In France, Too, Billionaire Tycoons Are Silencing Their Critics
In France, right-wingers love to pose as defenders of free speech. Yet the takeover of media by a cast of billionaire pro-Trump tycoons means that just a handful of individuals have a veto over huge swaths of the press.
French billionaire Vincent Bolloré stands next to then Finance Minister Emmanuel Macron at the opening of a new plant in western France on January 15, 2016. (Fred Tanneau / AFP via Getty Images)
Attacks on free speech are growing. In the wake of Charlie Kirk’s murder, Donald Trump’s administration has launched a cynical cancel-culture campaign against anybody not deferential enough to Kirk and the ideas he stood for.
Take the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) pressure that led to the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel’s show in September. FCC commissioner Brendan Carr leaned on ABC parent company Disney to ditch him after Kimmel joked about Trump’s attitude to Kirk’s death. Carr even promised “more to come” for broadcasters who he mendaciously claims aren’t upholding the FCC’s “public interest” standard by “insulting” the president.
Disney soon folded. It was a neat example of just how much influence conglomerates continue to have on America’s media landscape — and how sensitive they are to pressure from the US government.
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