Le Monde

Le Monde is one of media outlets belonging to Le Monde group. The parent company is controlled by Le Monde Libre company, owned by Pierre Bergé, Matthieu Pigasse (see below), Xavier Niel (the boss of Free — a French mobile operator) and Spanish media company Prisa. This company possesses 64 percent of the group. The trio of Bergé-Pigasse-Niel has been actively buying up French media outlets in the past several years (including Le Monde, L’Observateur). Mathieu Pigasse, the CEO of Lazard France bank, owns Les Inrockuptibles magazine and is a shareholder of Huffington Post as well.

Recently, together with Xavier Niel and the boss of Troisième Oeil Productions, Pierre-Antoine Capton, Pigasse stated his intention to raise €300-500 million. The purpose? The creation of a so-called Media One investment fund, aiming to multiply the acquisitions in media sector.

Le Monde is considered a prestigious publication. With some 300,000 copies issued a day, it is one of the last evening daily papers. Though the media has suffered from the crisis of the print media, it remains able to influence somehow the media-political landscape. While it denies having any political approach, the outlet is labeled center-left. Le Monde is constantly accused of adopting an Atlanticist position (see ‘Controversies’). Fifty years ago it was already opposed to Charles de Gaulle’s sovereigntist policy, even though the politician had contributed to the creation of the publication.

That’s one reason de Gaulle nicknamed it "immonde", which means repugnant. More recently, the paper attracted the ire of some observers, who perceived the manner in which Le Monde was presenting the Syrian conflict as not entirely objective.

The daily was repeatedly managed by controversial people, such as a highly pro-American Jean-Marie Colombani (see ‘Key people’ for Slate) or Edwy Plenel, classified a "foreign agent" by French ex-President François Mitterrand, according to Roland Dumas. Now Le Monde belongs to the businessmen Pierre Bergé and Xavier Niel, as well as the banker Matthieu Pigasse. The paper is one of the most assisted by the state (€16,150,256 in 2013).

Known for his business and love story with the late super-famous Yves Saint Laurent, Pierre Bergé also dedicates a part of his life to the media sphere. Major shareholder of Le Monde, together with Matthieu Pigasse and Xavier Niel, this defender of homosexual rights has had a tempestuous experience with his branded daily paper. Since his disputed power gathering in 2010, the co-owner has been accused of interfering in the editorial line of the paper.

On February, 10 this year he pointed out his own newspaper’s "populism." 
Le Monde would have "thrown to the lions" the names of people implicated in the so-called "SwissLeaks" case — a large political and financial scandal. The man is also known for his controversial sayings. He defines himself as a convinced layman and argues "for a complete abolition of all Christian holidays."

During a debate on Medical assisted procreation (MAP), he shocked some parts of the public: "We cannot make any difference in rights, whether it would be MAP, surrogacy or adoption. Myself, I support the entire freedom. What is the difference between lending one’s hands for work at a plant and lending one’s belly to make a kid? The distinction, this is the shocking thing about all that."

Performs a balancing act between finance and media. Matthieu Pigasse is a part of Le Monde ruling trio. Chairman at Lazard France merchant bank, he is presented by French mainstream media as a ‘left banker’, though implicated in some controversies.

Numerous financial analysts accuse him of having lined his pockets thanks to the Greek debt. Indeed, Pigasse and his Lazard bank have been consulting the government in Athens for several years. The “hero of the Greek debt restructuring,” as he was called by Marianne weekly, does not benefit from the same hagiography within some circles. The bank of Le Monde’s co-owner has made €25 million thanks to his advices in Athens.

"All the same, we should know who this Monsieur Plenel really is." This François Mitterrand phrase illustrates very well the questioning atmosphere surrounding the man. Chairman of Le Monde editorial from 1996 to 2004, Edwy Plenel is seen as a scandalous journalist. Implicated in the Greenpeace affair (1985) and numerous Mediapart revelations to some, to others a Trotskyite related to the highest range of French Intelligence for others, he leaves no one indifferent.
 Currently at the top of Mediapart journal, he is often pointed out for his pro-American approach. Example: the blogger Olivier Berruyer, who highlighted the editorial line of the edition on international policy related questions.
 Roland Dumas, French Foreign Minister during François Mitterrand’s presidency, has even argued that the former French president had told him Edwy Plenel was a "foreign agent."

In 2003 Pierre Péan and Philippe Cohen published a book that would shake up the whole Le Monde organization. The Dark Side of Le Monde tells the story of how the newspaper "insidiously passed from its role of a counter-power to a constant abuse of power." The investigation takes it out on Plenel directly and blames him of "control gathering" over the paper, together with Alain Minc and Jean-Marie Colombani.

Last March, the newspaper was accused of supporting NATO’s secretary-general, Norwegian Jens Stoltenberg. The concerned journalist accumulated questions seeking to demonize Russia regarding the situation in Ukraine. 
"How many Russian soldiers are there currently in Ukraine?", "Have you noticed some Russian activity near Mariupol?", "What shall be done?", "Does the Alliance need to be ready for escalation?", "Should France do more and provide a direct military assistance?" These are some of numerous examples of the editorial approach.

Recently Le Monde has published an infographic supposed to show the redistribution of the victims of the Syrian conflict. The article attributed an overwhelming majority of deaths to "the regime of Bashar Assad", the number of victims greatly surpassing that of the Islamic state. The data having come from the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), an organization known for its anti-Assad stance and funded, according to some media, by the West. Chairman of SOHR, Fadel Abdul Ghany, admitted however to not having counted the number of victims in the ranks of pro-government forces.