Vincent Bolloré, the conservative billionaire who has built up France's biggest media empire, says his Grasset publishing house will seek new talent after more than 150 of its authors quit in protest at what they claimed was interference with editorial independence.
"Grasset will continue, and those who are leaving will allow new authors to be published, promoted, recognised and appreciated," Bolloré wrote in an opinion piece published in the Sunday paper Journal du Dimanche (JDD), which forms part of his stable.
