SChess players would talk about a pawn sacrifice, war leaders would regret collateral damage: “Gala” is sold in France. A buyer is not in sight. Will the magazine fall by the wayside as a result of Bertelsmann’s disorderly withdrawal from France? The most spectacular fiasco that he has caused so far is the failed merger of the broadcasting group M6 with tf1 and the similarly spectacular collapsed sale afterwards. Media regulators have just renewed the license – which means M6 will not be allowed to get new owners for the next five years.
Bertelsmann had recently sold its twenty or so magazines, which revolutionized French people journalism, to Vincent Bolloré. Bolloré is the most powerful and aggressive of the ten billionaires who have divided France’s media between them. The media czar, accused of corruption in Africa, rules Vivendi (Canal+) and is in the process of incorporating the Hachette-Lagardère group into his empire. Hachette is number one in French publishing (number three in the world). Lagardère owns Europe 1, Paris Match and the Journal du Dimanche.
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