Le Figaro was rather nice to Daniel Křetínský last month in assessing his plans for Casino retailer and meant it as a compliment when it said that he’s becoming the new tycoon of French capitalism. Le Journal du Dimanche, just off a five-week strike over the appointment of its new hard-right editor-in-chief, took a much more skeptical view of Křetínský this week. We might not know the exact origin of his fortune, the weekly said, but we know that his meteoric rise in France and the expansion of his influence there began with Emmanuel Macron’s ascension to Élysée Palace. The magazine, like a large group of right-leaning politicians, is worried about the national-security implications of Křetínský’s plans for Atos/Eviden. Czechs who know that the origin of Křetínský’s fortune is ČEZ might look at it somewhat differently. They might wonder to what extent Czech national interests could be enhanced if Macron and Křetínský brought their countries’ nuclear/military sectors closer together.

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