A few days ago, I was talking with an ex executive of Presstalis. I offered him my congratulations for having left on time the sinking ship and I asked him what he figured as a solution to this intractable problem. His answer was clear. He observed that the sales of newspapers and magazines have been going down, every year by more than 5%. So a company totaly dedicated to the press delivery has no future as its business is schrincking day after day without any hope of recovery. The best solution, according to him was a settlement allowing private firms of logistics to take in charge the delivery system. However, somebody will have to pay for the transfer and nobody, whether it is the government or the press is willing to foot the bill which, according to les Echos, could go up to 170 millions euros.
I discussed the same topic with an executive of le Monde. He was fully aware of the coming bankrupcy of Presstalis that could happen any time and looking for an issue. The government is paralyzed by the coming elections and it would take some time for the regional newspapers to take in charge the delivery of the national dailies. It is one more worry for le Monde which has not achieved yet the downsizing of its printing unit.
