Dramatic turn of events in the sale of Marianne: put off by press articles claiming that billionaire Pierre-Edouard Stérin had links with the National Rally, the editorial staff finally rejected this buyer and went on strike, reports theAgence France-Presse (AFP).
“What appeared to be an individual ideological commitment turns out to be a partisan enterprise”, estimated Thursday June 27 in a press release the Society of Editors of Marianne (SRM). The editorial team therefore “pronounced unanimously […] against the takeover of the magazine by Pierre-Edouard Stérin »contrary to a previous vote on June 21.
She asked the current shareholder, the CMI group of Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky, to “to seek new buyers capable of ensuring the editorial independence of Marianne and the economic sustainability of the title”.
This Friday, CMI France and Pierre-Edouard Stérin “have decided by mutual agreement to suspend their discussions on the sale of Marianne”announced to theAFP the press group of Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky. “They will meet again on July 21 to decide definitively on the fate of these discussions.”specified CMI France, on the first day of the strike.
Several candidates in the LR legislative elections who are in favour of an alliance with the RN come from the “Stérin galaxy”, according to “Le Monde”
Then, “no response”employees voted in the evening, 80%, in favor of a 24-hour renewable strike, which begins this Friday, June 28, in the morning, specifies theAFP.
This spectacular about-face comes the day after an article in Monde entitled “Versailles connection: how billionaire Pierre-Edouard Stérin places his pawns at the RN”.
In this investigation, the daily newspaper claims that several candidates in the LR legislative elections who are in favour of an alliance with the RN come from the « galaxy Stérin »They are notably linked to the Common Good Fund, the philanthropic enterprise of the 50-year-old billionaire, who heads the investment fund Otium Capital.
The Le Pen family property in Rueil-Malmaison
The world also cites another article from the magazine Challenges , according to which Pierre-Edouard Stérin and Otium number 2, François Durvye, bought the Le Pen family property in Rueil-Malmaison near Paris in November, via a real estate company (SCI). According to Challengesthis property, where the founder of the FN Jean-Marie Le Pen still lives, was sold for 2.5 million euros.
“The latest elements brought to our attention concerning Pierre-Edouard Stérin make the guarantees of independence obtained by the editorial staff insufficient to exercise our profession with serenity”argued the SRM. According to it, “the nature of the takeover offer is definitively altered”.
Another takeover offer
On June 21, the editorial team decided by 60.3% not to oppose the repurchase of the title by Pierre-Edouard Stérin. The owner of Marianne, Daniel Kretinsky’s CMI group, has been in exclusive negotiations since mid-May with the conservative Catholic billionaire for this sale.
In parallel with the exclusive negotiations with Pierre-Edouard Stérin, a challenger made another takeover offer for Marianne: the entrepreneur Jean-Martial Lefranc, 62, who made a career in video games and took over the youth press group Fleurus in 2009. The latter made a new offer of 5 million euros, allied with other investors, including Henri de Bodinat, Joan Beaufort, and Philippe Corrot (co-founder of the e-commerce company Mirakl) who expressed a strong interest.
The amount of this offer is however considered insufficient to buy back and rehabilitate Marianne, explained to theAFP internal sources.
