Les Echos: the editorial director leaves his post, concern of journalists

"Nicolas Barré is called to occupy new functions within the editorial staff that will allow him to meet new challenges," the group said in a statement, praising his "remarkable work".

The day before, the media La Lettre A had claimed that Mr. Barré would be disembarked from this position he had held for about 10 years.

This provoked a worried reaction from the Society of Journalists (SDJ) of the business daily.

The SDJ "can not help but wonder about the link between this departure and the publication in recent weeks of several articles that would have displeased the shareholder," she said in a statement Tuesday evening.

"The LDS is concerned about the existence of threats to the independence of the newspaper," she said.

She said that the CEO of the group Les Echos-Le Parisien, Pierre Louette, had "contested the idea of a forced departure" by speaking to the editorial board late Tuesday afternoon. This group is owned by the luxury giant LVMH, of which Bernard Arnault is CEO.

Quoted in the group's press release, Mr. Arnault said he was "very happy that Nicolas Barré has chosen to continue his career within the group Les Échos with a new role".

"I would like to thank him for his career of more than 10 years at the head of the editorial staff where he demonstrated his great qualities both editorial and managerial," added the billionaire.

The group Les Echos-Le Parisien also stresses that the daily "has seen its sales and its audience grow very significantly and continuously" under the direction of Mr. Barré.

In January, Pierre Louette had indicated in Les Echos that 2022 had been a "year of records" for the daily: "Historical record of its circulation, which has progressed for the twelfth consecutive year; record number of subscribers, the threshold of 100,000 having just been exceeded; record for its digital subscriptions (three out of four, compared to one in six subscriptions in 2012)".

The newspaper sold 138,421 copies per issue in 2022, according to figures from the Alliance for Press and Media Figures (ACPM).

© 2023 AFP