French billionaire Pierre-Édouard Sterren has invested millions of euros in initiatives that promote far-right views. But he is only the tip of the iceberg, say people familiar with the matter and are calling for stricter rules.
The hearing of French billionaire Pierre-Édouard Sterren in the Paris parliament was eagerly awaited. It was supposed to shed more light on a "real ecosystem for political conquest," as one member of a parliamentary committee on the case described it.
The entrepreneur was supposed to answer questions from MPs about the so-called project „Pericles", through which he has invested nearly 30 million euros in initiatives that preach deeply conservative values. But the billionaire's seat in the French parliament remained empty.
Attempt to stall
„Yesterday, Mr. Sterren told us that he wanted to participate via video link for security reasons," explained the chairman of the parliamentary committee, Thomas Cazenave of the centrist coalition around Macron „Together". „I replied that we had provided security measures, as for the deputies who are regularly threatened," he assured.
According to Cazenave, this is a stalling strategy that prevents it from establishing whether „Pericles" has complied with French party financing laws.
Stern is not the only billionaire trying to influence political opinion in France to the right. That is why many are calling for stricter rules.
Tens of millions in support of Bardella and Le Pen
The CEO of „Pericles" appeared at a hearing a week earlier. „The economic, social and moral situation in our country is critical", Arnaud Rerol told the committee. And he explained the activities of the project he leads as follows: „We are an incubator in the right-wing political space for metapolitical projects. So far, we have supported about 15 percent of 600 applications." Among them is the political magazine L'Incorrect and other initiatives on the right. Rerol denies „Pericles" to support political candidates, which in France only parties can do.
„The newspaper 'Jumanites' published an internal document according to which 'Pericles' wants to help the far-right party "National Union" win the vote in 300 cities in the local elections in 2026", commented to DW left-wing MP Pierre-Yves Cadalin, who is also part of the committee investigating the case.
Rerol confirmed during the hearing that the document was authentic, but called it "outdated". What was written in it envisages spending 150 million euros over ten years to combat Islamism, immigration and gender ideology, as well as to prepare for victory in the presidential and parliamentary elections in 2027. The leader of the "National Union" Jordan Bardella and the party's presidential candidate Marine Le Pen are named as "trustees" in this initiative.
Media concentration is a "problem for democracy"
"It is a problem for democracy when billionaires interfere in political life in this way," says Cadalin. In France, 80% of the daily newspapers belong to eleven billionaires. And the television and radio stations they own reach over half the country's audience.
Another telling case is that of Vincent Bolloré. He is the majority shareholder in a logistics and communications group that bears his name. Bolloré exerts "great influence through his news channel CNews, the Europe 1 radio station, the weekly newspaper JDD and the CSA research institute. Together, these media outlets have a strong influence and spread far-right opinions that are also taken up by other publications," explains Cadalen.
There has been nothing like this before, says Abel François, a professor of political economy in Strasbourg. "In the past, billionaires bought media outlets to get politicians to favor them in public tenders," he tells DW. "Today, the goal is to spread a certain ideology." Officially, Bolloré claims that he does not influence the content of his media outlets. DW sent an interview invitation to him, as well as to "Pericles," but no response was received.
The media concentration in France has serious repercussions. "There is a certain self-censorship among journalists regarding these billionaires. Ultimately, one can ruin one's relationship with a potential future employer," economic journalist Amaury de Rochegonde told DW. Bolloré and Steren have joined forces. “The two met and seem to want to create an alliance of the right - that is, between the conservative wings of the Republicans and the "National Union", adds the RFI journalist.
Insults, threats and self-censorship
What happens if you oppose this empire is best known to Alexis Levrier, a historian at the University of Reims. “I received thousands of messages - insults, but also death threats, including from an arms dealer”, he says. The reason for the attacks is an interview from late February. In it, Levrier demands the revocation of the licenses of Bollore's television stations CNews and C8. C8 has received numerous warnings for sexism and homophobia.
The professor spoke for the first time since the incident to DW: “Many of my fellow researchers no longer dare to say anything against Bollore's empire. French artists are also silent. Traditionally, they were defenders of the values of humanism,”, says Levrier.
However, according to historian Hervé Joly of the CNRS state institute, Sterne and Bollore are exceptions. "The National Union has almost no public supporters among business people," he told DW. "Historically, employers did not support the far right before it came to power. Entrepreneurs usually support the established conservative parties. Today, many of them are progressive and declare themselves for equality and the fight against climate change." But the situation would be completely different if the far right came to power. "In Germany, entrepreneurs collaborated with Hitler at the time and contributed to strengthening his power," says Joly. According to MP Pierre-Yves Cadalin, there is already a signal for alarm. "We need laws against the concentration of the media market," he says.
Stricter laws or more transparency?
"These are platforms of reactionary forces that want to destroy our rule of law, as happened in the United States," believes the MP from the left-wing movement "France Unrestrained". In the United States, re-elected President Donald Trump ignores court decisions that are not in his interest, and television channels such as "Fox News" support this.
According to the MP from the centrist coalition "Together" Eleanor Caroya, also a member of the committee, the new laws are not a solution. "We can fight against projects like "Pericles" by exposing them," she tells DW. “That's probably why Steren didn't show up for the hearing.” The billionaire now faces two years in prison and a fine of 7,500 euros.