The Sunday newspaper is not on newsstands this Sunday, June 25 because of a strike by its employees to protest against the arrival at the management of the weekly of the journalist close to the extreme right, Geoffroy Lejeune.
The Sunday newspaper is absent from newsstands this Sunday morning because its journalists are on strike. The movement was renewed until Wednesday announced the editorial staff of the weekly. In question, the arrival of journalist Geoffroy Lejeune, dismissed from the weekly far right Current values, as managing editor. For JDD journalists, this is a “red line” and they fear that the editorial line will shift to the far right.
Thirty-year-old journalist with a meteoric rise, Geoffroy Lejeune readily sees himself as a musketeer railing against progressivism and “ for France “. At the head of Current values since 2016 (he was only 27 years old), Lejeune has made him a supporter of the far-right candidate Eric Zemmour for the 2022 presidential election, seven years after devoting a book to him in which he saw him elected. Unruly blond hair, small goatee, chubby face and the look of an eternal student, the journalist is also friends with another far-right figure: Marion Maréchal, granddaughter of Jean-Marie Le Pen, whom he has known since adolescence. The Minister of Culture, Rima Abdul-Malak has also expressed her deep concern for “republican values” on social networks, with the arrival of Geoffroy Lejeune at the JDD.
My Sunday ritual was to wake up with the JDD. Today it does not appear. I understand the editorial staff’s concerns. In law, the JDD can become what it wants, as long as it respects the law. But for our republican values how not to be alarmed?
—Rima Abdul Malak (@RimaAbdulMalak) June 25, 2023
Almost unanimous strike
” The adventure is not over, we will soon meet elsewhere “, he wrote on Twitter on Monday, after his dismissal from the far-right weekly Current values. Three days later, the revelation by The worlde of his possible arrival at Sunday newspaper (JDD) launched an almost unanimous strike there, renewed on Friday, a few hours before the formalization of his appointment.
This Sunday, around thirty companies of French media journalists, including RFI, Radio France, France Télévisions, Le Figaro, The world, The Parisian, Releaseor Paris Matchgave their support to the striking journalists of the JDD, in a forum published on Mediapart. They denounce a forced passage to impose this decision to appoint Geoffroy Lejeune.
The “Bolloré method”
What is denounced there is the “Bolloré method”, well known to the media since Vincent Bolloré built his media empire at the cost of numerous strikes and mass departures of journalists from his group. AT Paris Match for example, last year’s dismissal of the political and economics editor caused a stir. The latter had, according to the editorial staff of the magazine, “ critical ” Many times ” interference of management in editorial choices. A motion of censure was passed and some 25 journalists have since left the editorial staff.
Another feat of arms of the billionaire, the merger in 2021 of Europe 1 radio and the CNews channel. Worried about a change in editorial line very focused on the right, the employees of Europe 1 then went on strike and dozens of journalists left Europe 1 over the weeks, forced or of their own free will.
History seems to repeat itself at the JDD, with this renewable strike; on his side, Bolloré, including the Vivendi group has just absorbed Lagardère, owner of the Sunday newspaperhas always refused to use the media he controls to promote his opinions.
(And with AFP)