President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech during a meeting with selected readers of the Ebra group, a French regional daily newspaper group operating in eastern France, in Mirecourt, on November 28, 2025. SEBASTIEN BOZON / AFP
Has the split been finalized between French President Emmanuel Macron and the media empire of billionaire businessman Vincent Bolloré? In a video posted on X and approved by Macron himself, the Elysée on Monday evening, December 1, responded to attacks from Bolloré's media and the far-right Rassemblement National (RN) party. "Pravda? Ministry of Truth? When talking about the fight against disinformation sparks disinformation..." the presidency mocked.
Earlier that morning, Pascal Praud, a leading host on the Bolloré-owned broadcasters CNews and Europe 1, had denounced "the authoritarian temptation of a president unhappy with media coverage and who wants to impose a narrative."
The previous day, the front page of Le Journal du Dimanche ran a front page reading "Emmanuel Macron: toward information control," suggesting the government wanted to "label" news and set up a "Ministry of Truth."
"The government is not going to create any sort of label for the press, let alone a Ministry of Truth," Macron responded during a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, December 2. "That is not, and will never be, its role," the president added.
