Christophe Jakubyszyn becomes the new editorial director of Les Échos

This is the end of a long suspense for the editorial staff of Les Echos. Early Thursday evening, journalists voted in favor of the appointment of Christophe Jakubyszyn as the new editorial director of the economic daily. Of the 251 voters, 213 voted for his nomination and only 20 chose to use their right of veto. “This vote commits me to amplifying, (alongside journalists), the ambitious digital transformation plan and affirmation of Les Échos as a reference and trusted media,” declared Christophe Jakubyszyn in a press release.

The former BFM Business morning presenter and editorial director of the economic channel, aged 56, will officially take up his position on April 29. It is the statutes of Les Echos and the independence agreement which allow journalists to comment on the candidate proposed by their shareholder, Bernard Arnault's LVMH group. “His personality and his dual skills, that of a great written press journalist and a recognized audiovisual professional, offer us the certainty of a valuable reinforcement to the culture of Les Echos,” rejoiced Pierre Louette , Chairman and CEO of Les Echos Group, in a press release.

The name of Christophe Jakubyszyn was unanimously approved a few days ago by the press group's supervisory board, chaired by Matthieu Gallet, former CEO of Radio France. The latter said he was satisfied with this appointment. “His arrival turns a page and creates a new dynamic in the history of the newspaper,” he declared in the same press release from the group. Two internal journalists, Lucie Robequain and David Barroux, had applied for the position, but their applications were not accepted.

“It’s a relief, which puts an end to an instability that was difficult for the editorial staff to bear. Les Echos needs a new impetus,” also confided a writer from the newspaper to Le Figaro. It had been more than a year since this position had remained vacant following the ousting of Nicolas Barré, interpreted at the time by the editorial staff as a shareholder sanction for editorial choices. In recent months, the editorial staff had become bogged down in crisis, experiencing several strikes, then refusing to place their trust in François Vidal, former deputy editorial director.

A graduate of Sciences Po Paris and Essec, Christophe Jakubyszyn began his journalistic career in the economic written press, within the weekly Option Finance and La Tribune. Before being appointed deputy editor-in-chief of the economics pages of the newspaper Le Monde, and joined the political department. He then launched into the audiovisual sector, notably becoming head of the political department of TF1 (from 2012 to 2019), before his notable stint at BFM Business.

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At the start of the week, Christophe Jakubyszyn had succeeded in his trial run by defending his daily project to his employees for more than two hours. This appointment opens a new era for the title of the group Les Echos-Le Parisien, directed by Pierre Louette. Antoine Arnault, director of LVMH, was personally involved in this sensitive issue.

The future editorial director promised journalists, for whom the question of independence remains sensitive, more space for investigations in the pages of the newspaper and on the site, the launch of a new bilingual Echos application ( in French and English) as well as an editorial relaunch of the title in the coming months. “The appointment of Christophe Jakubyszyn marks the start of a new sequence which will see the independence of the editorial staff strengthened as part of a new dynamic of development,” confirmed the SDJ in a press release. “It is these commitments that convinced the journalists. They are waiting for them to be implemented.”