Le Figaro Explained

Type:Daily newspaper
(since 16 November 1866)
Format:Berliner
Owners:Groupe Figaro (Dassault Group)
Editor:Alexis Brézet[1]
Language:French
Headquarters:14 Boulevard Haussmann
75009 Paris
Circulation:354,853 (total, 2022)[2]
84,000 (digital, 2018)[3]
Issn:0182-5852
Eissn:1638-606X
Oclc:473539292
Image Alt:border
Publishing Country:France

(pronounced as /fr/) is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It was named after Figaro, a character in a play by polymath Beaumarchais (1732–1799); one of his lines became the paper's motto: "Without the freedom to criticise, there is no flattering praise".

The oldest national newspaper in France, is one of three French newspapers of record, along with and Libération. Since 2004, the newspaper has been owned by Dassault Group. Its editorial director has been Alexis Brézet since 2012.[4] Le Figaro is the second-largest national newspaper in France, after Le Monde.[5] It has a centre-right editorial stance and is headquartered on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement of Paris.[6] Other Groupe Figaro publications include Le Figaro Magazine, TV Magazine and Evene. The paper is published in Berliner format.

History

was founded as a satirical weekly in 1826,[7] [8] taking its name and motto from Le Mariage de Figaro, the 1778 play by Pierre Beaumarchais that poked fun at privilege. Its motto, from Figaro's monologue in the play's final act, is "Sans la liberté de blâmer, il n'est point d'éloge flatteur" ("Without the freedom to criticise, there is no flattering praise"). In 1833, editor Nestor Roqueplan fought a duel with a Colonel Gallois, who was offended by an article in, and was wounded but recovered.[9] Albert Wolff, Émile Zola, Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr, Théophile Gautier, and Jules Arsène Arnaud Claretie were among the paper's early contributors. It was published somewhat irregularly until 1854, when it was taken over by Hippolyte de Villemessant.

In 1866, became a daily newspaper.[10] Its first daily edition, that of 16 November 1866, sold 56,000 copies, having highest circulation of any newspaper in France. Its editorial line was royalist.[11] Pauline Savari was among the contributors to the paper at this time.

On 20 February 1909 published a manifesto signed by Filippo Tommaso Marinetti which initiated the establishment of Futurism in art.[12]

On 16 March 1914, Gaston Calmette, the editor of, was assassinated by Henriette Caillaux, the wife of Finance Minister Joseph Caillaux, after he published a letter that cast serious doubt on her husband's integrity.[13] In 1922, was purchased by perfume millionaire François Coty.[14] Abel Faivre did cartoons for the paper.[15] Coty enraged many in March 1929 when he renamed the paper simply Figaro, which it remained until 1933.[16]

By the start of World War II, had become France's leading newspaper. After the war, it became the voice of the upper middle class, and continues to maintain a conservative position.

In 1975, was bought by Robert Hersant's Socpresse. In 1999, The Carlyle Group obtained a 40% stake in the paper, which it later sold in March 2002. Since March 2004, has been controlled by Serge Dassault,[7] a conservative businessman and politician best known for running the aircraft manufacturer Dassault Aviation, which he inherited from his father, its founder, Marcel Dassault (1892–1986). Dassault owns 80% of the paper, by way of its media subsidiary Groupe Figaro.[7]

Franz-Olivier Giesbert was editorial director of Le Figaro from 1998 to 2000.[17]

In 2006, was banned in Egypt and Tunisia for publishing articles allegedly insulting Islam.[18] [19]

switched to Berliner format in 2009.[20] The paper has published The New York Times International Weekly on Friday since 2009, an 8-page supplement featuring a selection of articles from The New York Times translated into French. In 2010, Lefigaro.fr created a section called Le Figaro in English,[21] which provides the global English-speaking community with daily original or translated content from website. The section ended in 2012.[22]

In the 2010s, saw future presidential candidate Éric Zemmour's columns garner great interest among readers that would later serve to launch his political career.[23]

Editorial stance and controversies

has traditionally held a conservative editorial stance, becoming the voice of the French upper and middle classes. More recently, the newspaper's political stance has become more centrist.

The newspaper's ownership by Serge Dassault was a source of controversy in terms of conflict-of-interest, as Dassault also owned a major military supplier and served in political positions from the Union for a Popular Movement party. His son Olivier Dassault served as a member of the French National Assembly.[24] Dassault has remarked in an interview in 2004 on the public radio station France Inter that "newspapers must promulgate healthy ideas" and that "left-wing ideas are not healthy ideas."[25]

In February 2012, a general assembly of the newspaper's journalists adopted a motion accusing the paper's managing editor, Étienne Mougeotte, of having made into the "bulletin" of the governing party, the Union for a Popular Movement, of the government and of President Nicolas Sarkozy. They requested more pluralism and "honesty" and accused the paper of one-sided political reporting. Mougeotte had previously said that would do nothing to embarrass the government and the right.[26] [27] [28] Mougeotte publicly replied: "Our editorial line pleases our readers as it is, it works. I don't see why I should change it. [...] We are a right-wing newspaper and we express it clearly, by the way. Our readers know it, our journalists too. There's nothing new to that!"[29]

Circulation history

In the period of 1995–96, the paper had a circulation of 391,533 copies, behind Le Parisiens 451,159 copies.[30]

See also

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: 2016-06-27. Brexit: Europe's media eye more referendums. en-GB. BBC News. 2020-06-09.
  2. Web site: Le Figaro − History . n.d. . . fr . 24 June 2023 . live . https://archive.today/20230624105212/https://www.acpm.fr/Support/le-figaro . 24 June 2023.
  3. https://www.internationalmediasales.net/international/portfolio/detail/le-figaro/
  4. News: The press in France. 11 November 2006. news.bbc.co.uk.
  5. News: . 11 February 2021 . Quel bilan pour la presse en 2020? . What balance sheet for the press in 2020? . live . fr . . . https://web.archive.org/web/20211205121327/https://www.europe1.fr/medias-tele/les-quotidiens-nationaux-ont-tire-leur-epingle-du-jeu-en-2020-4024574 . 5 December 2021 . 24 June 2023.
  6. Web site: Le Figaro – French newspaper.
  7. News: The press in France. 22 November 2014. BBC. 11 November 2006.
  8. Web site: Media Landscape Media Claims . European Social Survey . 12 January 2015 . May 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140816014141/http://www.europeansocialsurvey.org/docs/round6/methods/ESS6_media_landscape_media_claims_ed_02_0.pdf . 16 August 2014.
  9. Book: The History of Dueling Including Narratives of the Most Remarkable Encounters. Millingen, J.G.. 2004.
  10. Web site: Historical development of the media in France. McGraw-Hill Education. 24 February 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150225005455/http://www.mheducation.co.uk/openup/chapters/9780335236220.pdf. 25 February 2015. dead.
  11. Alan Grubb, The Politics of Pessimism: Albert de Broglie and Conservative Politics in the Early Third Republic
  12. Simonetta Falasca-Zamponi . 1992. The aestheticization of politics: A study of power in Mussolini's fascist Italy. PhD . . University of California, Berkeley. 67. 979-8-207-42060-8.
  13. Sarah Sissmann and Christophe Barbier, "Une épouse outragée", L'Express, 30 August 2004. Retrieved 27 January 2007.
  14. Janet Flanner (3 May 1930),"Perfume and Politics", The New Yorker. Republished 7 May 2005. Retrieved 27 January 2007.
  15. Web site: Deposit Your Gold for France. Gold Fights for Victory . World Digital Library. 1915. 26 October 2013.
  16. Roulhac Toledano, Elizabeth Z. Coty, "Napoleon of the Press","François Coty: Fragrance, Power, Money". Retrieved 28 May 2018
  17. News: 26 October 2022 . Franz-Olivier Giesbert . live . fr . . https://archive.today/20230623153141/https://www.lesoir.be/473543/article/2022-10-26/franz-olivier-giesbert . 23 June 2023 . 23 June 2023 . subscription.
  18. Web site: The impact of blasphemy laws on human Rights. Policy Brief. Freedom House. 29 September 2013.
  19. Web site: Tunisia, Egypt ban newspaper editions on controversy over pope's comments. 27 September 2006. New York. CPJ. 29 September 2013.
  20. Web site: Le Figaro. Euro Topics. 25 February 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150413215147/http://www.eurotopics.net/en/home/medienindex/media_articles/?frommedia=505. 13 April 2015. dead.
  21. Web site: Mon Figaro - Cercle - Le Figaro in English - articles. Le Figaro. 5 July 2012. 5 July 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120705181712/http://plus.lefigaro.fr/cercle/le-figaro-in-english. dead.
  22. Web site: Mon Figaro - This Week's Top Stories from France. Le Figaro. 26 April 2012. 5 July 2012.
  23. https://www.leparisien.fr/politique/presidentielle-2022-zemmour-se-retire-du-figaro-pour-la-promotion-de-son-livre-un-pas-de-plus-vers-une-candidature-01-09-2021-IFULPPITHVBWNDQPH2KSKUBIWA.php "Présidentielle 2022 : Zemmour se retire du Figaro pour la promotion de son livre, un pas de plus vers une candidature ?"
  24. http://www.lemonde.fr/web/article/0,1-0@2-3236,36-381288,0.html "Dassault se sépare d'Yves de Chaisemartin"
  25. https://archive.today/20120526210025/http://www.lemonde.fr/web/recherche_breve/1,13-0,37-880582,0.html "M. Dassault veut une presse aux « idées saines »"
  26. http://www.lemonde.fr/actualite-medias/article/2012/02/09/le-figaro-n-est-pas-le-bulletin-d-un-parti_1641372_3236.html ""Le Figaro" n'est pas "le bulletin d'un parti""
  27. http://leplus.nouvelobs.com/contribution/319647-la-question-du-jour-le-figaro-est-il-un-journal-d-opinion-ou-un-bulletin-de-l-ump.html "La question du jour. "Le Figaro" est-il un journal d'opinion ou un "bulletin" de l'UMP?"
  28. http://www.rue89.com/rue89-presidentielle/2012/02/09/presidentielle-les-journalistes-du-figaro-reclament-plus-d-honnetete?page=2 "Présidentielle : les journalistes du Figaro réclament un journal plus « honnête »"
  29. http://tempsreel.nouvelobs.com/medias/20120210.OBS1132/le-figaro-mougeotte-repond-aux-critiques-de-ses-journalistes.html ""Le Figaro" : Mougeotte répond aux critiques de ses journalistes"
  30. Book: Media Policy: Convergence, Concentration & Commerce. 3 February 2014. 24 September 1998. SAGE Publications. 978-1-4462-6524-6. 10.