French billionaire Vincent Bolloré says Grasset "will go on" and has dismissed the "uproar of a small caste" after the mass exodus of authors from the famous publishing house on the rue des Saints-Pères in Paris.
More than 300 authors and figures in the publishing world, led by Leïla Slimani, Virginie Despentes and Emmanuel Carrère, have called for the creation of a "conscience clause" in their sector, in an opinion piece published in La Tribune Dimanche (source in French), after 170 authors announced earlier this week that they were leaving Grasset, not wanting to drift with their publishing house following the ousting of Olivier Nora.
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The writers shook up the usually hushed world of French publishing by refusing to publish new works at Grasset following the departure of its managing director, a move they blame on Bolloré. In an open letter following their exodus, they denounced "an unacceptable attack on the editorial independence" of the publishing house founded in 1907.
"It's time to draw the line. This limit has a name: the conscience clause. It exists for journalists. It must be extended, not to weaken companies, but to re-establish a basic balance between freedom of enterprise and the freedom not to serve what we disapprove of", states the letter signed by 308 people.
As a result of an ideological shift that has been pushed through the entire group by Vincent Bolloré, the conservative businessman who controls Hachette, France's No. 1 book publisher and Grasset's parent company, "authors are seeing their publishing rights and their work placed under the control of a shareholder whose editorial policy they question," the text reads.
"Employees participate in the dissemination of political discourse of which they disapprove. Publishers publish works whose scope they do not share. Employees are evolving in profoundly transformed environments, where plurality is being erased in favour of one line", adds the statement.
The signatories include authors from several publishing houses, including Hervé Le Tellier (Gallimard) and Maylis de Kerangal (Verticales), as well as Grasset stalwarts such as Gaël Faye and Bernard Henri-Lévy, and recent Prix Goncourt winners such as Jean-Baptiste Andréa. For the signatories, "Vincent Bolloré's dismissal of Olivier Nora, CEO of Grasset, is indicative of a development that our law is unable to cope with".
According to the signatories, an entire sector, from communicators to booksellers and employees, is affected. _"_French law makes no provision for them. It tells them to accept or leave. Leaving means giving up years of seniority, rights and a stability sometimes built up over decades. To stay is to consent to a form of moral dissonance", they argue.
Socialist senator Sylvie Robert, a leading figure in the book industry, also called on Thursday for the creation of a "conscience clause" for authors "in the event of a radical change in editorial line". This measure is also supported by Horizons MP Jérémie Patrier-Leitus, chairman of the committee of enquiry into public broadcasting which interviewed Vincent Bolloré.
The MP told AFP that he was "working on a law" that would allow "the compulsory and automatic inclusion in publishing contracts of a clause known as 'intuitu personae'", paving the way for authors' contracts to be terminated if their publisher leaves. When asked about this proposal, French President Emmanuel Macron called for "some thought" to be given to it, without making any definite decisions. It is "a question that will arise", he insisted.
Grasset "will continue": Bolloré brushes aside the "uproar of a "small caste"
For his part, conservative billionaire Vincent Bolloré promised on Sunday, in no uncertain terms, to find new authors for one of France's most prestigious publishing houses, after the departure of those contesting political interference.
Bolloré, a devout Catholic who has invested part of his family fortune in a media empire in keeping with his conservative beliefs, said he was surprised by the "uproar" at the publishing house, but insisted it would continue.
In a rare statement to the Journal du Dimanche (source in French), which he also owns, Bolloré criticised "a small caste that believes itself to be above everything and everyone and that co-opts and supports itself."
Despite the protests, "Grasset will continue, and those who leave will enable new authors to be published, promoted, recognised and appreciated", said Bolloré.
Grasset made its name thanks to such giants of French literature as François Mauriac and André Malraux.
The Bolloré family made its fortune through ports and trade in Africa. In 2023, the tycoon bought the Hachette group, which owns Grasset and other major publishing houses, as well as pay-TV channels Canal+ and C-News, radio station Europe 1 and magazines such as Elle.
The decision has been welcomed by conservatives, who see it as a rebalancing of what they regard as a persistent left-wing bias in the French media. Olivier Nora, for his part, had vouched for Grasset's independence following Bolloré's takeover of Hachette.
"As for the attacks on my 'ideology', I would like to reiterate once again that I am a Christian democrat and the directors of Hachette will continue to publish all authors who wish to do so", replied Bolloré.
He pointed out that Nora, who had run the publishing house for 26 years, had resigned following a disagreement over the publication date of a book by the Franco-Algerian author Boualem Sansal, who had been released from prison in Algeria the previous year.
He also criticised Nora's management of Grasset ("very disappointing economic performance of Maison Grasset"), pointing out that, despite a 25% drop in sales in 2025, Nora's salary had risen from €830,000 to €1 million (from $977,000 to $1.17 million).
Nora will be replaced by a confidant of the billionaire, Jean-Christophe Thiery, CEO of Louis Hachette Group.
Bolloré, who embarked on an industrial concentration drive in the 2010s, also owns the Canal+ group and Prisma Media (Voici, Capital, Femme actuelle, etc.) and Lagardère media (Europe 1, JDD).
Fayard, CNews, Europe 1 and the JDD are regularly accused by left-wing politicians of promoting conservative or even extreme right-wing views, which the media deny.
