“It will have been the instrument of an internal struggle.” No one has ever seen him on the premises and yet everyone only talks about him. In the corridors of Fayard (a subsidiary of the parent company Hachette Livre, owned by Vincent Bolloré), for 72 hours the name of Jordan Bardella has been resounding continuously. A year after Vincent Bolloré took control, the publishing house is preparing to publish, on November 9, the first work by the president of the National Rally, entitled What I’m looking forputting an end to long months of misunderstandings, negotiations, internal maneuvers, and giving way to a quasi-civil war within the publishing house.
Let’s start again. The information, an open secret, was delivered on October 15 via an extremely sober press release. “Fayard, one of the major publishing houses of the Hachette Livre group, is delighted to announce the release of Jordan Bardella’s book What I’m looking forSaturday November 9 in bookstores.” Jump in time. Last February, THE New Obs reveals the arrival at Fayard of Lise Boëll, faithful to Vincent Bolloré and editor of Eric Zemmour. The latter would have already boasted in several Parisian circles of taking “Jordan Bardella in her luggage”. The book project of the young far-right prodigy is arousing interest beyond the publishing world.
Breakup with Lise Boëll
In April, a first article from World evokes the particular genesis of the work. Involved in the story are Jean-François Achilli, journalist and columnist on France Info, who allegedly showered Jordan Bardella with advice and helping hands; or Fabrice D’Almeida, media historian, vice-president of the Paris II Panthéon Assas University and friend of Lise Boëll. The stories follow one another. Quite a novel. The Express tells how Lise Boëll took part in the project, proposing a detailed plan to Bardella, campaigning for an “intimate, fleshly” story, insisting that a chapter be devoted to the rumors circulating about the young MEP’s sexual orientation. A cover is proposed, a title, too: “Jordan”. The project does not please the person concerned at all, who is very reluctant to discuss this aspect of his private life, and to devote a chapter to false rumors.
The multiple leaks to the press are finally annoying the young man, who prefers to break up with Lise Boëll – who, contacted by us, did not want to speak. However, he still has the desire to publish with Fayard. The idea of a first work which would see the light of day within a prestigious publishing house, previously inaccessible to any member of the Front and the National Rally, appealed to him. Vincent Bolloré also likes it. It is here that another close friend of the Breton billionaire appears. A certain Nicolas Diat. The editor and writer at Fayard and known for his interpersonal skills, his sprawling network, his links with the reactionary right and his editorial successes. It was he who published the brothers Pierre and Philippe de Villiers, as well as Cardinal Sarah. He is charged, by Vincent Bolloré, with recovering Jordan Bardella’s incomplete manuscript and bringing it to completion. The operation is done behind Lise Boëll’s back.
Enter the scene of Nicolas Diat, the editor of the reactionary right
The latter, for her part, took the helm of Fayard in June, succeeding Isabelle Saporta, and began an overhaul of the editorial catalog, planning the upcoming publication of Philippe de Villiers’ latest book and adding the editorialist to the house’s authors. of Europe 1 and CNEWS Sonia Mabrouk. However, she no longer directly oversees “project X”, as it is sometimes called in the corridors of Fayard. Because total opacity reigns around the work. No meeting takes place at Fayard, no text circulates. Including since the announcement of the publication. “We were told that the editorial part had already been managed and that communication would be managed by its teams,” indicates a senior official at the house. Please don’t ask any questions. According to information from Releasean exceptional system was implemented to push the book of the frontist leader. A print run of 155,000 copies is planned as well as a massive communication plan orchestrated in the Bolloré media.
But the publication of the work has other challenges. That of a struggle for influence between those close to Vincent Bolloré within Fayard. That of an internal war between publishers, won by Nicolas Diat – when asked, he did not respond to our messages. “The fact that Nicolas Diat is taking over this 100% Bolloré project says it all,” comments a former employee. “He won the battle against Lise Boëll. Deep down, he is the real CEO.” “The one who manages this project is the one who has Bolloré’s trust, it’s simple,” adds another. There is a lot of talk at Fayard about the future of Lise Boëll. And the questions are numerous. “Vincent Bolloré no longer needs her, what will become of her?” asks an employee. In the Germanopratin microcosm, the rumor has already spread. Several witnesses say they heard the far-right publisher going around her Parisian circles and pretending to deplore the release of the book. “It’s funny to see that the person behind the project is starting to play Lucie Aubrac,” squeaks a former member of the house.
“Let the children of Bolloré devour each other.”
Internally, the climate is no less deleterious. The announcement of the publication of the work accelerated the departure intentions of several employees, authors of a column in The New Obs. “Publishing a far-right political leader, which any publishing house worthy of its name has not done for decades, is nothing other than a widening of the Overton window,” write these last. Only one meeting was organized on October 15, in a climate of mistrust. “Only technical elements, no substantive questions, no one risks it because everything is locked in high places.” The resigners have given up, and are preparing their departure, resigned. Summarized by one of them: “I prefer to let the children of Bolloré devour each other.”
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