our authors”, wanted to reassure Isabelle Saporta, the new CEO of Fayard editions, in an interview with Obs the day after her appointment, in mid-June. The one who was until now literary director in the same house (in particular editor of the economist Thomas Porcher, Christophe Barbier or Cyril Hanouna), also a columnist on Europe 1 and CNews, took over from Sophie de Closets, who resigned in March.
If she made a point of reaffirming the editorial freedom of writers, it is because Isabelle Saporta is now faced with a series of departures of authors worried and concerned about their independence, in the context of the ongoing takeover of Lagardère (owner of Hachette and therefore Fayard) by Vivendi, the group of billionaire Vincent Bolloré.
The author Virginie Grimaldi initiated the movement by slamming the door of Fayard on June 14th. The second most widely read novelist in France, she sold 877,000 books in large format and paperback in 2021 (GfK figures/Weekly Books).
She was followed by other successful authors, including essayist and novelist Jacques Attali, journalists from Monde Gérard Davet and Fabrice Lhomme and Victor Castanet, author of the book The Gravediggers, a survey published in January on the methods of the Orpea group, the world leader in nursing homes. The philosophers Alain Badiou and Barbara Cassin, as well as the sociologist Didier Eribon also indicated leaving the house.
An appointment criticized
It was successive revelations that triggered these chain departures. Isabelle Saporta’s taking office is indeed part of a particular politico-financial context. According The world, the former President of the Republic – and administrator of Lagardère – Nicolas Sarkozy, close to Vincent Bolloré, would have pushed the former CEO Sophie de Closets to leave. As for the authors, the proximity between Isabelle Saporta and Nicolas Sarkozy seems to arouse apprehensions. According to another article published by The world on June 13, the journalist would have requested an interview with the former president following the departure of Sophie de Closets. “We will see if she can make a good CEO of Fayard”would then have declared the former head of state.
These departures are part of the takeover by Editis (Vivendi group) of Hachette (Lagardère group), which owns Fayard editions. Many writers, publishers and booksellers have expressed their concerns through the press. They fear for their freedom in the monopoly situation that could arise if the operation obtains the green light from the French and European competition authorities.
Fourteen bookstores thus signed a pamphlet a few days ago against the merger entitled Edition in danger!, hosted on the Ombres Blanches blog. The former boss of the Toulouse bookstore, Christian Thorel, a long-time defender of editorial freedom, warns of the danger of overproduction: «The looming Hachette-Editis merger constitutes a monopoly that will own more than half of publishing in France. From authors to readers, on publishing, on bookstores, the effects of its monopoly are not only formidable, but they are draconian. We must all oppose it”.