Frédéric Michel, French President Emmanuel Macron’s top communications adviser, will join the MCH Group, a Swiss firm that organizes the Art Basel fair, one of the most important art fairs in the world, on January 1, 2024.
He will be the firm’s chief communications and corporate affairs officer, MCH Group said in a statement.
Michel, who became Macron’s spin doctor in September 2022, is known for his work as a top lobbyist for Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp in the United Kingdom. One of MCH’s main shareholders is Lupa Systems, an investment fund controlled by James Murdoch, Rupert’s son.
Having joined Macron’s team shortly after the start of his second mandate, Michel never managed to live up to his predecessor, Clément Leonarduzzi, who had successfully steered the French president’s re-election campaign.
At times mocked in the French press for using highly recognizable anglicisms, Michel was criticized for being unable to help the French president build a clear narrative for his second term.
Rumors of his departure had been circulating for months. In November, French daily Le Figaro revealed that Michel had taken steps to prepare his return to the private sector — but the adviser then said he was “not on his way out.”
