More than 20 AAPA members went to Le Monde on November 9 to meet with the group’s director, Éric Fottorino, and chief editor Sylvie Kauffmann, over an informal, bring-your-own lunch in the newspaper’s conference room. The discussion centered around the paper’s new trio of major shareholders who saved the paper from bankruptcy — Pierre Bergé, Xavier Niel and Matthieu Pigasse — and their impact or lack of it so far on the paper. We also discussed the intervention of President Sarkozy, concerned about potential new owners, with Mr. Fottorino; the Bettencourt affair and Le Monde’s lawsuit alleging violation of a law against investigating journalists’ sources. Other topics included the digital future, whether the paper considered morning publication, and how the paper makes its editorial decisions.
-Steve Erlanger