Paris Match’s editorial team is once again outraged by the magazine’s front cover. Since Vincent Bolloré acquired Paris Match, known to be a fervent Catholic, the magazine’s editorial line has been increasingly disrupted. In July 2022, Paris Match chose to feature Cardinal Robert Sarah, a controversial Guinean prelate who had compared “Western ideologies of homosexuality and abortion to the Islamic fanaticism” of the terrorist group Daesh. These political ideas were not mentioned in the editorial signed by Philippe Labro, a close associate of the Breton billionaire.
According to an investigation by the investigative unit of Radio France published last April, even before the European Commission’s approval for the acquisition, the editorial team was already facing biased choices. Vincent Bolloré’s arrival at the helm of Lagardère had abruptly pushed the editorial director Hervé Gattegno out. Patrick Mahé, editor-in-chief of the magazine from 1981 to 1996, who had personal ties with the businessman, took his place. In a statement, the editorial team wrote, “Their articles are more of a religious exposition than reporting. This type of treatment has been recurring in our pages in recent weeks. We are concerned about what appears to be a new editorial line. The Paris Match editorial team is therefore asking the Lagardère News management to clarify its position on this change, which is breaking with our magazine’s identity, in front of the editorial team.”
