Vincent Bolloré, the conservative billionaire who has built up France’s biggest media empire, says his Grasset publishing house will seek new talent after more than 150 of its authors quit in protest at what they claimed was interference with editorial independence.
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“Grasset will continue, and those who are leaving will allow new authors to be published, promoted, recognised and appreciated,” Bolloré wrote in an opinion piece published in the Sunday paper Journal du Dimanche (JDD), which forms part of his stable.
He described the writers who left Grasset as a “small clique that thinks it is above everything and everyone, and that promotes and supports its own”.
Around 170 authors have quit the publishing house since Thursday, including novelists Virginie Despentes, Frédéric Beigbeder and Vanessa Springora, and philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy.
The trigger was the sudden departure of Grasset’s chief editor Olivier Nora, who had run the imprint for 26 years – long before it became part of Bolloré’s group in 2023.
On Sunday, Bolloré said Nora left due to a disagreement with management over when to publish the next book by conservative French-Algerian novelist Boualem Sansal, who signed with Grasset in March.
Star authors quit French publisher Grasset over editor’s sudden departure
Media empire
In an open letter announcing their exit, authors denounced “an unacceptable attack on the editorial independence” of Grasset.
The publisher is part of Hachette Livre, France’s biggest publishing conglomerate, which was acquired by Bolloré’s Vivendi group in 2023.
Vivendi also owns France’s most-watched TV news channel, CNews, the Europe 1 radio station, Elle magazine and other media assets.
Bolloré’s critics say his outlets privilege right-wing voices that align with his own views. In 2023, staff at JDD went on strike after the former editor of a far-right magazine was appointed editor-in-chief.
Grasset’s former authors expressed similar concerns in their open letter, saying: “We refuse to be hostages in an ideological war aimed at imposing authoritarianism everywhere in culture and the media.”
French business tycoon Vincent Bolloré retires, but unlikely to let go
‘Conscience clause’
On Sunday, more than 300 writers and members of the publishing industry signed a separate letter calling for a “conscience clause” that would allow employees to resign on the grounds that their company has changed its values, without being penalised financially.
Signatories included some of the Grasset authors as well as other prominent novelists such as Leïla Slimani and Emmanuel Carrère.
“Some companies now openly aspire to become fully fledged ideological actors by shaping narratives, influencing public perception and supporting explicit political agendas,” they said.
Separately, more than 100 people employed by Hachette published a joint letter in Le Monde denouncing Nora’s dismissal and saying that “the freedom of our editors is seriously threatened”.
Bolloré denies imposing a position on his outlets.
“As for the attacks concerning my ‘ideology,’ I reiterate once again: I am a Christian Democrat, and Hachette’s management will continue to publish all authors who wish to be published,” he wrote in the JDD.
He also attacked Nora’s management of Grasset, saying that he took a pay rise despite the publisher’s turnover falling by 25 percent in 2025.
(with AFP)
