Fashion tycoon Bernard Arnault accused of stranglehold over French business press

Arnault’s addition of leading weekly to stable of publications raises concerns about media ownership in France

He is known as the “wolf in cashmere” – the owner of the world’s biggest luxury group whose brands including Louis Vuitton, Dior and Tiffany have made him one of the world’s richest people.

But Bernard Arnault, a close friend of Donald Trump, is under fire from journalists’ unions in France for buying up almost all the country’s business and economic press.

Reporters Without Borders said Arnault had a “stranglehold” on the main business titles in France after his LVMH group bought the centrist business weekly Challenges.

LVMH, whose brands include fashion, perfumes, champagne and spirits, has an array of business publications including the leading economic daily paper, Les Echos, and the business information service L’Agefi.

Reporters Without Borders and journalists’ unions have filed two different complaints over the purchase of Challenges. France’s council of state is considering whether authorities failed to properly examine the scope of LVMH’s business media ownership, and the competition watchdog is considering union arguments that the group “abused its dominant position” by acquiring Challenges.

“This is a textbook example of the loopholes in French law which fail to keep media ownership in check,” said Laure Chauvel, the head of the France-Italy desk at Reporters Without Borders.

Arnault’s expansion comes amid growing debate over the handful of billionaires who dominate media ownership and are reshaping the news landscape before next spring’s presidential election. The far right is polling high as Emmanuel Macron’s two terms in office near an end.

The most prominent billionaire is Vincent Bolloré, the conservative industrialist who is close to figures on the far right. He has been accused of using his powerful media empire, including the TV channel CNews, to give a platform to reactionary voices. Bolloré’s large presence in book publishing and film production has also sparked a revolt by writers and film industry insiders. He has dismissed petitions against him and said he was a Christian democrat.

Other billionaires include Rodolphe Saadé, the head of the world’s third largest shipping company, CMA CGM, based in Marseille. His growing media empire includes the rolling news channel BFM TV, the Marseille paper La Provence, the weekly La Tribune Dimanche, and La Tribune, a former business paper and now online publication which was once owned by Arnault. Journalists at La Tribune went on strike in April expressing fears for its futu