Robert Hersant (; 30 January 1920 – 21 April 1996) was a French newspaper magnate. He was a leader in the pro-Nazi youth movement during the Vichy wartime years, but after prison time built a major newspaper empire and engaged in conservative politics. At the time of his death he operated 40 publications and employed 8,000 people, but failed in his leap into television.

Early life

Hersant was born in

Vertou Vertou (; ) is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France. It is located on the river Sèvre Nantaise, and was a historical town of Brittany. Today, Vertou is a component of the Nantes Métropole and is the fifth-largest ...

Loire-Atlantique Loire-Atlantique (; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Louére-Atantique''; ; before 1957: ''Loire-Inférieure'', ) is a departments of France, department in Pays de la Loire on the west coast of France, named after the river Loire and the Atlantic Ocean. ...

. . He was the son of a captain in the merchant navy and showed early on an interest in school newspapers.

Vichy France

Initially involved with the Socialist Youth movement in 1935, Robert Hersant founded the rightist political party '' Jeune Front'' in the summer 1940. During that period, he became a friend of

Jean-Marie Balestre Jean-Marie Balestre (; 9 April 1921 – 27 March 2008) was a French motorsport administrator and journalist. From 1978 to 1991, Balestre served as president of the '' Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile'' (FISA); from 1985 to 1993, he ...

. ''Jeune Front'' although a small group, was publishing the pro-Nazi newspaper '' Au Pilori''. He left this movement in October 1940, to become a member of the secretariat general de la jeunesse of the

Vichy Regime Vichy France (; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was a French rump state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II, established as a result of the French capitulation after the defeat against ...

. In 1941–1942, he created a camp in Brévannes, named after the Marshal

Philippe Pétain Henri Philippe Bénoni Omer Joseph Pétain (; 24 April 1856 – 23 July 1951), better known as Marshal Pétain (, ), was a French marshal who commanded the French Army in World War I and later became the head of the Collaboration with Nazi Ger ...

to indoctrinate young people in the

Révolution nationale The ''Révolution nationale'' (, ''National Revolution'') was the official ideological program promoted by the Vichy regime (the “French State”) which had been established in July 1940 and led by Marshal Philippe Pétain. Pétain's regim ...

ideology. He was not affected in the first waves of the

Épuration légale The (; French for 'legal purge') was the wave of official trials that followed the Liberation of France and the fall of the Vichy regime. The trials were largely conducted from 1944 to 1949, with subsequent legal action continuing for decade ...

after liberation. He was arrested and jailed for one month in Fresnes on 15 June 1945. He was tried in 1947 and sentenced to 10 years of national indignity for

collaboration Collaboration (from Latin ''com-'' "with" + ''laborare'' "to labor", "to work") is the process of two or more people, entities or organizations working together to complete a task or achieve a goal. Collaboration is similar to cooperation. The ...

with

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

. The court emphasized that ''Jeune Front'' had received support from the Nazis as early as August 1940 to justify that sentence.

Publishing and politics

He was released through the general amnesties in 1947, 1951 and 1953. His personal friendships with notable Socialist leaders such as Guy Mollet and François Mitterrand during the 1950s enabled him to start fresh. After launching a few unsuccessful publications, (''Bazars et Galeries'', ''l'Equipement Ménager'', ''le Quincailler''), in 1950, he started '' L'Auto-Journal'', which met success due to the increasing popularity of automobiles. In October 1952, he bought ''la semaine de l'Oise'' and used it to launch his political career. In February 1953, he was elected mayor of

Ravenel, Oise Ravenel () is a commune in the Oise department in northern France. It is located about 70 kilometres north of Paris. See also *Communes of the Oise department The following is a list of the 680 Communes of France, communes of the Oise Dep ...

, and in January 1956 he ran for a deputy seat in the Assemblée Nationale as a

radical Radical (from Latin: ', root) may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Classical radicalism, the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and Latin America in the 19th century *Radical politics ...

candidate. He was elected with the support of

French Section of the Workers' International The French Section of the Workers' International (, SFIO) was a major socialist political party in France which was founded in 1905 and succeeded in 1969 by the present Socialist Party. The SFIO was founded in 1905 as the French representativ ...

(SFIO) and

Democratic and Socialist Union of the Resistance The Democratic and Socialist Union of the Resistance (, UDSR) was a French political party founded after the liberation of France from German occupation, mainly active during the Fourth Republic (1947–58). It was a loosely organised "cadre p ...

(UDSR). However, on 18 April 1956 his election caused a heated debate at the Assemblée Nationale due to his collaborationist past. The Assemblée Nationale cancelled his election, but on 25 October 1956 he was reelected. As a deputy, Hersant championed a reform of the constitution of 1946, altering the articles 45, 46, 47, 48 and 52. It would have permitted the direct election of the ''Président du Conseil'', and would have obliged him to form his cabinet from personalities that did not belong to legislative bodies. Hersant advocated a partition of

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

as a solution to the

Algerian War The Algerian War (also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence) ''; '' (and sometimes in Algeria as the ''War of 1 November'') was an armed conflict between France and the Algerian National Liberation Front (Algeri ...

. In 1958, Hersant became

Gaullist Gaullism ( ) is a French political stance based on the thought and action of World War II French Resistance leader Charles de Gaulle, who would become the founding President of the Fifth French Republic. De Gaulle withdrew French forces from t ...

. In 1967, he was elected as a Radical within the

Federation of the Democratic and Socialist Left The Federation of the Democratic and Socialist Left (''Fédération de la gauche démocrate et socialiste'' or FGDS) was a conglomerate of French left-wing non-Communist forces. It was founded to support François Mitterrand's candidature at the ...

. He then became a conservative supporting

Valéry Giscard d'Estaing Valéry René Marie Georges Giscard d'Estaing (, ; ; 2 February 19262 December 2020), also known as simply Giscard or VGE, was a French politician who served as President of France from 1974 to 1981. After serving as Ministry of the Economy ...

. He remained a deputy until 1978. In 1984, he became a deputy in the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

on the

Rally for the Republic The Rally for the Republic ( ; RPR ) was a Gaullist and conservative political party in France. Originating from the Union of Democrats for the Republic (UDR), it was founded by Jacques Chirac in 1976 and presented itself as the heir of Gaul ...

–

Union for French Democracy The Union for French Democracy ( ; UDF) was a centre-right political party in France. The UDF was founded in 1978 as an electoral alliance to support President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing in order to counterbalance the Gaullist preponderance over ...

(RPR/UDF) list led by

Simone Veil Simone Veil (; ; 13 July 1927 – 30 June 2017) was a French magistrate, Holocaust survivor, and politician who served as health minister in several governments and was President of the European Parliament from 1979 to 1982, the first woman t ...

. He remained a European Deputy until his death. He gradually built his empire by buying or creating local or regional newspapers through his holding company '' Socpresse'' (and its associate ''

France-Antilles ''France-Antilles'' is a daily, French-language newspaper published in Guadeloupe and Martinique. The newspaper is owned by Groupe Hersant Média. ''France-Antilles''. It also publishes a sister publication in French Guiana French Guiana, o ...

''). In 1957, he created ''Centre Presse'' and in 1964, ''

''. Robert Hersant also took control of various regional titles such as ''Le Courrier de l'Ouest'', ''Nord Matin'' (bought in 1967), ''Paris Normandie'' (bought in 1972), '' Nord Eclair'' (bought in 1975, and merged with ''Nord Matin''). In 1975, he purchased from

Jean Prouvost Jean Prouvost (24 April 1885, Roubaix – 18 October 1978, Yvoy-le-Marron) was a businessman, media owner and French politician. Prouvost was best known for building and owning the publications that became ''France-Soir'', ''Paris Match'', and '' ...

the great conservative newspaper ''

le Figaro () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It was named after Figaro, a character in several plays by polymath Pierre Beaumarchais, Beaumarchais (1732–1799): ''Le Barbier de Séville'', ''The Guilty Mother, La Mère coupable'', ...

'' (with the help of Pierre Juillet and Marie-France Garaud, then adviser of

Jacques Chirac Jacques René Chirac (, ; ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and 1986 to 1988, as well as Mayor of Pari ...

), in 1976 the popular daily ''

France-Soir ''France Soir'' () was a French newspaper that prospered in physical format during the 1950s and 1960s, reaching a circulation of 1.5 million in the 1950s. It declined rapidly under various owners and was relaunched as a populist tabloid in 2006 ...

'', and in 1980 acquired "L'Aurore" from the estate of

Marcel Boussac Marcel Boussac (17 April 1889 – 21 March 1980) was a French entrepreneur best known for his ownership of the Maison Dior and one of the most successful thoroughbred race horse breeding farms in European history. Born in Châteauroux, Indre, ...

. At the time, it was rumored that president Giscard d'Estaing had facilitated the obtaining of loans by Hersant in order to have the three Parisian newspapers (totalling 1.06 million in circulation) controlled by a political ally. In 1979, Hersant launched ''Le Figaro-Magazine'', a weekly supplement of ''Le Figaro'', headed by

Louis Pauwels Louis Pauwels (; 2 August 1920 – 28 January 1997) was a French journalist and writer. Born in Paris, France, he wrote in many monthly literary French magazines as early as 1946 (including ''Esprit'' and ''Variété'') until the 1950s. He partic ...

. In 1980, ''Le Figaro'' absorbed ''L'Aurore''. In 1983, Hersant bought

Le Dauphiné Libéré ''Le Dauphiné libéré'' is a provincial daily French newspaper known for its emphasis on local news and events. The paper is published in Grenoble, France. History and profile Founded in 1945, it takes the name from the former province of D ...

, in 1986, '' Le Progrès de Lyon'' and '' l'Union de Reims'', and in 1987 '' Les Nouvelles Calédoniennes''. As a result, in 1986, according to Daniel Singer, he was controlling 38% of the national press, and 26% of the regional press in France. After the fall of the

Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall (, ) was a guarded concrete Separation barrier, barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and the East Germany, German Democratic Republic (GDR; East Germany). Construction of the B ...

, Hersant extended his activities to eastern Europe. In 1991, he bought ''

Magyar Nemzet ''Magyar Nemzet'' ('', '') is a major Hungarian newspaper published in Hungary, and styled itself as "close to the current Hungarian government led by Viktor Orbán" as of 2019. History and profile ''Magyar Nemzet'', a moderate conservative d ...

'' (Hungary), 51% of

Rzeczpospolita () is a traditional Polish term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "rzeczpospolita", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage" "thing, matter" and "common" is analogous to the Latin ''rēs pūblica' ...

(Poland), Tempo, Dziennik Baltycki, Dziennik Lodzki, Trybuna Slaska, Express Ilustrowany, Wieczor Wybrzeza,

Dziennik Zachodni ''Dziennik Zachodni'' (, Western Daily, DZ) is a regional Polish newspaper distributed in Upper Silesia Upper Silesia ( ; ; ; ; Silesian German: ; ) is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia, located to ...

and

Gazeta Krakowska The (, full title ) is the largest regional daily newspaper in Kraków, Poland, published five times a week in that city. Gazeta Krakowska was established on 15 February 1949. It features articles about politics, business, economy, popular hist ...

. This large number of acquisitions gained him the nicknames of ''Citizen H'' and ''Le Papivore'' in the satirist ''

Le Canard enchaîné (; English: "The Chained Duck" or "The Chained Paper", as is French slang meaning "newspaper") is a satirical weekly newspaper in France. Its headquarters is in Paris. Founded in 1915 during World War I, it features investigative journalism ...

''. In 1987, he was involved with

Silvio Berlusconi Silvio Berlusconi ( ; ; 29 September 193612 June 2023) was an Italian Media proprietor, media tycoon and politician who served as the prime minister of Italy in three governments from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006 and 2008 to 2011. He was a mem ...

in the launching of the

La Cinq La Cinq (, ) was a French free-to-air television channel. Created by politician Jérôme Seydoux and Italian media mogul Silvio Berlusconi, it existed from 1986 to 1992. The contract for France's fifth terrestrial network, which was suppos ...

TV-channel. He withdrew in 1990 after suffering serious losses. ''

'' collapsed in 1992. Robert Hersant's group was, in 1996, employing 8,000 persons, and generating a revenue of 6 billion French francs.

Death

He died at

Saint-Cloud Saint-Cloud () is a French commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France, from the centre of Paris. Like other communes of Hauts-de-Seine such as Marnes-la-Coquette, Neuilly-sur-Seine and Vaucresson, Saint-Cloud is one of France's wealthie ...

in 1996. After his death of Hersant, Socpresse was sold to

Serge Dassault Serge Dassault (; born Serge Paul André Bloch; 4 April 1925 – 28 May 2018) was a French engineer, businessman and politician. He was the chairman and chief executive officer of Dassault Group, and a conservative politician. According to ...

List of papers owned by Robert Hersant in 1996

France

* ''

Le Figaro () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It was named after Figaro, a character in several plays by polymath Pierre Beaumarchais, Beaumarchais (1732–1799): ''Le Barbier de Séville'', ''The Guilty Mother, La Mère coupable'', ...

'' * ''

le Progrès ''Le Progrès'' (, ) is a regional daily newspaper which is based in Lyon, Rhône, France. ''Le Progrès'' reports primarily on local news in the Rhône-Alpes region. The paper has its headquarters in Lyon. The print works is in Chassieu, near ...

'' (

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

) * '' le Journal de Saône et Loire'' * ''

Le Bien public ''Le Bien Public'' is a regional daily newspaper published in Dijon in north-east France. History and profile ''Le Bien Public'' was established in 1868. The paper is published by Groupe EBRA. The daily had a circulation of 52,200 copies in 1990 ...

'' (

Dijon Dijon (, ; ; in Burgundian language (Oïl), Burgundian: ''Digion'') is a city in and the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Côte-d'Or Departments of France, department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in eas ...

) * '' le Courrier de l'Ouest''

Angers Angers (, , ;) is a city in western France, about southwest of Paris. It is the Prefectures of France, prefecture of the Maine-et-Loire department and was the capital of the province of Duchy of Anjou, Anjou until the French Revolution. The i ...

* ''

le Dauphiné Libéré ''Le Dauphiné libéré'' is a provincial daily French newspaper known for its emphasis on local news and events. The paper is published in Grenoble, France. History and profile Founded in 1945, it takes the name from the former province of D ...

'' (

Grenoble Grenoble ( ; ; or ; or ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Isère Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region ...

) * '' Presse Océan'' (

Nantes Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...

) * '' l'Eclair'' (Nantes) * '' Centre presse'' (

Poitiers Poitiers is a city on the river Clain in west-central France. It is a commune in France, commune, the capital of the Vienne (department), Vienne department and the historical center of Poitou, Poitou Province. In 2021, it had a population of 9 ...

) * '' le Maine libre'' (

Le Mans Le Mans (; ) is a Communes of France, city in Northwestern France on the Sarthe (river), Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the Provinces of France, province of Maine (province), Maine, it is now the capital of ...

) * '' Le Havre presse'' * '' Le Havre libre'' * '' la Liberté du Morbihan'' * ''

l'Union L'Union (; ) is a commune in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern France. It is a suburb of Toulouse, located just to the northeast of the city. History L'Union was founded in the 1790s after the fusion of ''Belbèze'' and ''Cornaudr ...

'' (

Reims Reims ( ; ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French Departments of France, department of Marne (department), Marne, and the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 12th most populous city in Fran ...

) * ''

l'Ardennais This is a chronological index for the start year for motor vehicle brands (up to 1969). For manufacturers that went on to produce many models, it represents the start date of the whole brand; for the others, it usually represents the date of appea ...

'' * '' Nord-Eclair'' * '' Nord-Matin'' * '' Paris-Normandie'' * ''

les Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace ''Les Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace'', commonly known as ''DNA'', is a regional daily French newspaper covering the Alsace region. History and profile ''DNA'' was created in November 1877 as ''Neueste Nachrichten'' by German Heinrich Ludwig K ...

'' * ''

L'Est Républicain ''L'Est Républicain'' (; ) is a daily regional French newspaper based in Nancy, France. ''L'Est Républicain'' was established in 1889 by Léon Goulette, a French Republican. The newspaper was founded on the grounds of ''anti- Boulangisme'' ...

'' * '' l'Est éclair'' * '' Libération Champagne'' (not to be confused with

Libération (), popularly known as ''Libé'' (), is a daily newspaper in France, founded in Paris by Jean-Paul Sartre and Serge July in 1973 in the wake of the protest movements of May 1968 in France, May 1968. Initially positioned on the far left of Fr ...

) * '' la Haute-Marne libérée'' * '' France-Antilles Martinique'' * '' France-Antilles Guadeloupe'' * ''

la Dépêche de Tahiti ''La Dépèche de Tahiti'' (''The Tahiti Dispatch'') was a daily, French-language newspaper published in French Polynesia. The newspaper, which was founded in 1964, was headquartered in Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian language, Tahitian , ; ) is t ...

'' * '' le Quotidien de la Réunion''

Belgium

* 42% of the capital of ''

Le Soir ''Le Soir'' (, ) is a French-language Belgian daily newspaper. Founded in 1887 by Émile Rossel, it was intended as a politically independent source of news. Together with '' La Libre Belgique'', it is one of the most popular Francophone newsp ...

Poland

* One national daily, and one sports daily

Czech Republic

* One national and four regional dailies

Slovakia

* two dailies

References

Biography of Robert Hersant from 1920 to 1958
archived at the

Wayback Machine The Wayback Machine is a digital archive of the World Wide Web founded by Internet Archive, an American nonprofit organization based in San Francisco, California. Launched for public access in 2001, the service allows users to go "back in ...

.
Nord Matin, Nord Eclair, La Voix du Nord
archived at the

.
Dauphiné Libéré and Progrès de Lyon

* Paul Lewi

The New York Times, April 23, 1996. * Janice Castr

TIME Magazine Monday, Dec. 22, 1980. * Daniel Singe
The Politics and the Pity
The Nation, May 12, 1979.
Chronology of the acquisition by Hersant
* Daniel Singe
Handicapping the French Elections
The Nation, March 15, 1986. * Renaud Reve

L'Express, October 22, 1994. * Marc Blachèr
La Mort du Magnat de la Presse Robert Hersant
L'Humanité April 22, 1996.
L'empire Hersant
L'Humanité April 22, 1996. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hersant, Robert 1920 births 1996 deaths People from Vertou Hersant family Radical Party (France) politicians Union of Democrats for the Republic politicians Union for French Democracy politicians Democratic Convention (France) politicians Deputies of the 3rd National Assembly of the French Fourth Republic Deputies of the 1st National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Deputies of the 2nd National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Deputies of the 3rd National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Deputies of the 4th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Deputies of the 5th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Deputies of the 8th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Members of Parliament for Oise Conservatism in France 20th-century French newspaper publishers (people) French magazine publishers (people) French newspaper founders French male writers 20th-century French male writers French magazine founders People convicted of indignité nationale Burials at Passy Cemetery

Early life

Vichy France

Publishing and politics

Death

List of papers owned by Robert Hersant in 1996

France

Belgium

Poland

Czech Republic

Slovakia

See also

Further reading

References