European Commission 'averted major risks for competition' with Vivendi's takeover of Lagardère

French authors, publishers and booksellers have welcomed the fact that the European Commission has averted “major risks” for competition that a merger between Lagardère’s Hachette Livre and Vivendi’s Editis would have entailed.

Last Friday, the commission cleared the takeover of the parent company of France’s largest book publisher by that of its closest rival provided that Vivendi sell Editis and the celebrity magazine Gala.

This was the result of “an unprecedented mobilisation” of all players in the book sector over the past two years", according to a collective of six book organisations, one publisher and 15 booksellers, including the French Publishers Association (SNE) and the French Booksellers Association (SLF).

But although “the biggest danger” of a monopoly has been avoided, the collective said in a statement on Monday that it “is worried about the threats to the French publishing market posed by the creation of a strengthened duopoly".

Vivendi’s full control of Lagadère bolsters Hachette’s dominant position, it added. “Hyper-concentration” and financial priorities “harm the objectives of creative diversity, freedom and independence” and “accentuate the imbalances between major multimedia groups on the one hand and authors, independent publishers and booksellers on the other".

Isabelle Wekstein, a Paris-based lawyer, is co-ordinating the collective and represented it in testimony to the commission opposing a merger between the two publishers.