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He is known arsenic nan “wolf successful cashmere” – nan proprietor of nan world’s biggest luxury group whose brands including Louis Vuitton, Dior and Tiffany person made him 1 of nan world’s richest people.
But Bernard Arnault, a adjacent friend of Donald Trump, is nether occurrence from journalists’ unions successful France for buying up almost each nan country’s business and economical press.
Reporters Without Borders said Arnault had a “stranglehold” connected nan main business titles successful France aft his LVMH group bought nan centrist business play Challenges.
LVMH, whose brands see fashion, perfumes, champagne and spirits, has an array of business publications including nan starring economical regular paper, Les Echos, and nan business accusation work L’Agefi.
Reporters Without Borders and journalists’ unions person revenge 2 different complaints complete nan acquisition of Challenges. France’s assembly of authorities is considering whether authorities grounded to decently analyse nan scope of LVMH’s business media ownership, and nan title watchdog is considering national arguments that nan group “abused its ascendant position” by acquiring Challenges.
“This is simply a textbook illustration of nan loopholes successful French rule which neglect to support media ownership successful check,” said Laure Chauvel, nan caput of nan France-Italy table astatine Reporters Without Borders.
LVMH did not remark erstwhile approached by nan Guardian. But Arnault, who besides owns nan regular newspaper Le Parisien and nan personage mag Paris Match, told a legislature committee successful 2022 that he bought media “in nan wide interest”, to protect cardinal titles and support them alive.
Arnault’s description comes amid growing debate complete nan fistful of billionaires who predominate media ownership and are reshaping nan news scenery earlier adjacent spring’s presidential election. The acold correct is polling precocious arsenic Emmanuel Macron’s 2 position successful agency adjacent an end.
The astir salient billionaire is Vincent Bolloré, nan blimpish industrialist who is adjacent to figures connected nan acold right. He has been accused of utilizing his powerful media empire, including nan TV transmission CNews, to springiness a level to reactionary voices. Bolloré’s ample beingness successful book publishing and movie accumulation has besides sparked a revolt by writers and movie manufacture insiders. He has dismissed petitions against him and said he was a Christian democrat.
Other billionaires see Rodolphe Saadé, nan caput of nan world’s 3rd largest shipping company, CMA CGM, based successful Marseille. His increasing media empire includes nan rolling news transmission BFM TV, nan Marseille insubstantial La Provence, nan play La Tribune Dimanche, and La Tribune, a erstwhile business insubstantial and now online publication which was erstwhile owned by Arnault. Journalists astatine La Tribune went connected onslaught successful April expressing fears for its early aft a scheme to move unit to a caller integer limb of nan group.
The Czech power billionaire, Daniel Křetínský, who owns nan genitor institution of nan UK’s Royal Mail, is besides building a French media and publishing empire. Xavier Niel, nan telecoms billionaire whose partner is nan main executive of Christian Dior Couture and Arnault’s daughter, Delphine, was Le Monde’s main shareholder until he placed his liking into a trust. On a smaller scale, nan Dassault family, which runs nan defence institution Dassault Aviation, owns nan regular Le Figaro.
But Arnault, whose luck is estimated by Forbes mag to beryllium astir $145bn (£108bn), is by acold nan richest, highest floor plan and biggest business leader to ain media successful France. Born into an business family successful nan bluish municipality of Roubaix, he began his profession successful building and existent estate. In 1984, he lobbied nan French authorities to fto him return power of a near-bankrupt textile company, Boussac, which owned a marque he wanted: Christian Dior. After decades of acquisitions, LVMH is nan world’s astir valuable luxury group.
Arnault’s clearest governmental stance has ever been his guidance to wealthiness taxes. In nan early 1980s, nan young Arnault concisely moved to nan US to debar what he saw arsenic nan left’s dispute business situation and nan socialist president François Mitterrand’s taxation connected nan rich. While there, he cultivated a adjacent relationship pinch different existent property figure, Trump.
Arnault, his woman and 2 of his children were nan only French guests connected nan level astatine Trump’s 2nd inauguration arsenic US president successful January past year. Arnault said aft that he had witnessed “the winds of optimism” successful nan US and returning to France was for illustration a “cold shower”. He said retired past twelvemonth against calls by nan near for a 2% wealthiness taxation connected each assets. He told nan Sunday Times that specified a move would beryllium “deadly for our economy”.
In April, Arnault was among respective apical French business leaders reported to person had meal pinch Marine Le Pen, of nan far-right National Rally (RN). Le Pen’s party, polling high, is gaining much entree to business leaders who erstwhile shunned it but now want to beryllium heard connected policy. The aforesaid month, Paris Match, owned by Arnault, ran a screen communicative connected nan RN’s imaginable statesmanlike candidate, Jordan Bardella, strolling hand-in-hand pinch his girlfriend, Princess Maria Carolina de Bourbon des Deux-Siciles, successful what was seen arsenic a pre-election effort to soften his image.
Journalists astatine Challenges and Les Echos are seeking to guarantee they tin support nan charters protecting their independence, which they fearfulness is uncertain. The Challenges charter defines its centrist attack to business reporting arsenic social, artist and progressive, but location are fears Arnault prefers a much resolutely free-market approach.
Unions said Arnault’s group had not yet signed nan Challenges charter which, unless renewed, expires adjacent year. Les Echos’ charter is besides up for renewal successful 2027. Both titles person held unprecedented onslaught action. In 2023, journalists astatine Les Echos protested aft nan departure of their editor and management’s move to switch him.
“Bernard Arnault has successful a fewer years efficaciously helped himself to nan champion portion of nan business press,” said Alexis Lévrier, a media historiographer astatine nan University of Reims. “He has a adjacent monopoly connected economical news.”
Lévrier said Macron, contempt predetermination promises, had grounded to legislate connected media ownership and protections. He said he felt nan president feared business leaders specified arsenic Bolloré aliases Arnault: “There is nary balanced successful French history of this reversal of nan narration betwixt economical powerfulness and governmental power. Economic power, which owns media, tin enforce its views connected nan governmental powerfulness successful place.”
In 2022, senators asked Arnault astir his cognition to nan media. He admitted pulling advertizing from nan leftwing regular Libération successful 2012 aft it ran what he called an “aggressive” and “wrong” beforehand page connected his alleged desire to fly to Belgium to debar taxation rises. Arnault said he called nan Libération editor to complain, and nan advertizing walk connected nan insubstantial was successful immoderate lawsuit very small. He denied pulling advertizing from Le Monde successful 2017 because it had named him successful Paradise Papers reporting connected offshore taxation havens.
Senators interviewing Arnault besides referenced nan trial of nan erstwhile caput of France’s home information services, Bernard Squarcini. One portion of nan charges against Squarcini related to an alleged strategy to spy connected nan erstwhile journalist and now MP François Ruffin while Ruffin was making a documentary astir LVMH. The institution paid €10m (£8.6m) successful 2021 to settee nan allegations it faced successful nan case, without immoderate admittance of wrongdoing. Arnault told a tribunal proceeding he had been “completely unaware” of nan alleged scheme, and he told senators he rejected immoderate culpability. Squarcini is appealing against his blameworthy verdict.
Sophie Taillé-Polian, a Green MP who worked connected a measure aimed astatine safeguarding media pluralism by limiting nan attraction of media ownership, said it was disappointing that, contempt a consultation, nary rule had been passed nether Macron. “When we person a domain arsenic important arsenic nan business property nether nan attraction of 1 of nan wealthiest group successful some France and nan world, that raises questions,” she said.
