A-Infos (en) France, UCL AL #367 - Politics - Publishing World: Capital Takes Over Books (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

The publishing industry in France has undergone numerous economic and 
structural changes, often summarized by the term "concentration." In 
1989, publisher François Gèze described the level of concentration in 
the French publishing sector as unique in Europe, if not the world, with 
Hachette and Groupe de la Cité (the precursor to the future Editis 
group)[7]. This concentration, a term that will be explained later, is 
accompanied by another phenomenon: overproduction. Sixty-five thousand 
new titles were published in 2024, compared to fewer than 40,000 in 
2000, representing an increase of over 70%. At the same time, publishing 
revenue increased by 30%[1]. Apart from the post-lockdown year of 2021, 
revenue has remained relatively stable in recent years. With each new 
release selling less and less - the average print run of a book has 
fallen from over 12,000 copies in 1985 to around 4,000 in 2023[2]- 
publishing groups are releasing more and more titles to maintain their 
profitability and visibility in bookstores.

Estimates of the number of people working in the book industry vary 
widely due to the diversity of jobs and the possibility of holding 
multiple jobs: it is estimated that between 50,000 and 80,000 people 
have a primary occupation in this sector, 20 to 30% of whom are 
self-employed.

Concepts of Concentration
Horizontal concentration refers to the acquisition of companies within 
the same sector. This can be done to eliminate competitors, increase 
market share, achieve economies of scale, secure more shelf space in 
bookstores, obtain better commercial terms from printers, and so on. 
Thus, Hachette controls more than 200 publishing houses worldwide, 
including around forty in France.

Vertical concentration refers to the grouping of companies in 
complementary sectors. In the book industry, the largest publishing 
groups also control distribution structures, print-on-demand services, 
bookstores, and so on. This allows publishing houses to access 
preferential advertising rates and favorable articles in the group's 
media outlets, and bookstores to benefit from additional discounts when 
they sell books from publishers belonging to the same owner, and so forth.

While Bolloré and Kretínský are often mentioned, the dynamics of 
concentration are much broader. In 2020, the top four groups-Hachette, 
Editis, Madrigall, and Média Participations-accounted for more than 70% 
of the sector's revenue.

Most publishing groups aspire to have one or more bestsellers each year 
and to win literary prizes. The Goncourt Prize-winning book (which 
generates the most sales) sells an average of 400,000 copies... Books 
that guarantee publishers continuous sales, such as the Harry Potter 
saga, which contributes significantly to Madrigall's profits, must also 
be taken into account.

Logistics (distribution) is where the concentration and industrial 
investment are most massive. Hachette Distribution, Interforum (Editis), 
MDS (Média Participations), Sodis, and UD (Madrigall) manage and 
organize the flow of more than 80% of the books sold in France. Every 
movement of books (orders and returns) generates a profit for the 
distributor. In our society of immediacy, the challenge is to deliver 
ever faster. In some places and during the busiest times of the year, it 
happens that boxes aren't even opened before being returned!

Alongside publishing, the issue of distribution is also central to 
understanding the problems of concentration in the book industry. Large 
cultural retailers, facing competition from Amazon, are also in the 
hands of billionaires: Fnac has Daniel Kretínský (Editis) as a minority 
shareholder, Michel-Édouard Leclerc created Les Espaces culturels 
Leclerc, and Cultura has Philippe Van Der Wees, close to the Mulliez 
family (Decathlon, Auchan, etc.), as its majority shareholder. Between 
chains comprising several dozen bookstores (Gibert Joseph, Nosoli, etc.) 
and so-called "independent" bookstores, which belong to large publishing 
groups (see the table below[3]), the share of book sales in fully 
independent bookstores is very small.

A Brief History of Publishing
Until the 1940s, the Hachette group, founded in 1826, held a 
near-monopoly on book distribution and sales, notably controlling 
bookstores in all French train stations. Hachette's long-standing 
competitor, Presses de la Cité[4], founded in 1943, experienced the same 
phenomenon of horizontal and vertical integration between the 1950s and 
1980s.
The latter part of the 20th century saw both financial logic and stock 
market strategies take precedence over industrial logic, and in France, 
the consolidation of the influence of international groups present in 
communication, media, publishing, multimedia, and even arms manufacturing.

The last twenty years have witnessed a surprising reversal: * 2002-2004: 
Acquisition of the number 2 (Vivendi) by the number 1 (Hachette). This 
allowed the latter to consolidate its leading position but also marked 
the consolidation of the future Editis (formerly Vivendi) following 
intervention by the European Commission for "risk of abuse of dominant 
position." * 2022-2023: Acquisition of the number 1 (Hachette) by the 
number 2 (Vivendi-Editis, which had meanwhile come under the control of 
Vincent Bolloré).

This table is based on a combination of data from the latest annual 
ranking of the top 200 French publishers published by Livres Hebdo (LH 
Le Magazine, no. 56, September 2025) and the annual summary published by 
the French Publishers Association (Syndicat national de l'édition) (Les 
Chiffres de l'édition: synthèse 2024-2025).

The Specifics of Current Changes
Although the phenomenon of media concentration is not new in France, one 
might wonder whether the Bolloré Group's recent takeover bid for 
Hachette is driven not only by speculative motives but also by 
ideological motivations.

Vincent Bolloré makes no secret of his Catholic and reactionary views. 
The main characteristics of the changes implemented after the 
acquisition of various media outlets (print, radio, television, etc.) 
are the increased prominence of far-right commentators and the departure 
of journalists. Vincent Beaufils, a journalist and former director of 
the business magazine Challenges, recounts the following statement in an 
investigation about Bolloré: "I use my media to wage my civilizational 
battle."[5]Yet, in January 2022, Bolloré could assert before senators 
that Vivendi-Bolloré's interest "is neither political nor ideological, 
but purely economic."[6]

The history of publishing in France is rife with troubling ideological 
convergences, which raise questions about the potential specificity of 
Vincent Bolloré's approach. One need only look at the attitude of some 
publishing houses during the Occupation or, more recently, at the 
political career of Rémy Montagne, founder of the Ampère group, who 
would later join Média Participations. Before becoming a publisher, he 
was a politician. He was among the members of parliament who, opposing 
the bill on voluntary termination of pregnancy presented by Simone Veil 
in January 1975, likened a state that authorized abortion to a 
totalitarian state such as the Third Reich...

In France, Hachette and Editis share more than 50% of the publishing market.

Wikimedia/Tangopaso
While it is generally agreed that the phenomenon of concentration in the 
book industry accelerated and evolved from the 1980s onward, it seems 
that all the elements criticized had been in place for a long time: 
monopolistic tendencies, a strong presence of banks in organizational 
charts, close ties with those in power, ideological motivations, etc.

Such editorial concentration, and the recent events that accompany 
it-acquisitions of publishing houses, financial concentration, 
departures of editors, books scheduled for release then canceled, 
etc.-undermine bibliodiversity and the richness of publishing output. We 
must defend our rights as workers in the book industry, but also 
question a devastating (overproduction, pulping, etc.) and unequal 
economic model within this renowned book supply chain.

A member of the Book Industry branch of SUD Culture Solidaires

Short bibliography
* Collective, Déborder Bolloré, collective co-edition, 2025, 
Deborderbollore.fr. * Jean-Yves Mollier, Brève histoire de la 
concentration dans le monde du livre, Libertalia, 2022 (new edition 2024).

Validate

[1]"Long series of key figures for the book sector," Ministry of 
Culture, 2025.

[2]Philippe Chantepie and Louis Wiart, The Economics of Books, La 
Découverte, Repères Collection, 2025.

[3]Data taken from the annual ranking "The Top 400 French Bookstores in 
2024," published by Livres Hebdo (LH Le Magazine, no. 55, July-August 2025).

[4]As acquisitions and takeovers progressed, Presses de la Cité was 
successively renamed Groupe de la Cité, then Compagnie Générale des 
Eaux, Vivendi, and Editis.

[5]Vincent Beaufils, Bolloré, the Man Who Causes Concern, 
L'Observatoire, 2022.

[6]Report of the Commission of Inquiry "Media Concentration in France," 
Volume II, p. 277. Senate, 2022.

[7]François Gèze, The Dual Nature of the Book: Four Decades of Change in 
the "Book Chain", Les Belles Lettres, 2023.

https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Monde-de-l-edition-Le-capital-a-l-assaut-du-livre
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