Publisher Antoine Gallimard, head of Gallimard editions and the Madrigall group, on January 30, 2019 in Paris (AFP/Archives/JOEL SAGET)
The boss of Gallimard editions said on Wednesday he was “very worried” about the planned merger between Hachette, the leading French publisher and owned by the Lagardère group, and its challenger Editis, owned by Vivendi, calling it a “tsunami” for the media sector. publishing and its pluralism.
“This story is a real tsunami. I am very worried. We are touching on extremely sensitive areas: school and extracurricular”, declared Antoine Gallimard, head of the Madrigall group, parent company of Gallimard editions founded by his grandfather, at the microphone of France Inter.
“The great strength of publishing in France is diversity, having independent booksellers, small publishers, authors of all kinds. We are craftsmen. The economic and industrial approach “worn by Vincent Bolloré “does not make sense”, he hammered. “It may be a problem of dislocation” of the market.
The media giant Vivendi, controlled by the Bolloré family, announced in September its intention to rise to 45% of the capital of the Lagardère group, then to launch a public takeover bid for the balance of the shares.
The operation should lead to the merger of several media such as Europe 1 and CNews, as well as the Hachette Livre and Editis groups, competitors in many publishing sectors, particularly in school textbooks.
The operation must thus be validated by the Superior council of audio-visual and by the European Commission.
“I don’t see how Brussels will be able to accept this project. They are very wise, very attentive people. I want to believe in the depth of this work”, still hoped Antoine Gallimard on Wednesday.
In 2004, the Vivendi group then headed by Jean-Marie Messier was prevented by the European Commission from selling all of its publishing division to Lagardère. The French part, renamed Editis, had been sold to investors before returning at the end of 2018 to Vivendi.
The book market in France experienced unprecedented growth in 2021, with an increase of 12.5% in constant euros compared to 2020, and 7.4% compared to 2019, according to figures published at the end of January by Livres Hebdo .
© 2022 AFP
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