France-Antilles: Sad day for journalism.

Yesterday, January 3rd 2020 was a sad day in the World of information. The only daily newspapper of the French West Indies France-Antilles, created in 1965 in Martinica, was placed in compulsary liquidation.

The group’s current shareholder, AJR Participations, had proposed a takeover plan providing for the elimination of half of the 236 positions. The plan was also to reduce the paper’s print to three days a week in Martinique and Guadeloupe, and to switch Guyanese publishing to the Web. However, AJR Participations failed to raise all the necessary funds, despite the delays repeatedly granted by the court.

Guadeloupe, Martinique and French Guyana are now the only regions without a daily newspapper in France. The daily had 235 employees now out of work.

The last apparition contained a letter from the journalists explaining how this was not only a tragedy for the employees and their families but also for the History of the Martinican press and the identity of the country. They encouraged the population to fight for the development of local medias for a diversity of information sources.

Some are seeing it as another sign of abandonment of their territories and that the State could have done more to help.

During his first speech of the Year , French president Emmanuel Macron assured that measured would be taken to help the overseas territory press that was ‘fragilized’. Unfortunately, despite the fact that the state granted an aid of three million, the shareholder had to find an additional 1.3 million euros.

It is unfortunate that the Daily could not been saved and that a weapon as important as Information is being suppressed. Beyond the political power it was giving to these populations so far from the metropol, it was a piece of their identity and a possibility to have something in common. They could share news, issues, opinions accross islands and work together. Hopefully, this disappearition will make room for other forms of Information, for example Digital newspapper or other creative initiatives on their part.

sources: http://www.franceantilles.fr/