Bernard Arnault, chairman of luxury conglomerate LVMH and Europe's richest man, has publicly rejected claims that his company avoids hiring overweight staff. The row follows an investigation by French newspaper Le Monde, which portrayed LVMH's Paris headquarters as populated almost exclusively by slim, young, smartly dressed employees. Arnault's response, issued via LVMH's official X account, matters because it puts a spotlight on hiring practices and workplace culture at one of the world's most valuable luxury groups.

Le Monde's six-part investigative series, which also examined tensions within the Arnault family over succession, described staff at LVMH's headquarters as "mostly young, pretty and slim," adding that no overweight or scruffily dressed employee could be found. In a sardonic three-page rebuttal, the 77-year-old billionaire, whose empire is valued at around £105 billion, apologised for the "failure of bodily diversity" and said he would raise the matter with the company canteen.