The announcement without notice had the effect of a cold shower for press publishers. Since Monday March 23, La Poste has reduced the number of its tours, severely penalizing the distribution of national daily newspapers. A week later, its president, Philippe Wahl, turned around, after anger from the editors and following a meeting with the executive on Tuesday evening. “We made a mistake, I admit, he said. We have not put in place enough resources to deliver the press. We will find a solution. “
Finally, the subscribers of the World, of Figaro, of Release or regional dailies could find their dailies on Monday. “We talked again [avec La Poste], we had a hard time being faced with a fait accompli. The dialogue is resumed. Swiss Post seeks to restore distribution », says Marc Feuillée, head of Le Figaro. “We insisted that it start again on Monday because we are reconnecting with our readers after the weekend. Next Tuesday is under discussion. After, we will come back five days a week “, specifies the one who is also president of the Syndicate of the national daily press (SPQN).
A reinforcement of “3,000 people”
Now is the time for a gradual redeployment of the mail and newspaper distribution activity. From Monday April 6, La Poste will call on “More than 3,000 people” additional with internal volunteers, employees of the Mediapost subsidiary (distribution of advertisements), temporary workers and people on fixed-term contracts (CDD). The coronavirus epidemic has greatly disrupted the postal operator, which employs 220,000 people in France.
The week of March 23, the letter carrier tour was reduced to four days instead of six, and this week the distribution of mail, parcels and newspapers was again reduced, to three consecutive days, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday . “The origin of all this is the reduction of the work force, through confinement and illness”, Philippe Wahl explained to journalists on Wednesday 1er April.
On the other hand, the newspapers made a cross on the distribution on Saturday and thus repatriated the distribution of the magazines of the weekend on Friday. Now, discussions are opening between daily newspapers and the postal operator on economic issues. “La Poste cannot take into account postage costs for undelivered newspapers”, says Marc Feuillée.
Unlike Rupert Murdoch, who decided to stop the printing of eighty regional newspapers in Australia, the French daily newspapers maintain, at this stage, their paper publications. “Daily newspapers are printed at a loss because advertising revenue has disappeared. But we have a contract with the reader that must be respected. In addition, we have to ensure continuity for the newsagents, who, without us, could die ”, warn the boss of Figaro.
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