2023-08-06 08:36:00
Readers were able to find the Sunday newspaper… this Sunday. While the first edition of the weekly under the direction of Geoffroy Lejeune had only been announced for mid-August, it was finally published by surprise shortly after midnight on the newspaper’s application, AFP noted. This is a 32-page issue (20 less than the last edition), the front page of which is devoted to insecurity and justice after the death of a 15-year-old boy stabbed to death. July 22 in the Eure. The new Secretary of State for the City, Sabrina Agresti-Roubache, is the first member of the government to grant an interview to the JDD under the direction of Geoffroy Lejeune.
Media: after 40 days of strike to oppose the arrival of Geoffroy Lejeune, an agreement was reached at the JDD
The publication took place in an atmosphere quite “surreal” with many “volunteers” et “good intentions”commented the new managing editor who described “a real baptism of fire”. Asked about Europe 1 (radio of the Lagardère group, like the JDD), he described this new newspaper as being “very committed, [qui] defends fine causes (…) This is a number that will perhaps not mark the history of France, but at least the history of the press”. The readers “will find the great markers of this newspaper and, at the same time, it is perfectly up to date”, he said during his first public intervention.
A 40 day strike
As a reminder, the journalists of the JDD led 40 days of strikes, since June 22, against the appointment of Geoffroy Lejeune, former editor-in-chief of Valeurs Actuelles, as editorial director. The movement ended on Tuesday with an agreement which provides in particular “the establishment of support conditions for journalists who wish to leave the editorial staff”, had then indicated the group. An unprecedented strike which exceeded by its length the historic strikes of i-Télé in 2016 (31 days) and Radio France in 2015 (27 days), according to a report by Reporters Without Borders. “It costs us to recognize it, particularly with our readers: if we have put the issue of editorial independence back in the public square, in front of our shareholder, we have not won”underlined the LDS, in this bitter-toned text.
After this strike action, “amply commented on by the media”, “I understand that I can start working and that’s what I wanted to do for several weeks” told told Geoffroy Lejeune. Then begins a race against time, according to him. “Since it was impossible, a few of us decided to do it”he continued, calling this publication a « miracle ». “There were very few of us to relaunch the JDD machine (…) and people of good will came forward to come and help us”, he added. This issue was produced mainly by outside journalists, with few members of the outgoing editorial staff involved, as for the website whose activity had already resumed this week, powered by the 6Médias press agency. We find the signatures of Charlotte d’Ornellas and Raphaël Stainville (former of Valeurs Actuelles, like Geoffroy Lejeune), of Pascal Praud, journalist for Europe 1 and CNews, Jacques Vendroux, for sport, or even Eric Naulleau (ex-companion of debate by Eric Zemmour, whom Geoffroy Lejeune supported in the 2022 presidential election).
Il there is “every reason to worry” according to the Minister of Culture
Recent events at JDD revived the debate on the concentration of the media in the hands of a few large private groups and the legislation governing their operation. Several avenues have been mentioned, in particular concerning the conditioning of aid to the press, the strengthening of the power of the editorial staff vis-à-vis the shareholders, but none of them has so far achieved a consensus. A subject that will be on the menu in September of the States General of Information announced by the Elysée.
For her part, the Minister of Culture, Rima Abdul Malak, estimated in an interview with West France Saturday, that he “there is every reason to worry in view of what happened to Valeurs Actuelles which, let’s remember, was convicted of inciting racial hatred”. Under the direction of Geoffroy Lejeune, the newspaper was sentenced to a suspended fine of 1,000 euros for public insult of a racist nature against LFI deputy Danièle Obono. The Minister nevertheless recalled that “the opinion press has the right to exist in France, this is part of the pluralism of the press, so we can neither constrain the freedom of the press, nor constrain the freedom of enterprise”.
(With AFP)
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