In front of the survey commission on the concentration in the Senate media, the billionaire has been defended to have wanted to redeem “the Journal du Sunday”, “Paris Match” or “Le Figaro”.
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The media for Bernard Arnault? Almost a work of charity. The billionaire of luxury, which was auditioned Thursday, January 20 by the Inquiry Committee on concentration in the media, was at a long time questioned about the reasons for investing in the press. Even if they represent only a drop of water in the LVMH empire, its main newspapers, the Echos and the Parisian, do not remain there any real tools of influence.
But, like Vincent Bolloré the day before, the luxury group president has produced his best efforts to stick to it. “The goal for us is that these companies succeed in becoming profitable,” he said alone explanation to his interest in the sector, speaking of “patronage”. Also in his snack, investing, classic radio, and interests in Challenges, Lagardère and opinion, either as many activities he has described as “quite marginal” for him and his group. Without him, “some” of these titles (“deficit activities”, “low in absolute value”) would not have survived.
Its adventure in the tribune, redeemed in 1993, nevertheless illustrates history otherwise. At the time, Bernard Arnault is not today’s billionaire, and possess a newspaper is part of the panoply of any industrial in search of respectability. He throws his sights on this little pullet of the economic press. Then, in 2007, he offers himself at the number one number one, the echos, sold by Pearson, and then sells the forum. In major financial difficulties, the daily life is placed in judicial liquidation in 2012.
“No economic relationship with the public authorities”
But rather than a search for influence, Bernard Arnault preferred to present his press adventures as opportunities coming to him. Thus, in 2020, he was asked by Claude Perdriel to redeem 40% of the Challenges group, and Arnaud Lagardère, who was facing the Amber Capital Activist Fund. “He asked me if I was ready to participate in his limited partnership,” he tried to trace, making me try to “do not go wrong”. Difficult for him to ignore that in the business world he was whispering he had stolen Lagardère’s rescue to avoid Europe 1, at the JDD and Paris match to fall into the hands of Vincent Bolloré, a fear of Emmanuel Macron. “Our group has no economic relationship with the public authorities,” said this close to the President of the Republic.
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