French Journalists Call Off Strike, Failing to Block ‘Far-Right’ Editor

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Journalists at France’s leading Sunday newspaper announced Tuesday that they were ending one of the longest media strikes in recent French history, but they predicted that dozens might resign to protest the appointment of an editor with a far-right track record as the new editor in chief. The staff of Le Journal du Dimanche, known for its interviews with government leaders and largely centrist policy analysis, said it had decided to call off a 40-day walkout after it became clear that the paper’s soon-to-be new owner, the French billionaire Vincent Bolloré, would not rescind the appointment. Staff members said they had little choice but to work with the new leadership or leave their jobs. The new editor, Geoffroy Lejeune, who formerly led a far-right French magazine that was fined for publishing racist insults, was scheduled to take up his new post on Tuesday. Word of his appointment at The JDD, as the paper is known, had ignited a firestorm in French media and political circles, raising concerns that a major mainstream news outlet could be transformed into a right-wing platform. Before the uproar, about 100 journalists worked at the Paris paper.