Employees of the Bayard group vote to strike to contest the appointment of the former right-hand man of conservative billionaire Pierre-Edouard Stérin

Employees of the press and publishing group are also concerned about Bayard's participation in the takeover of the ESJ Paris journalism school, alongside several media owners, including Vincent Bolloré.

Bayard employees are “worried”. During a general meeting organized Tuesday, November 26 at the call of the unions, employees of the press and publishing group, which notably publishes the daily The Crossthe monthly Our time and several children’s press titles (Astrapi, Okapi, J'aime lire…), voted for the principle of a strike, franceinfo learned on Wednesday from union sources, confirming information from several media. Employees are particularly opposed to the appointment of Alban du Rostu as director of group strategy and development, announced Monday during an exceptional social and economic committee.

“Why take a person with such a strong political influence?”asks a source within the National Union of Journalists (SNJ). Alban du Rostu is the former right-hand man of the devout Catholic billionaire and libertarian tax exile Pierre-Edouard Stérin. The latter, a conservative businessman, is considered close to the National Rally. The unions are worried about the consequences of the arrival of this former associate of Pierre-Edouard Stérin on the group's editorial line. The group's management assured that Alban du Rostu would only intervene “on strategy” development, reports this source. “But editorial and strategy in a press group are extremely linked”this same source is alarmed.

Employees are also wondering about the announcement of the Bayard group's participation in the takeover of the ESJ Paris journalism school, alongside several media owners. Among the buyers of this establishment, which is not one of the 14 schools recognized by the profession, is notably the conservative businessman Vincent Bolloré, which has Canal+ and Prisma Media in its fold. “In all sectors of the company, we, trade union organizations, are collecting testimonies from shocked colleagues, as well as questions from authors, illustrators, readers and parents of our young readers”write the unions in a joint press release.

“At a time when the press must fight against the steamroller of fake news on social networks, how can we manage a school alongside partners who seem to follow a political agenda more than an information mission?”they add, believing that this choice “bumped into” their “corporate culture”. For the moment, the date of the strike has not yet been decided. Initially, an hour of walkout will be held Thursday afternoon, franceinfo learned from another union source. Other actions are being considered for December 5, confirm the two sources interviewed by franceinfo.