(PatrioticPost.com)- French media mogul Vincent Bollore is hoping to expand his media presence throughout Europe and beyond.
His company Bollore SE, a 20-billion euro conglomerate, controls French media giant Vivendi, including its film and TV company Canal+, the CNews channel, and the world’s third-largest publishing house, Hachette.
Bollore is now expanding operations in news, magazines, pay-TV, cinema, and broadcasting. And because Vincent Bollore politically tilts to the right, he has been dubbed the “French Rupert Murdoch.”
During the French presidential election in April, Bollore’s media empire backed the rightwing candidate Eric Zemmour who campaigned on returning France to its Catholic heritage. Zemmour made waves with his anti-immigrant stance, with many accusing him of touting the so-called Great Replacement theory. Zemmour was knocked out of the race during the first round of elections, coming in a distant fourth place.
Before running for office, Zemmour was a frequent panelist on Bollore’s CNews. In a recent interview, he implied the billionaire media mogul shared his concerns about the “danger of civilization that’s threatening us.” He said Bollore wants to leave his “children and grandchildren the France that was bequeathed to him.”
Much like Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp, Bollore is amassing assets that could increase his influence in the markets he serves. Since taking over Vivendi six years ago, Bollore has turned it into a platform similar to Netflix while purchasing rivals through Europe, Africa, and Asia. All told, Vivendi now has nearly 24 million subscribers in over 40 countries.
Like Murdoch, Bollore’s media empire features right-leaning, conservative ideas.
And, just like Rupert Murdoch, liberal media is terrified that Bollore’s expanding media empire just might give those icky people on the right a platform.
After Bollore acquired the publishing company, Hachette, some French authors fled to other publishers so as not to be tarnished by the billionaire’s conservatism.
But Bollore dismisses the hyperventilating critics, touting the political diversity of his media outlets and downplaying the claims that he wields any political clout.
