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| A Czech Billionaire Buys a Piece of Le Monde | A Czech Billionaire Buys a Piece of Le Monde |
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| PARIS — Blaise Gauquelin, the Central Europe correspondent for Le Monde, called his editor at the paper’s Paris headquarters one day last fall to pass along something of interest: One of the two French businessmen who controlled the 75-year-old daily was selling part of his stake to a Czech billionaire named Daniel Kretinsky. | PARIS — Blaise Gauquelin, the Central Europe correspondent for Le Monde, called his editor at the paper’s Paris headquarters one day last fall to pass along something of interest: One of the two French businessmen who controlled the 75-year-old daily was selling part of his stake to a Czech billionaire named Daniel Kretinsky. |
| The news sent a tremor through the newsroom of the august national publication. | The news sent a tremor through the newsroom of the august national publication. |
| Le Monde’s journalists looked into Mr. Kretinsky and noted that he had built his fortune largely on power plants and coal mines across Europe. He also owns part of a pipeline that brings Russian gas through Slovakia to the West. Why would an international energy magnate be interested in an anti-Kremlin newspaper that had invested heavily in covering climate change? | Le Monde’s journalists looked into Mr. Kretinsky and noted that he had built his fortune largely on power plants and coal mines across Europe. He also owns part of a pipeline that brings Russian gas through Slovakia to the West. Why would an international energy magnate be interested in an anti-Kremlin newspaper that had invested heavily in covering climate change? |
| Mr. Kretinsky’s earlier foray into French media, the purchase of the center-left newsweekly Marianne for 5 million euros last year, contributed to the staff’s wariness, given that his first big move was to install the conservative commentator Natacha Polony as editor. | Mr. Kretinsky’s earlier foray into French media, the purchase of the center-left newsweekly Marianne for 5 million euros last year, contributed to the staff’s wariness, given that his first big move was to install the conservative commentator Natacha Polony as editor. |
| Mr. Kretinsky, 43, has had a rapid rise under the tutelage of two of the most successful privatization barons in the post-communist Czech Republic and Slovakia, Patrik Tkac and Petr Kellner. His main business, EPH, comprises more than 50 companies and has annual revenue of 6 billion euros. | |
| With part of his fortune, Mr. Kretinsky bought 49 percent of the stake in Le Monde’s parent company held by Matthieu Pigasse, the chief executive of Lazard France. That deal made Mr. Kretinsky the owner of a little more than 13 percent of the paper and its sibling publications. | With part of his fortune, Mr. Kretinsky bought 49 percent of the stake in Le Monde’s parent company held by Matthieu Pigasse, the chief executive of Lazard France. That deal made Mr. Kretinsky the owner of a little more than 13 percent of the paper and its sibling publications. |
| Although Le Monde reported that Mr. Pigasse had initially hoped to sell his entire stake to the Prague energy executive, Mr. Kretinsky said in an interview at the Georges V hotel in Paris that he was content, for now, with his status a minority owner. | Although Le Monde reported that Mr. Pigasse had initially hoped to sell his entire stake to the Prague energy executive, Mr. Kretinsky said in an interview at the Georges V hotel in Paris that he was content, for now, with his status a minority owner. |
| “The idea is to support and to one day be around the table, and have exchanges and talks and debates,” Mr. Kretinsky said. “You cannot jump over to Paris for one day a month and believe you can be the sole shareholder of Le Monde. It would be a great pleasure to be there, and if they needed to be supported, that is something we would do with great pleasure.” | “The idea is to support and to one day be around the table, and have exchanges and talks and debates,” Mr. Kretinsky said. “You cannot jump over to Paris for one day a month and believe you can be the sole shareholder of Le Monde. It would be a great pleasure to be there, and if they needed to be supported, that is something we would do with great pleasure.” |
| Mr. Kretinsky, who is fluent in French, said he fell in love with France as a child while watching French films on Czech television. As a young man, he spent a semester studying law at the University of Dijon. Even if he were to become the leader of Le Monde, he said, he would not interfere in the newsroom. | Mr. Kretinsky, who is fluent in French, said he fell in love with France as a child while watching French films on Czech television. As a young man, he spent a semester studying law at the University of Dijon. Even if he were to become the leader of Le Monde, he said, he would not interfere in the newsroom. |
| “If you become the chairman of a media company, its audience, its spirit, its convictions and its values are things you will never try to take from it,” Mr. Kretinsky said. “Your personal political convictions must be completely disregarded.” | “If you become the chairman of a media company, its audience, its spirit, its convictions and its values are things you will never try to take from it,” Mr. Kretinsky said. “Your personal political convictions must be completely disregarded.” |
| His stake in Le Monde, an afternoon paper with more than 300,000 subscribers, allows him to play a more prominent part in supporting “trans-Atlantic democracy,” he said, and to push for greater regulation of Facebook, Google and other internet giants, which, he argued, undermine the free press. | His stake in Le Monde, an afternoon paper with more than 300,000 subscribers, allows him to play a more prominent part in supporting “trans-Atlantic democracy,” he said, and to push for greater regulation of Facebook, Google and other internet giants, which, he argued, undermine the free press. |
| “Being around Le Monde, it’s much easier to launch this debate as a real member of the family of French publishers,” Mr. Kretinsky said. “The Czech Republic is just too small.” | “Being around Le Monde, it’s much easier to launch this debate as a real member of the family of French publishers,” Mr. Kretinsky said. “The Czech Republic is just too small.” |
| Le Monde’s executive editor, Jérôme Fenoglio, said that the other two major shareholders, Mr. Pigasse and the internet entrepreneur Xavier Niel, have kept the proper distance from the paper’s journalists since taking control of Le Monde Group nine years ago. | Le Monde’s executive editor, Jérôme Fenoglio, said that the other two major shareholders, Mr. Pigasse and the internet entrepreneur Xavier Niel, have kept the proper distance from the paper’s journalists since taking control of Le Monde Group nine years ago. |
| “The newsroom is completely independent,” Mr. Fenoglio said. | “The newsroom is completely independent,” Mr. Fenoglio said. |
| Le Monde’s reporters and editors had a controlling stake in the paper from its founding in 1944 until it was sold with their approval in 2010, and they still have a say in how it is run. What troubled some in the newsroom about Mr. Kretinsky’s entry into the ownership group, the editor added, was the lack of transparency surrounding it. | Le Monde’s reporters and editors had a controlling stake in the paper from its founding in 1944 until it was sold with their approval in 2010, and they still have a say in how it is run. What troubled some in the newsroom about Mr. Kretinsky’s entry into the ownership group, the editor added, was the lack of transparency surrounding it. |
| “The problem is that we heard it through the grapevine, truly the worst way to win our trust,” Mr. Fenoglio said. “The condition that would allow us to have confidence in Mr. Kretinsky is simply to agree to our right of approval, and our right to approve or block his ownership in the company. Whoever the new shareholder is, if he loves Le Monde and wants to help it grow, he has to respect its independence.” | “The problem is that we heard it through the grapevine, truly the worst way to win our trust,” Mr. Fenoglio said. “The condition that would allow us to have confidence in Mr. Kretinsky is simply to agree to our right of approval, and our right to approve or block his ownership in the company. Whoever the new shareholder is, if he loves Le Monde and wants to help it grow, he has to respect its independence.” |
| Alain Beuve-Méry, the editor of Le Monde’s economic opinion pages, and the grandson of the newspaper’s founder, Hubert Beuve-Méry, noted that Mr. Kretinsky had yet to meet with Le Monde’s reporters and editors. “If the value of a newspaper is its journalists, then, when you buy a newspaper, the first thing you do is you try to win over the journalists,” Mr. Beuve-Méry said. | Alain Beuve-Méry, the editor of Le Monde’s economic opinion pages, and the grandson of the newspaper’s founder, Hubert Beuve-Méry, noted that Mr. Kretinsky had yet to meet with Le Monde’s reporters and editors. “If the value of a newspaper is its journalists, then, when you buy a newspaper, the first thing you do is you try to win over the journalists,” Mr. Beuve-Méry said. |
| Asked what the arrival of Mr. Kretinsky could mean for the paper, Louis Dreyfus, the chief executive of Le Monde Group, responded with a shrug. “He announced it in October,” he said. “We haven’t seen any changes in strategy from our shareholders.” | Asked what the arrival of Mr. Kretinsky could mean for the paper, Louis Dreyfus, the chief executive of Le Monde Group, responded with a shrug. “He announced it in October,” he said. “We haven’t seen any changes in strategy from our shareholders.” |
| Le Monde has made a turnaround in the nine years Mr. Dreyfus has been in charge. He has reduced the size of the back-office and printing staff while increasing the number of journalists at the paper, to 450 from 310. He also started a glossy weekly, M, and a paywalled newsletter, La Matinale. A newly established editing hub in Los Angeles allows for a steady flow of news through the Parisian night, and an online African edition, started in 2015, has given Le Monde a greater presence among the world’s 300 million French speakers. | Le Monde has made a turnaround in the nine years Mr. Dreyfus has been in charge. He has reduced the size of the back-office and printing staff while increasing the number of journalists at the paper, to 450 from 310. He also started a glossy weekly, M, and a paywalled newsletter, La Matinale. A newly established editing hub in Los Angeles allows for a steady flow of news through the Parisian night, and an online African edition, started in 2015, has given Le Monde a greater presence among the world’s 300 million French speakers. |
| When Mr. Dreyfus arrived, Le Monde had about 140,000 print subscribers and roughly 30,000 digital subscribers. Today, the paper has fewer than 100,000 print subscribers, but more than 200,000 who pay for online access. | When Mr. Dreyfus arrived, Le Monde had about 140,000 print subscribers and roughly 30,000 digital subscribers. Today, the paper has fewer than 100,000 print subscribers, but more than 200,000 who pay for online access. |
| “Our strategy for the past nine years has been to keep Le Monde independent,” Mr. Dreyfus said. “For that, it’s important that it be financially independent.” | “Our strategy for the past nine years has been to keep Le Monde independent,” Mr. Dreyfus said. “For that, it’s important that it be financially independent.” |
| Before buying the magazine Marianne and the stake in Le Monde, Mr. Kretinsky was already a force in the media business in Prague, where he owns Blesk, a celebrity tabloid. He said he bought it in 2013 to keep if from falling into what he called “the wrong hands.” | Before buying the magazine Marianne and the stake in Le Monde, Mr. Kretinsky was already a force in the media business in Prague, where he owns Blesk, a celebrity tabloid. He said he bought it in 2013 to keep if from falling into what he called “the wrong hands.” |
| “Blesk is a journal that addresses ordinary people, not the top five or 10 percent of intellectuals, but the mass population, which could be manipulated.” he said. “So for us, it was a protective measure, a way to make sure that things are going well.” If Czech media outlets had the same guarantee of editorial integrity that Le Monde has, he said with a laugh, “we wouldn’t have to buy them.” | “Blesk is a journal that addresses ordinary people, not the top five or 10 percent of intellectuals, but the mass population, which could be manipulated.” he said. “So for us, it was a protective measure, a way to make sure that things are going well.” If Czech media outlets had the same guarantee of editorial integrity that Le Monde has, he said with a laugh, “we wouldn’t have to buy them.” |
| Nearly all newspapers in the Czech Republic are in the hands of local billionaires, said Robert Brestan, editor of HlidaciPes.cz (or Watchdog.cz), a site focused on the news media. They use the publications to “maintain a balance of power” with the country’s prime minister, Andrej Babis, who owns two dailies. | Nearly all newspapers in the Czech Republic are in the hands of local billionaires, said Robert Brestan, editor of HlidaciPes.cz (or Watchdog.cz), a site focused on the news media. They use the publications to “maintain a balance of power” with the country’s prime minister, Andrej Babis, who owns two dailies. |
| “In the Czech media world, reporters know very well who the owners are,” Mr. Brestan said. “They have self-censorship and they know what not to write about.” | “In the Czech media world, reporters know very well who the owners are,” Mr. Brestan said. “They have self-censorship and they know what not to write about.” |
| Sophie des Déserts, who covers the media for the French edition of Vanity Fair, said Le Monde had little reason to worry about its new shareholder. “I don’t see Daniel Kretinsky threatening the newspaper,” she said. “It’s not in his interest.” | Sophie des Déserts, who covers the media for the French edition of Vanity Fair, said Le Monde had little reason to worry about its new shareholder. “I don’t see Daniel Kretinsky threatening the newspaper,” she said. “It’s not in his interest.” |
| Sylvie Kauffmann, a columnist for Le Monde who was formerly its executive editor, said she would not rush to judge Mr. Kretinsky, but noted that the paper’s journalistic and financial success depend on its refusal to kowtow to the rich and powerful. | Sylvie Kauffmann, a columnist for Le Monde who was formerly its executive editor, said she would not rush to judge Mr. Kretinsky, but noted that the paper’s journalistic and financial success depend on its refusal to kowtow to the rich and powerful. |
| “A newspaper that can’t be independent,” she said, “is not a good newspaper.” | “A newspaper that can’t be independent,” she said, “is not a good newspaper.” |