French Finance Minister says Vivendi-Mediaset row is a private matter - paper

The legal battle between France's Vivendi and Italian broadcaster Mediaset "is a private matter", French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told daily la Repubblica in an interview published on Thursday.

The legal battle between France's Vivendi and Italian broadcaster Mediaset "is a private matter", French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told daily la Repubblica in an interview published on Thursday. Le Maire, who on Thursday is in Rome for meetings with Italian ministers, added that he was in favour of a European tv alliance but this had to be done "between private actors and on the basis of an understanding".

Vivendi and Mediaset have been locked in a fight since 2016 when Vivendi ditched an agreement to buy Mediaset's pay-TV unit and built a 29% stake which Mediaset considers hostile. A legal case has been ongoing ever since.