Where media moguls sleep with the president

During his successful campaign for the French presidency, Nicolas Sarkozy promised a break with the past, a promise he has kept in at least one area; media relations.

Unlike his predecessors, Sarkozy chooses to play the personal and family card with the media. From the evening of his election until his inauguration two weeks later, it was next to impossible to ignore what each member of his re-composed family (from previous marriages Cécilia Sarkozy has two adult daughters, he has two adult sons and together they have a young son) was doing, wearing and allegedly thinking. His daily jogging sessions with various cabinet members are no longer top news items but questions about Sarkozy’s relations with the media and, more specifically, media owners, continue apace.

Martin Bouygues is the head of the construction giant Groupe Bouygues, which has a controlling stake in France’s most-watched television station, with a market share of 32%, TF1. He is also one of Sarkozy’s best friends, was a witness at his wedding with his present wife Cécilia and is the godfather of the couple’s son Louis. The second witness at the wedding was luxury mogul Bernard Arnault, head of LVMH and owner of the economic daily, La Tribune (circulation: 79,350). Persistent talk that he wants to sell the paper in order to take over the principal financial daily, Les Echos (circ: 116,500), recently prompted strikes at both papers.

Another of Sarkozy’s closest friends, who considers him akin to a brother, is Arnaud Lagardère whose family fortune was amassed in the weapons trade but also boasts a vast media empire including publishing houses, local press, myriad trade and specialized magazines and the flagship weekly Paris Match (circ: 604,000). Lagardère also controls one of France’s leading nationwide radio stations, Europe1 (market share 8%.)

France’s foremost arms dealer, Serge Dassault, at the head of Socopresse, controls the leading conservative daily, Le Figaro (circ: 330,000). While he often expresses views close to those of the xenophobic and racist National Front, Dassault is a senator from Sarkozy’s UMP (Union pour un Mouvement Populaire) and considers himself a political ally of the president.

Cosy relations between politicians and media owners are not new and every incoming administration relieves public broadcasting of those deemed the wrong political colour, yet angst is growing that Sarkozy may have an exaggerated media impact. He is reportedly responsible for the sacking of the managing editor of Paris Match, guilty of running pictures of his wife Cécilia with another man at a time, a few years ago, when the couple had split up. He is further credited with intervening with Lagardère to spike the story that Cécilia had not voted for her husband, that, in fact, she had not voted at all, in the second round of the presidential election. Perhaps most damning, the head of Europe1 has admitted consulting with Sarkozy when appointing a political correspondent.

This, combined with a fit of pique during which Sarkozy threatened to fire the management of public broadcaster France 3 because he was not fittingly greeted for a talk-show, has spawned fears that the mainstream media, both public and private, will kow-tow to the president. The concern is as much of pernicious self-censorship, of which evidence is already alleged, as of overt meddling by management.

Misgivings over the media have arisen as the number of independent titles dwindles. The advent of internet news sites and of ‘freebies’ such as foreign-owned 20 Minutes and Metro have weakened the print media considerably with only the regional press, such as the daily Ouest France (circ: 761,000), remaining robust.

The crisis is exemplified by several long-standing titles that face severe financial woes threatening their existence, including France-Soir and L’Humanité both with circulation down to about 50,000 or Libération launched by Jean-Paul Sartre, which, despite a purge of the old-guard and the inclusion of certified capitalist Edouard de Rothschild, limps along at only 127,000 copies sold.

On 20 June, Sarkozy gave his first televised interview since his election, a much-awaited, ratings-boosting event. Snubbing the public stations, he appeared on TF1, owned by his very good friend Martin Bouygues. "Highly symbolic," as the French would say.

• Patricia Brett is a freelance writer based in Paris.

During his successful campaign for the French presidency, Nicolas Sarkozy promised a break with the past, a promise he has kept in at least one area; media relations.

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