The new chairman of the Groupe Le Monde is likely to be Louis Schweitzer. He fits the very French notion of “personalité incontestable” which is often associated with the notion of “most acceptable personality”. Mr. Schweitzer, 66, has a rich CV, both in the highest reaches of both French administration and industry — as if they were two different entities. He’s is a former budget minister’s chief of staff in the Socialist government, and CEO of carmaker Renault during 13 years. He’s now chairman of the High Authority against Discrimination and sits on several prestigious boards. “He projects an image of integrity, credibility, and he should have the freedom of the newcomer”, said a source involved in the talks. Whether Mr. Schweitzer will use that freedom is in doubt, dissenters grumble. His name should be released this Monday at the board meeting of Le Monde.
Mr.Schweitzer will have to negotiate the recapitalization of the group while preserving the independence of the newsroom. “One of the key elements will be the scope and the effectiveness of the cost reduction plan the new management will set up”, said that same insider. “What we know is, on a staff of 1600 for the entire group, at a minimum, 250 jobs must be cut”, plus a prudent sales of non-key assets buried in the numerous properties accumulated by Le Monde. Problem is, to win his CEO job, Eric Fottorino has promised whatever its interlocutors wanted to hear. For example: the numbers of job reductions will be small and the sales of assets insignificant. In the meantime, he would negotiate a cash infusion in the group while maintaining its independence. A new genre of economy-fiction.
Last week, Le Monde experienced the inconvenience of its fragility. Its brand-new n°2, David Guirault, former CEO of Les Echos almost lost a job he doesn’t officially have. Bernard Arnault, new owner of Les Echos (who fired Mr. Guirault), was so upset to see him landing at Le Monde, resorted to his usual modus operandi: he put all the pressure, at every possible level, to have Mr. Guirault dumped. According to a board member, Mr. Arnault - chairman of the luxury group LVMH - reminded everyone how much his group weighs in Le Monde’s advertising revenue. So far, nobody balked. But it gives an idea of today’s ambiance - with more to come.
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