France votes: Oligarchs, demagogues and the media | The Listening Post

Over the course of the French presidential election campaign, roughly one-third of voters have said they will back a candidate from the far right - either Marine Le Pen, who President Emmanuel Macron defeated in 2017, or Eric Zemmour, a former journalist with multiple convictions for hate speech. Zemmour owes much of his prominence to a news channel owned by media tycoon Vincent Bollore, whose influence increases with each news outlet he takes over. As France goes to the polls, we examine the structural flaws and societal dangers of a media sector dominated by billionaires. Contributors: Jean-Baptiste Rivoire - Author of ‘The Elysée and the Oligarchs vs the News’, former investigative journalist at Canal+ and founder of Off Investigation Pascale Clark - Former presenter at Europe 1 and journalist at France 5 Alain Duhamel - Political commentator at BFMTV Nadiya Lazzouni - Presenter at Le Média Daniel Schneidermann - Founder of Arrêt sur Images and columnist at Libération Hate Unmasked: The reporters tracking France’s far right: Journalists at independent and local media outlets have been behind some of the biggest exposés of France’s growing far-right networks. The editor of an investigative website and a reporter for a regional daily relate their experiences of exposing violent right-wing groups - and the dangers that come with the territory. Contributors: Mathieu Molard - Editor-in-Chief of StreetPress Josué Jean-Bart - Reporter at Ouest-France