Bookstores are waging war on Vincent Bolloré. Some 80 bookstores announced, in a forum published on the site CounterattackTuesday, November 19, that they were going to boycott books “published by the houses of the Hachette group, which now belong to the empire of Vincent Bolloré”. “At the end of the year, in our independent bookstores, it may be less easy to find certain books. They will not be highlighted, neither on the table nor in the window, and perhaps even simply absent »is written in the missive.
Refusal to be « the propaganda tool of the reactionary forces »
According to the bookstores, « the power of the Bolloré group is sprawling” and would aim to « to distil racism, sexism and nationalist withdrawal, to bring daily fear of what is not white enough, rich enough, heterosexual enough, cisgender enough.” The takeover of Hachette by the Bolloré group, a year ago, would « a catastrophe for publishing and the book world”according to these bookstores. They also pointed out « the shift » from the publishing house Fayard, which « has just seen Lise Boëll, Éric Zemmour's editor, appointed as its head, and is releasing with fanfare the books by Jordan Bardella and Philippe de Villiers.
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The authors of the column, however, wanted to qualify by affirming that it « “It's not a question of saying that all the authors who publish with Hachette are far-right,” et « nor even those who work and publish there.” The 80 bookstores simply refuse to be « the propaganda tool of the reactionary forces » and to be « the little concealing and logistical hands of those who are involved in all the disasters.” The column finally ended with a call for censorship: « For united and committed celebrations, let's boycott Bolloré! »
