This spring day could have been any other day at the Éditions Fayard headquarters, at 6my district of Paris. Since the forced departure in April of the general director Isabelle Saporta and pending the appointment of a successor, the house moves forward without a boss, “in self-management”, “in cooperative”, say the employees.
But this June 5, a summons signals the end of the recess. Here they are, at 3 p.m., in front of Nathalie Jouven, general secretary of the literature section of the Hachette group (parent company of Fayard), who until then acted as interim director. “Well, I wanted to tell you that we are going to have a new president. Or rather, a president… I just found out too, I’m as surprised as you. »
“We heard “damn” and “oh no.” Some were crying…”, says a young editor who has since left home. This scenario, repeatedly denied by management, had been feared since the purchase by Vivendi boss Vincent Bolloré of Lagardère (owner of Hachette, the sixth largest publishing group in the world). It is this day in the process of becoming a reality: Lise Boëll, the historic editor of Eric Zemmour and Philippe de Villiers, will take up her duties in the coming days.
Four months later, on October 16, what was still just a rumor was confirmed in a press release: what I’m looking for, The first book by the president of the National Rally (RN), Jordan Bardella, edited by curator Nicolas Diat, will appear on November 9 in the Fayard publishing house, equipped with an ambitious communication and marketing plan. Circulation of more than 110,000 copies, sustained promotion in the group’s media, including CNews, Europe 1, The Sunday newspaper…
The large poster campaign in the stations was canceled because it contravened the “principles of neutrality” of the advertising management of the RATP and the SNCF. On his Instagram account, the first author invites anyone who wants to reserve his book on Amazon, a clear way to emancipate himself from the possible moods of independent booksellers hostile to the extreme right.
Incursion of politics
Fayard’s destiny has become, since the departure, in 2022, of the general director Sophie de Closets and her replacement by Isabelle Saporta (accused by the house’s authors of loyalty to the former head of state Nicolas Sarkozy), at a point focal point to observe the incursion of politics into the publishing world.
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