THE publishers of Le Mondeare in advanced discussions to sell a majority stake in the French newspaper as massive debt repayments loom, writes ARTHUR BEESLEY
With Spanish, Italian and Swiss investors in the frame alongside two local groups, the talks raise the prospect of the paper’s ownership falling out of French hands when journalists lose the controlling interest they have held since 1951.
Established in 1944 by Hubert Beuve-Méry to be the "conscience of France" after the German occupation, Le Mondeprides itself on its independence and the seriousness of its approach.
Long analytical items are de rigueur in the left-leaning paper, which for decades shunned photography but which now allows colour pictures dominate its front page. In January the paper appointed its first woman editor, Sylvie Kauffmann, former southeast Asia correspondent.
Le Mondehas a circulation of 320,000, down about 25 per cent in a decade and comparatively small in a country whose population exceeds 60 million. With advertising revenue under acute strain, the financial crunch is just the latest in a series of crises that have seen the paper build up debts of some €100 million in the wake of an acquisition drive by former publisher Jean-Marie Colombani.
Current publisher Éric Fottorino vowed in a front-page editorial yesterday to maintain the paper’s independence as it seeks to raise new investment.
"The independence of a press group flows from its financial performance: it's by making a profit – to reinvest in the paper – that Le Mondewill guarantee its independence."
Possible investors include the French-owned Nouvel Observateur group, publisher of the eponymous weekly magazine, and a trio of French businessmen: Matthieu Pigasse, a banker; Xavier Niel, a telecommunications entrepreneur; and Pierre Bergé, partner of the late fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent.
Also in contention are Spanish group Prisa, the owner of El Pais; Italian group L'Espresso, owner of La Repubblica; and Swiss publisher Ringier, owner of Le Temps.
Mr Fottorino said he hoped to conclude discussions by mid-June, a move that will end an ownership structure designed to safeguard the paper’s independence by vesting a controlling shareholding with journalists on the paper.
Journalists have long held the power to sack the editor and the publisher. They exercised this power three years ago, declining to renew Mr Colombani’s term in the light of anxiety that the debts taken out to fund his expansion strategy threatened to compromise the paper’s independence.