The editorial staff of the JDD massively renewed its strike on Friday against the arrival at its head of Geoffroy Lejeune, former editor of Valeurs Actuelles, which will prevent the publication of the newspaper for the fifth Sunday in a row. The continuation of the strike for its 29th day was approved by 98% of voters (97 for, 2 against, 4 who did not decide), according to the Society of Journalists (SDJ) of the JDD in its daily press release. “There will be no newspaper this Sunday,” said a JDD journalist. “The editorial staff will meet on Saturday, a symbolic date which will mark a month of strike, to decide on the continuation of the movement”, underlined the SDJ.
But even if the strike is interrupted on Saturday, “I don’t see to what extent there could be a newspaper on Sunday,” said another journalist. If the mobilization continues beyond Sunday July 23, the JDD will have exceeded the 31 days of strike carried out in 2016 by the editorial staff of i-Télé after its passage in the bosom of Vincent Bolloré. The current movement is in any case unprecedented in the history of the newspaper founded in 1948: its previous strike, in 2016, had affected only one Sunday. The editorial staff stopped work on June 22 to contest the arrival of Geoffroy Lejeune, marked on the right, and to demand guarantees of legal and editorial independence.
Many observers see in the appointment of Geoffroy Lejeune the hand of Vincent Bolloré, whose Vivendi group must swallow Lagardère, owner of the JDD, after a successful takeover bid. This put the subject of media independence back on the policy table. On Wednesday, deputies from eight political groups (excluding RN and LR) notably presented to the National Assembly a bill aimed at protecting the editorial freedom of the media seeking state aid.
