Silence the Dissent, Control the Narrative

"Without any hesitation, he warns the talkative ones after six months of cacophony. "I'm the boss. From Monday morning, I'll be there, and I'll personally run the company. There will be no power vacuum. I will now personally oversee the group's communication.""

"Measured reaction. In reality, Bernard Arnault, as usual, showed opportunism. A few months or years earlier, an initiative of this nature against a major international bank would have caused a scandal and disqualified its author. But the debate is raging in the United States, traumatized by the fall of the stock market, about the role of financial analysts, accused of very rarely going against the global interests of the banks that employ them. Is a takeover possible? Bernard Arnault is the first to attempt it in Europe, at the risk of alienating the community of analysts. This attack also has a signaling value. It indicates to the financial community, but also to journalists-and perhaps to ourselves-that he will not let any criticism, judgment, or negative assessment of his management or strategy, not to mention his person, go unanswered. Beyond that, this intimidation operation shows that Bernard Arnault remains sensitive when it comes to Gucci. And that, as soon as his interests are at stake, he has not lost any of his determination."

"As if Pinault had the power... It is extravagant that Alain Minc, author and press man, did not immediately reject this incongruous request. It is equally unusual that Bernard Arnault could have momentarily weighed an agreement of this magnitude and this book. This gives an idea of the almost morbid importance he attaches to giving himself a perfect image, without the slightest roughness and above all totally controlled; and that he could imagine that his adversary had the means to interrupt its writing crudely illuminates the idea he has of the independence of the press and publishing."

"Financial analysts themselves will be very closely monitored, as we will see later on."