YNOT EUROPE – French adult magazine Hot Vidéo and its long-time editor Paul Jerome have parted ways. Jerome has been a fixture in the European adult entertainment market for seven years.

A former sports journalist, Jerome, whose real name is Paul-Jerome Renevier, built a solid reputation in the community. He traveled the world to cover adult film production and events related to porn, conducted interviews with actors and directors, and wrote about almost every aspect of adult entertainment. His book bearing witness to the behind-the-scenes environment, [I]Bienvenue à Pornoland[/I], was published by Res Publica in 2009.

On Tuesday, Hot Vidéo owner Franck Vardon announced Jerome’s departure for reasons that have not surfaced but do not appear to be amicable.

“A successful team requires individuals with ethics, integrity, and loyalty, and because a team is only as strong as its weakest member, we want to inform you that Paul Jerome and our company have parted ways,” Vardon noted in a prepared statement. “Paul Jerome is no longer affiliated with Hot Vidéo magazine or its associates.”

Jerome later commented to American adult industry trade publication AVN, also declining to reveal any firm reasons for his departure but hinting at a contentious separation.

“Since I feel it is a basic rule of professionalism not to air my dirty laundry in public, and moreover to avoid harming the reputation of a magazine I’ve been happy to work for the past seven years, I will not comment on the reasons that led me to put an end to my contractual relationship with Hot Vidéo last week,” Jerome told AVN. “I will therefore not enter in a war of words following the kind remarks that have been made about me.

“As I wish, among other things, to stay involved with the adult industry, I will be happy to keep in touch with the many producers, actresses, actors, directors and agents I view as my friends,” he continued. “Therefore, from now on, you can write to me at pj.renevier@gmail.com.”

Jerome touched off a national scandal in November 2010 when Hot Vidéo published an article revealing that a group of French firefighters had participated in an explicit photo shoot inside an active fire station. “Sexe et pompiers, l’enquête qui dérange” set fire to the public sense of decency by intimating the photo shoot was not a one-time occurrence: firefighters often engage in orgies while on duty, according to the magazine.

The blaze continues to burn. The image of firefighters as porn actors did not please the Fédération Nationale des Sapeurs Pompiers de France (Federation of French Firefighters) who filed an official complaint alleging “incitement to debauchery involving minors” in December 2010. Interviewed by the police about the article and the underlying event, Jerome refused to divulge his sources.

“Investigators pressured me to give names [of the firefighters involved in the shoot], but I am a journalist and I do not reveal my sources, as the law permits,” Jerome said at the time.

Jerome told YNOTeurope.com the firefighters article had nothing to do with the breakdown of his relationship with Hot Vidéo.