The strong storm warnings in publishing – with Vivendi’s takeover of Lagardère which, if authorized by the European Commission, will result in a mega-merger of Editis with Hachette – are already generating reconfigurations. The Madrigall group, the parent company of Gallimard, confirmed on Monday July 11 the appointment of Sophie de Closets, the former boss of Fayard (Hachette) as CEO of Flammarion. She was expected in this position by the entire Germanopratin microcosm since she had resigned from Fayard on March 24, on her own initiative, but exceeded by the distrust that Nicolas Sarkozy, administrator of Hachette, showed against her.
Considered one of the most gifted editors of her generation, Sophie de Closets takes the reins of the house which publishes Michel Houellebecq, Christine Angot but also Jean-Christophe Rufin, Fred Vargas, Yasmina Reza, Alice Zeniter or Olivier Adam. She replaces a duo there: Patrice Margotin, who was managing director of Flammarion, joins Madrigall as deputy director of developments while Anna Pavlowitch, the former president, had already left in January for Albin Michel. The Hachette group would have somewhat shortened the period initially planned for the non-competition clause of Sophie de Closets.
Faithful authors
But above all, the one who won the rights to the Memoirs of Michelle and Barack Obama arrives followed by a string of faithful authors who fear the shadow cast by Vincent Bolloré on Fayard. Or do not get along with the one who succeeded him. The latter, Isabelle Saporta, notably alienated some of the authors for the support given to her by Nicolas Sarkozy, a fervent militant of the Editis-Hachette merger. The starters violently denounced a loss of editorial independence by Fayard. What Isabelle Saporta denies.
In mid-June, France’s most widely read novelist, Virginie Grimaldi, was the first to announce her departure, followed by the essayist Jacques Attali, the two journalists from World Gerard Davet and Fabrice Lhomme, as well as by Victor Castanet, the author of Gravediggers, the investigation into mistreatment in nursing homes of the Orpea group. Also in favor were the philosophers Alain Badiou and Barbara Cassin – who ran a collection at Fayard – the sociologist Didier Eribon and, according to Release, the philosopher Frédéric Lenoir. Isabelle Saporta minimizes the facts, ensuring that “only nine authors have decided to leave, while 350 are very happy in the house”.
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