the book seems complete… or almost

It’s an understatement to say that it was eagerly awaited. Some even announced him dead and buried. Others predicted it would be censored. This is not the case. The investigation book The New Lords on the Sologne of the ultra-rich – whose author, Jean-Baptiste Forray, had given an interview to the NR at the beginning of September – indeed arrived in bookstores on Thursday October 17, 2024, as announced by his publishing house Les Arenas (NR of September 12). A delayed release, nevertheless, which was initially presented as the consequence of a “printing problem”.

Without being false, the explanation still turns out to be a little more complicated. Because there is indeed a clear difference between the first printed version of the book, received at the beginning of September by the press (including to NO), and the book that can now be obtained in stores. The trifle of 24 fewer pages: readers will have to do without the central notebook initially included in the middle. Entitled “Château life and the race for trophies”, it reproduced on glossy paper richly illustrated articles on the no less rich interiors and the passion for hunting of the great fortunes established in Sologne.

“A decision taken for the sake of appeasement”

Most of the articles reproduced in the central insert now disappeared came from a single source: the luxurious quarterly magazine Hunting days which was founded in the year 2000 by Olivier Dassault, whose ties to Sologne Loir-et-Chérien are known. Until his accidental death in 2021, he was the director of the magazine, despite its acquisition in 2017 by the company Jours de passions co-directed by Thibaud de Saint Vincent, also at the head of Barnes, who presents himself as a “major player international luxury real estate company” and operates in particular in Sologne.

However, it is an understatement to say that Jours de passions did not appreciate seeing its articles thus reproduced in what it considers to be a “disputed book […] in support of polemical and vindictive remarks against “ of the large owners of Solognot estates mentioned in these articles, according to the text of the court decision, rendered by the summary judge of the Paris judicial court on September 11, 2024. Jours de passions had in fact contacted the judge to obtain, urgently , the suspension of the publication of New Lordson the grounds that the articles were illegally reproduced.

All copies in pestle

An argument swept aside by the court which rejected all of the requests from the company Jours de passions (1). Contacted by to NOthe communications department of Arènes assures that the legal action was in any case useless because the publishing house had in any case decided to withdraw the notebook and reprint the book as soon as Jours de passions had informed it of its opposition . And that she had warned this company before it took legal action. A “decision to remove the photo book taken for the sake of appeasement”assures the publishing house.

But there was no“appeasement”. Especially since Jours de passion is continuing its legal action, according to our information. “Les Arènes tried to avoid a procedure by sending all the copies initially printed to the pestle and by removing the photo booklet from this new edition”comments the author of the work, Jean-Baptiste Forray, also deputy editor-in-chief of The Municipalities Gazette. Which, obviously, “costs a little money to reprint all that”admits the publishing house. Whatever the legal consequences, the book The New Lords is currently on sale.

(1) In particular that of ordering Éditions Les Arènes to organize the return of copies of the book given to journalists and already distributed to sellers!