"Refound the discourse of a democratic left" and "anti-Macron"? It was after having "carefully thought through" this objective that Laurent Joffrin, 68 years old, including more than 40 in journalism, decided to leave the management of Libératio n to get into politics.
The editorial and publication director of the daily, of which he is also co-manager, announced to AFP that he would renounce all these functions and would publish Monday a "call for the recomposition of the left", a left which would be neither "entirely environmentalist, nor of course the far left", but "realistic", he sums up.
A call signed by a hundred people
"The appeal", which he will launch on Monday during a press conference in Paris, was signed by a hundred people, "known or not", including "philosophers, sociologists, experts, actors, creators , activists of associations, some trade unionists… ”.
Owl! The French left has great need of a white man in his sixties who has long edited the two left-wing publications which have most acclimatized their readership to neoliberalism! https://t.co/XWUMzyZV9H
- Philippe Marlière (@PhMarliere) July 16, 2020There is no question, however, of dropping the moorings completely. "I will continue to write my daily" political letter "for the newspaper," he assures, a letter in which, every day, he analyzes the country's political situation "subjectively."
"The French press has often been written by people involved in politics," recalls Laurent Joffrin, citing Clemenceau, Jaurès ...
Journalists from Liberation unhappy
But the potion is hard to swallow to his future ex-colleagues, to whom he had to write a letter Friday morning to explain the reasons for his departure. As soon as the editor was informed of the political project of the director, the journalists of "Libé" met in general assembly to discuss his position within the newspaper.
"Laurent Joffrin wants to do politics, we do journalism", underline the employees of the newspaper in a press release posted on the evening on the Liberation website . No question for them that Laurent Joffrin pursues an editorial activity and writes chronicles.
"Faced with a fait accompli, the editorial staff notes that this new personal commitment is incompatible with the pursuit of any editorial activity within Liberation ", they add. They specify that Paul Quinio will act in the interim "in the direction of the publication as well as co-management until the start of the school year".
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