The protest of the journalists of Le Journal du Dimanche was supported by several public figures
Journalists and staff at Le Journal du Dimanche, one of France’s largest newspapers, have gone on strike over the appointment of Geoffroy Lejeune, a journalist associated with the far-right, as editor-in-chief. Lejeune, 34, was editor of the far-right weekly Valeurs Actuelles, known for its anti-immigrant articles and headlines. While Lejeune was editor, the magazine was fined for racial slurs in 2022, after a report depicting black Congressman Daniel Obono as a chained slave.
Geoffroy Lejeune is an old friend of Marion Marechal, niece of far-right leader Marine Le Pen and a former member of the French Nationalist Party.
Geoffroy Lejeune. GT
The protest of Le Journal du Dimanche’s journalists and staff was supported by many French public figures, actors, writers and left-wing politicians, who signed an open letter published in Le Monde.
For the first time in France since the liberation, a major national media outlet will be led by an extreme right-wing figure. This is a dangerous precedent that concerns all of us.”says the message.
Among the hundreds of personalities who signed the document were actors Denis Minochet and Mathieu Amalric, director Nicole Garcia, as well as Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo.
Le Journal du Dimanche is France’s leading Sunday newspaper, known for its political interviews and independent analysis of the inside view of government policy. Last Sunday, it wasn’t posted, after nearly the entire staff layoff.
The paper is expected to be bought by businessman Vincent Bolloré, a conservative Catholic industrialist looking to expand his media empire. He already owns CNews, which took a more conservative stance after its purchase, and Europe 1, which also faced a journalists’ strike over concerns of Bolloré’s Catholic conservatism taking control of the radio station.
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