The rise of Vincent Bolloré within the Lagardère group was a “
blessing
” for Europe 1, despite the turmoil caused by the merger with the CNews channel, says Arnaud Lagardère in an interview with
Journal du Dimanche
.
Read alsoPhilippe Val, the former boss of France Inter, arrives on Europe 1
“
For Europe 1 too, it is a blessing to have had Vincent Bolloré: we were the only major radio station that was not close to a news channel and we want to convince me that we should have stay like that, isolated,
”Arnaud Lagardère told the weekly which belongs to his group.
Arnaud Lagardère says he “
adores
” the new entry grid for Europe 1, after turbulent months marked by a major strike in the face of fears of a change of editorial line and the mass departures of great “
voices
” from the station , notably by Nicolas Canteloup in July.
"Scandalous reviews"
"
The tone
" of the radio "
is a little different, more serious in a good sense
," says Arnaud Lagardère. “
We have made unfair and scandalous criticisms of certain journalists on the pretext that they came from CNews, when they are great professionals. I was shocked and a little disgusted,
”he says.
"
I reject all fantasies around zemmourization,
" he said, referring to the controversial columnist on CNews, Eric Zemmour.
Arnaud Lagardère added that he would leave “
at least two seasons
” to the new grid to prove itself.
He did not set "
audience goals
", but "
financial goals,
" he said.
“
I would like Europe 1 to be in balance, but I don't want to do it at all costs;
it could be dangerous.
Here too, I give myself time
”.
Financial goals
Regarding the
JDD
and
Paris Match
, Arnaud Lagardère rejects changes as important as in Europe 1, believing that "
the changes have already been made or are in progress
". It also excludes the hypothesis of a sale of the two newspapers to Bernard Arnault, the billionaire who heads the luxury giant LVMH. “
I want us to stay within the current scope
” of the Lagardère group “
beyond this election year. It is up to me to demonstrate that it is economically viable
”.
Many journalists from Europe 1 fear a strong right-wing of its editorial line as well as Vincent Bolloré's management methods.
These tensions come after several years of constant erosion of the radio, which displays only 4.3% of cumulative audience, according to the latest figures from Médiamétrie (April-June 2021), far behind the other two major generalist radios. , France Inter (11.3%) and RTL (10%).
Since the start of the school year, the morning show of Europe 1 - the flagship section of radio stations - has been led by Dimitri Pavlenko, defector of Radio Classique and Eric Zemmour's teammate in “
Face à l'Info
” on CNews.
