Business · Companies · 3 hrs ago
Le Point director Etienne Gernelle faces possible removal
Etienne Gernelle’s job as director of Le Point is under threat, according to events at the French weekly on Monday, November 9.
Editorial chief Valérie Toranian was removed from her role by CEO Bertrand Gié, who had taken over in July.
Le Point is owned by the Pinault family, and Gernelle has led it for 12 years.
Two journalists are expected to join soon: Jacques-Olivier Martin from Le Figaro and Florent Barraco from Paris Match.
Gernelle sent staff a message defending the magazine’s tradition of free expression and shared it on X. He then had a heated exchange with Gié, and witnesses said he believed his time in the job was running out.
No decision on Gernelle’s position is confirmed, but the expected arrivals and leadership changes leave his future uncertain.
Le Point director Etienne Gernelle may be removed from his post after a tense exchange with the magazine’s chief executive, Bertrand Gié.
The possible change comes amid the removal of editorial director Valérie Toranian and the expected arrival of Jacques-Olivier Martin and Florent Barraco.
Gernelle publicly shared a message to the newsroom on 9 November, saying he intended to uphold the magazine’s tradition of defending freedom of expression.
Toranian said at a newsroom meeting that Gié had dismissed her from her role on 5 November.
A Le Point executive said Gié had offered Toranian other duties.
- Who
- Etienne Gernelle, director of Le Point, and Bertrand Gié, the magazine’s chief executive.
- What
- Gernelle faces possible removal from his post. The article reports a tense exchange between him and Gié.
- When
- 9 November 2026. Toranian said she was dismissed from her role on 5 November.
- Where
- Le Point, the French weekly magazine.
- Why
- The article links the uncertainty to Toranian’s removal and the imminent arrival of Jacques-Olivier Martin and Florent Barraco. It does not state a definitive reason for Gernelle’s possible removal.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Valérie Toranian said Bertrand Gié had removed her from her role as editorial director.
Gernelle sent a message to the newsroom and published it on X.
Gernelle had a tense exchange with Gié and believed, according to witnesses cited by Le Monde, that his time in the post was nearly over.
- Magazine
- Le Point
- Director
- Etienne Gernelle
- Chief executive
- Bertrand Gié
- Editorial director
- Valérie Toranian, in the role since October 2022
- Incoming editors
- Jacques-Olivier Martin and Florent Barraco
- Message date
- 9 November 2026
What people are saying
Le Point has never ceased, for fifty-four years, to defend not only freedom of expression, but also the need to use it. I fully intend to remain faithful to that legacy.