The National Digest

Le Monde journalists warn of threat to editorial independence

Journalists and editors at the French newspaper Le Monde have signed an open letter demanding their owners guarantee the paper’s editorial independence by giving them approval over who holds controlling shares in the company.

The letter, published on Tuesday and signed by two of Le Monde’s directors as well as 450 journalists, gave two major investors in the paper a deadline of a week to agree.

Staff say without an agreement, Le Monde is facing a threat to its editorial freedom for the first time in its history.

In 2010 the paper was acquired by three private investors: the telecoms tycoon Xavier Niel, the former banker Matthieu Pigasse and the industrialist and Yves Saint Laurent co-founder Pierre Bergé, who died in October 2017. Staff voted to approve the sale.

 

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