The boss of the Renaissance group in the Assembly, Sylvain Maillard, will bring together his group’s office to “follow up” on the platform of MP Karl Olive in Le Journal du dimanche, who violates the order “not to participate” in the content of the newspaper now run by far-right journalist Geoffroy Lejeune. “I was informed by a member of my group that exchanges had taken place with the JDD for the publication of a forum, while this newspaper still does not provide the necessary guarantee of plurality that our group expects”, writes on X (ex-Twitter) the president of the Renaissance group, Sylvain Maillard.
“This ‘participation’ does not in any way bind” the deputies of the Macronist group. “I will bring together the office of the Renaissance group at the start of the school year to follow up,” continues the deputy for Paris. Mr. Maillard had instructed his troops not to participate in the content of the JDD, which publishes its third issue on Sunday under the direction of Mr. Lejeune, after six weeks of strike and mass departures within the editorial staff.
Karl Olive, ex-journalist for Canal, deputy of Yvelines and ex-mayor of Poissy, where Emmanuel Macron made his first presidential campaign trip in 2022, signs a column at the JDD entitled: “Let’s go smell the ass of the cows! “. In particular, he praises “local democracy and participatory democracy” and pleads for the end of the ban on the accumulation of mandates in Parliament for mayors, one of his hobbyhorses.
Karl Olive also evokes “the misery of the middle classes” and judges that “Gérald Darmanin is right to make it a beacon of his return to school next Sunday”. A first controversy had emerged within the majority after an interview with the new Secretary of State for the City Sabrina Agresti-Roubache in the first issue of the new JDD formula.
“We can talk about everything, but not to anyone, or at any time”, reacted in particular the Delegate Minister of Transport, Clément Beaune, who judges that the JDD has lost “its historical line, its values, his DNA.” Many observers see in the arrival of Mr. Lejeune the hand of Vincent Bolloré, a billionaire with opinions reputed to be ultra-conservative. Vivendi, Vincent Bolloré’s group owning Canal and its channels (including CNews and C8), is in the process of absorbing Lagardère, owner of JDD, Paris Match and Europe 1, after a successful takeover bid.
