By Leila Abboud and Lionel Laurent
PARIS, June 15 (Reuters) - Lazard's top banker in France, Matthieu Pigasse, could soon take a joint controlling stake in elite newspaper Le Monde in a bid to expand his influence outside business and into the heart of French political life.
If successful, France's flagship daily would join a burgeoning media portfolio that includes Les Inrockuptibles, a cultural magazine that the punk rock-loving banker bought last year and is transforming into a general interest news weekly.
People who know Pigasse describe him as deeply charismatic, a hard worker who fires off 2 a.m. emails and listens to loud music at his office, and who has been ruthlessly cynical on his rise to power.
They say his move on Le Monde reflects the 42-year-old unmarried father of three's desire for respect and perhaps even a cabinet post were the Socialists to take power.
"He is someone hungry for the recognition of the establishment," said a former classmate. "He has had enormous success in business and is very wealthy but it is not enough. He now wants to become a press baron."
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