subsidiaries include BMG and Random House (the German company Bertelsmann bought the 25% back in July 2006). Groupe Bruxelles Lambert currently holds positions in global industrial and services companies based in Europe including: Imerys, LafargeHolcim, adidas, SGS, Pernod Ricard, Umicore, Ontex, GEA and Parques. Politics The Desmarais family enjoys connections to politicians worldwide. Critics charge that the family's political connections provide it with unfair advantages in business. According to a profile in The Australian, "Desmarais grew to command the intersection of Canadian business and politics through close relations with four prime ministers." Desmarais was an advisor to Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau. Brian Mulroney worked as a labour lawyer for Desmarais before entering politics, and Desmarais named his then-employee Paul Martin as president of Canada Steamship Lines Inc. (Power Corp.'s Great Lakes shipping subsidiary) in 1974 (Desmarais sold the company to Martin in 1981.) Prime Minister Jean Chrétien was related to Desmarais by marriage; Chretien's daughter France is married to Desmarais' son André. Both Mulroney and Trudeau served on advisory boards for Power Corp. after leaving office. According to Le Figaro, Paul Desmarais Sr. was a close associate of former French president Nicolas Sarkozy. Paul Desmarais Sr. and Sarkozy were together at the party at Fouquet's to celebrate the election of the new president on May 6, 2007. In 2004, Nicolas Sarkozy was a guest at his estate in Sagard, in Charlevoix, a good distance from the Saint Lawrence. «Quand tu entres dans la propriété, on t'ouvre un premier portail. Ensuite, tu dois faire des kilomètres et des kilomètres avant d'arriver au château...» ("When you enter the property, they open the first gate. Then you have to go kilometers and kilometers before arriving at the chateau...") Nicolas Sarkozy told about the fortitude of his friend Desmarais. Sophie Desmarais' ex-husband, Eric Le Moyne de Sérigny, is also close to Nicolas Sarkozy, heads numerous companies, and was a member of the board of directors of Imerys. Desmarais was an opponent of the Quebec sovereignty movement. On February 2, 2009, French President Nicolas Sarkozy made comments asking Quebec sovereigntists to focus on unity and not separation from Canada, and to put their goals of sovereignty on hold during tough economic times. This angered many sovereigntists who claimed that Sarkozy was acting under the influence of Desmarais. Death Desmarais' funeral was a private event. A public memorial was held on December 3, 2013 at