The most emblematic of them, Vincent Bolloré, first shareholder of Canal+, of two large publishing groups (Editis, Hachette), of numerous newspapers (magazines of Prisma Media, JDD, Paris Match) and of radio Europe 1, will be heard on Wednesday.

It was on his CNews news channel that Eric Zemmour, a far-right polemicist, took off to become a presidential candidate.

"Bolloré has neither taken into account the injunctions of the Superior Audiovisual Council (CSA), nor justice on Zemmour. There, he is called to order by the parliamentary authority, he will have to render accounts" , believes Mr. Lévrier.

Vincent Bolloré, who left the chairmanship of Vivendi's supervisory board to his son Yannick in 2018, did not decline the Senate's invitation.

And for good reason: "whether you are powerful or not, whatever your pedigree, you must respond to summonses and come and answer questions from parliamentarians", recently recalled on France Inter David Assouline, socialist senator and rapporteur for the Commission d media concentration survey.

Just like Bernard Arnault, CEO of LVMH at the head of the daily newspapers Les Echos, Le Parisien and Radio Classique auditioned Thursday, Patrick Drahi, boss of the telecom group Altice (BFMTV, RMC) scheduled for February 2 and the king of construction Martin Bouygues (whose television group TF1 plans to merge with M6), expected on February 9, to name just three of the most powerful bosses interviewed.

Bernard Arnault, CEO of LVMH at the head of the daily newspapers Les Echos, Le Parisien and Radio Classique, in May 2019 in Paris Philippe LOPEZ AFP / Archives

The Senate intends to submit its report at the end of March to shed light on the economic and democratic consequences of such a concentration.

- Gafa threat

It remains to be seen what the president who leaves the polls will do with it.

Many consider the 1986 freedom of communication law to be obsolete.

Thus, in a column in Le Monde published in mid-December, more than 250 journalists and media professionals, including Christophe Deloire, Secretary General of Reporters Without Borders, called on presidential candidates to make commitments to oppose " scourge" of hyperconcentration in the media.

Patrick Draghi, boss of the telecom group Altice (BFMTV, RMC), in October 2018 in Paris ERIC PIERMONT AFP / Archives

They demanded an "in-depth reform" of the 1986 law, accompanied by the creation of a specific "legal status" for editorial staff and a "crime of influence peddling in the press" to "limit any interventionism shareholders" and "guarantee the active participation of newsrooms in the governance of their media".

During a hearing in the Senate on Friday, Mr. Deloire also called on Arcom, a new entity resulting from the merger of the CSA and Hadopi, to crack down more heavily on attacks on independence, pluralism and integrity. some information.

The rise of international behemoths, such as the American platforms Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, has however upset the balance of the French audiovisual landscape.

And some see no other salvation than in the grouping of channels.

This is also one of the arguments put forward for the TF1-M6 merger, currently being examined by Arcom and the Competition Authority.

Martin Bouygues, whose television group TF1 plans to merge with M6, July 25, 2018 in Monaco ERIC GAILLARD POOL / AFP / Archives

"In a time of virtual monopoly of the Gafa, the time is not to worry about the concentration in the TV sector in France", judged recently on this subject with AFP one of the specialists of the sector, Patrick-Yves Badillo, director of Medi@Lab at the University of Geneva.

The president of France Télévisions, Delphine Ernotte, also estimated last week on France Inter that, to fight "against the hegemony of the American world media today and perhaps tomorrow Asian (...), we need strong private and public media".

But she specified: "I have always put a condition for my displayed support for the TF1 / M6 merger (...) it is to have a strong public service".

© 2022 AFP