The Grasset affair will have brought to light a reality that has been somewhat quickly passed over in silence: publishing is also subject to particularly powerful capitalistic forces. Starting with that of a few wealthy men, not necessarily driven by the best intentions: Vincent Bolloré or Bernard Arnault have clearly expressed their support for an extreme right political project.
The first, however, owns the first French publishing entity, Hachette Livre, also present internationally, while the second is a shareholder of the Madrigall group. Let us also mention the Czech billionaire Daniel KÅ™etÃnský, owner of Editis and closer, for his part, to the Republican Spring, a movement with positions rather on the right of the political spectrum as well. Other reactionary personalities, like Pierre-Édouard Stérin, are finally on the lookout, wishing to make the book an instrument of propaganda.
The moment experienced with the dismissal of Olivier Nora then the Zapper Bolloré mobilization, on the cinema side, paradoxically seems to be “ a godsend ” for Laure Murat. According to her, these events could thus “ trigger a form of solidarity and inventiveness in the responses that must be opposed to the control over cinemas and publishing houses ».
According to the historian, the interest shown in the cultural sectors testifies to the fact that they represent “ bastions of critical thinking ». Or, « the first sign of fascism is anti-intellectualism ”, the fact of “ suppress critical thinking ”, she recalls, citing the analysis of Umberto Eco.
If Bolloré concentrates the attention and a good part of the criticism, Laure Murat invites us to maintain vigilance on all editorial groups. She thus evokes the case of an author among her relatives, excluded from the Gallimard catalog “ because she spoke ill of Bernard Arnault ». Mother Elle, whose book All eras are disgusting is published by Verdier and distributed by Sodis [qui appartient à Madrigall/Gallimard, NdR]wondered about what this publication represented.
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She drew a simple slogan from it: “…We must analyze all the links in the chain and throw our forces into a project to defend independence Â,” she says. Behind this proposal, a return “ to basic materialist fundamentals ”, or the  possession of the means of production ” by the publishers themselves, and not by shareholders or a wealthy owner.
A polarization “ dangerous »
To implement this strategy, Laure Murat does not say she is in favor of the boycott, question “ complex and important ”. On the one hand, because boycotting the bibliographic production of the Bolloré group implies depriving oneself of a “ staggering number of works ”, on the other hand, because certain titles are nevertheless of interest.
The author of Passage de l’Odéon (Gallimard, 2005), homage to the booksellers Adrienne Monnier and Sylvia Beach, recommends rather the selection, the choice, “ definition of independent library ”. In his eyes, moreover, “ asking is not validating ”, and booksellers can offer works that do not correspond to their personal convictions.
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A form of “ pluralité » the offer is also appreciable in bookstores, at a time of polarization in society, underlines the historian. In this respect, the violence suffered by book businesses, “ unacceptable ”, must provoke a commensurate institutional response from the government, she asserts.
On the occasion of the next electoral deadlines, Laure Murat hopes that targeted questions will be asked of the candidates, so that they will formulate “ promises, specific points, although all will be full of good feelings ”. Finally, she invites, in this troubled period, not to do “ too much criticism of booksellers » : « They are made to carry a situation that is overwhelming them. »
Photography: Historian Laure Murat, in videoconference, Sunday June 7, 2026, during the RNL 2026 (ActuaLitté, CC BY SA 4.0)
FILE – Booksellers gathered in Rennes for the RNL 2026
By Antoine Oury
Contact : ao@actualitte.com
