A book signed by Jordan Bardella at Fayard, the publisher of Alexandre Soljenitsyne and Gabriel Garcia Marquez – two Nobel Prize winners in literature –, of Colette, Jürgen Habermas, Robert Badinter and many other great names in thought and letters? The scenario must become reality this Saturday, November 9 with the publication of What I'm looking for324 pages under a black and white cover showing the president of the National Rally (RN) in profile, inspired look and well-ironed collar. He looks back on his two recent electoral campaigns, his childhood and his vision for France. Impossible to say more than these broad outlines revealed in Sunday newspaper because, contrary to custom, the publisher did not send the text to the press. A retention intended to arouse desire, the cog in a communication operation developed with all of Hachette's know-how.
From writing to promotion, including printing – more than 100,000 copies – and distribution, Jordan Bardella's book benefits from the powerful strike force of Fayard's parent company. This has doubled since its arrival, just a year ago, under the control of the Vivendi group, owned by the Bolloré family and which counts Europe 1, CNews and even C8 in its fold. Membership in the media galaxy of the Breton businessman guaranteeing the writings of the RN boss maximum exposure under a prestigious brand. A first.
“A reserve tradition since Vichy”
“Until now, far-right politicians have had great difficulty finding a reputable house to publish them”recalls publishing historian Jean-Yves Mollier. In 2006 and 2012, Marine Le Pen had to settle for an almost unknown brand to publish Against the waves et So that France lives : Grancher, especially focused on health and well-being Books. In 2018, the confidential Muller editions are hosting the memoirs of Jean-Marie Le Pen. Rare exception in 1984 with The Flameby Bruno Mégret, then allied to the National Front, at Robert Laffont.
Such confinement is due to “a tradition of reserve towards far-right leaders in publishing since Vichy”explains Jean-Yves Mollier, arguing that “it has never refused to publish those responsible for the extreme left”. Like the former spokesperson for the New Anticapitalist Party Olivier Besancenot, at Denoël, or Georges Marchais, general secretary of the Communist Party, at Grasset.
Distinguishing circumstantial books from real political reflections
Some “renowned” publishers make a distinction between works serving the electoral ambition of those responsible and those which carry their ideas. Reluctant towards the former, they do not refrain from publishing the latter. Like Albin Michel who, in 2021, after having accompanied several of his trials, refuses France has not said its last wordwhich Éric Zemmour sees as a first step towards his candidacy for the 2022 presidential election – and which he will therefore self-publish under the Rubempré brand.
“He had written his essays while he was a journalist and they represented a contribution to the debate of ideas, which, whatever one thinks, is part of democratic pluralism, explains an internal source. On the other hand, an entry book into politics would have been in contradiction with the generalist and non-militant identity of Albin Michel. » Would authors more at the center of the political spectrum have suffered the same refusal? “It must be recognized that Éric Zemmour is particularly divisive”continues the same source.
Other houses simply refuse “program” books, whether extreme right or not. “Books by politicians are generally of two types, summarizes editor Philippe Rey. Occasional, strategic books, written to face an electoral deadline or consolidate an image as part of a career plan: they are written quickly, often by collaborators, are quite superficial and conventional. And then there are those which are the fruit of genuine reflection, and which aim to make a substantial contribution to the public debate. I only retain works falling into this second category. »
Publishing, an environment that remains pluralist
Suffice it to say that the sanitary cordon against the far right remains solid within publishing and that Jordan Bardella's book from Fayard appears to be an exception. “Above all, it is an editorial and political coup, symbolic too, estimates the sociologist specializing in publishing Hervé Serry. In no case is this a sign of a sociological evolution of French publishing as a whole. »
And « coup » closely linked to the change of shareholder of Hachette. “Jordan Bardella at Fayard is above all a way of asserting a new editorial line since Bolloré took the order for Hachette, analyzes Benjamin Tainturier, also a sociologist, who is carrying out a thesis on far-right discourse in the media. We cannot conclude from this that the center of gravity of publishing has shifted to the right, we just need to look at its liveliness on the far left. The environment remains pluralistic. »
Fayard had begun its evolution before the takeover of Hachette by the Bolloré family group, notably by publishing Cardinal Sarah, an opponent of Pope Francis, and the reactionary Philippe de Villiers. A contribution to the installation of a “literary ecosystem”according to the sociologist Benjamin Tainturier, informed by works published in other publishing houses, such as those of the far-right essayist Alain Soral, published by Kontre Kulture, or even by Éric Zemmour, for some of the “editing shots in which we find the themes which today form the ideological matrix of the extreme right”.
The change of direction initiated by the publication of Jordan Bardella's book, however, proved risky for Fayard. This has already caused several authors to leave and promises to dissuade new ones. “This choice will leave a lasting mark on the house, good luck in recruiting essayists and novelists”warns an editor on condition of anonymity. Publishing under the same name as the boss of the RN is unbearable for some. “If I do not contest Jordan Bardella's right to be published, for me who has published seven titles with Fayard, it is an absolute shame, testifies the historian Jean-Yves Mollier. A publishing house is symbolic capital put at the service of a cause. » A cause that he does not support.
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With booksellers, a well-orchestrated strategy
In order to preserve secrecy, Jordan Bardella's book was presented « sous X » to booksellers, that is to say without disclosing the name of the author.
Booksellers are free to choose the works which they present on their shelves. So some, out of conviction, refuse to present it.
The profession is nevertheless required by law to allow any customer who requests it to order a specific book.
Available for pre-order on Amazon, Jordan Bardella's book ranks third in overall book sales, behind the Goncourt Prize Houris by Kamel Daoud (Gallimard), and Memoricide by Philippe de Villiers (Fayard).
