Bernard Arnault asks LVMH executives to hold their tongues

On January 17, Bernard Arnault took up his pen to send a letter to his children Delphine and Antoine, as well as to the various members of his executive committee (his right-hand man, Nicolas Bazire, the secretary general, Marc-Antoine Jamet, etc.). In his ” recommendation “the boss of the luxury group LVMH displays a cold anger. The interest that the media, but also “so-called confidential letters, so-called investigative sites that use the public’s attraction to luxury to attract new readers in a sensationalist way,” push them, according to him, to seek “confidential” information from internal sources – who would act “by calculation or personal strategy”.

“I formally condemn any behavior that involves maintaining relations with unscrupulous journalists and giving them information or comments on the life of the group.”blames the leader, before attaching a list of publications to which he asks his interlocutors to “respect an absolute ban [ces mots, en gras, sont soulignés] to speak ».

In the line of sight: The Letter (ex-The Letter AIndigo group), the online investigative media, which revealed this letter, Wednesday, September 18, The Chained Duck, Mediapartbut also The Informed, an economic news site supported by Xavier Niel (member of the supervisory board of World), as well as industry specialists, the American Puck News, Glitz (also Indigo group) and Miss Tweed.

Image of independence

Such a reminder of the rules is not unusual within a CAC 40 group. “An employee should not give an interview without permission. This is the custom.”recalls a headhunter. It is rarer, however, for media to be listed in this way. Far from harming them, this blacklisting gives them a flattering image of independence.

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“If Bernard Arnault takes up the pen like this (…) This is proof that the editorial staff works efficiently and honestly.”says Octave Bonnaud, editor-in-chief of The Letter. This warning “does not prevent our journalists from having access to internal sources within LVMH”also honors Claire Bader, editor-in-chief of The Informed.

Astrid Wendlandt, the founder of the site Miss Tweedwants to see proof there that “These large groups cannot manage independent media which do not depend on their advertising budgets”. “Coming from a billionaire boss, this letter shows a lack of trust [envers] his teams, whom he seeks to intimidate by threatening to fire them”adds the president of Mediapart, Carine Fouteau. The title notes that, since May, the “press service no longer acknowledges receipt of his messages.”

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