Nicolas Sarkozy faced angry crowds in Lyon on Thursday during the latest stop of his tour to promote his book “Le journal d’un prisonnier” (A prisoner’s diary).
A large group of protesters gathered at the central Fnac store to demonstrate against his visit.
According to the union, around a hundred people responded to the call, while the forces of law and order were heavily deployed in the Bellecour area to ensure the ex-president’s safety.
The meeting with his readers lasted less than two hours. According to our information, Nicolas Sarkozy left the premises at around 4:45pm and took a train back at 5pm.
The CGT Fnac condemned the visit by_”_an individual (…) accused of handling stolen goods, misappropriation of public funds, passive corruption, illegal financing of an election campaign and criminal conspiracy”.
Nicolas Sarkozy was sentenced to five years’ imprisonmentfor criminal conspiracy in connection with the Libyan financing of his 2007 election campaign, and was released from the Santé prison in Paris after 21 days in prison. On 10 November, the Paris Court of Appeal ordered his release under judicial supervision.
The union also denounced_the “political choices_” made by management, which_”intends to use Fnac to promote nauseating political ideas_”.
The union points out that Fnac, a cultural venue for the general public, has already worked with or promoted Europe 1, Hachette and Fayard, which belong to Vincent Bolloré’s galaxy. The billionaire, who has built up a media and publishing empire over the years, is trying to increase his influence in the political arena and promotes right-wing and far-right ideas. Several of his group’s media outlets were recently sanctioned by Arcom, the French broadcasting regulator.
The CGT Fnac is also angry with its management for failing to respond to its demands, particularly in terms of pay. It points to_”management’s denunciation of the automatic application of branch increases to the basic salary (…) a social time bomb_”.
Finally, the union accuses Managing Director Enrique Martinez of coming to greet Nicolas Sarkozy rather than listen to the anger of employees in Lyon.
Media hype
“A Prisoner’s Diary”, written in record time, has been an unqualified success in some bookshops and online. According to Fayard, the book sold almost 100,000 copies in less than a week after its release in bookshops.
But not all booksellers share this enthusiasm. A kilometre from the Fnac Bellecour, Francis Chaput-Dezerville runs the Bal des Ardents, one of Lyon’s largest independent bookshops.
Interviewed by Euronews, he said he doesn’t have Sarkozy’s latest book in stock:_”_We’ve had three requests by phone, but nothing’s come of them”.
The owner of the Bal admits that books by politicians do not sell well in his establishment, adding that generally speaking,_”_people buy them because of the media hype”.
The owner of Le Bal admits that books by politicians do not sell well in his establishment, adding that, generally speaking,_”_people buy them because of the media hype”.