Mutiny brews in French bookshops over Hachette owner’s media grip

Thibaut Willems, the manager of Le Pied à Terre in Paris, places Hachette books away from prime positions on tables in his shop. Photograph: Ed Alcock/The Guardian

A conservative Catholic billionaire and media owner is facing an independent bookshop rebellion in France over his influence in the publishing world.

Dozens of independent booksellers are trying to counter the growing influence of Vincent Bolloré, whose vast cultural empire includes television, radio, the Sunday paper Le Journal du Dimanche, and also, since 2023, the biggest book publishing and distribution conglomerate in France, Hachette Livre.