''France Soir'' ( en, France Evening) was a French

newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports a ...

that prospered in physical format during the 1950s and 1960s, reaching a circulation of 1.5 million in the 1950s. It declined rapidly under various owners and was relaunched as a populist tabloid in 2006. However, the company went bankrupt on 23 July 2012, before re-emerging as an online-only media in 2016. In 2020, according to

NewsGuard NewsGuard is a journalism and technology tool that rates the credibility of news and information websites and tracks online misinformation. It operates a browser extension and mobile apps for consumers as well as services for businesses, includ ...

, this media "fails to adhere to several basic journalistic standards".

History

''France Soir'' was founded as the underground paper ''Défense de la France'' ("Defense of France") by young resistance leaders, Robert Salmon and

Philippe Viannay Philippe Viannay (15 August 1917 - 27 November 1986) was a French journalist. School foundation He founded the Centre de formation des journalistes, and, later, the sailing school '' Les Glénans''. French resistance During World War II, he led a ...

, in 1941. The first editions were printed on a Rotaprint 3 offset printing machine hidden in the cellars of the

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

. Distributed to Grenoble, Clermont-Ferrand, Lyon and to Britain by the resistance networks Combat and Témoignage chrétien, ''Défense de la France'' became the largest circulation newspaper in the underground press, with 450,000 copies per day by January 1944.''France-Soir'' est issu d'un journal clandestin sous l'occupation.
In March 1944, after multiple relocations, it was housed on three levels of an industrial building on rue Jean-Dolent, behind the

La Santé Prison La Santé Prison (named after its location on the Rue de la Santé) (french: Maison d'arrêt de la Santé or ) is a prison operated by the French Prison Service of the Ministry of Justice located in the east of the Montparnasse district of the ...

, in Paris's XIVth arrondissement. After the liberation, '' Paris-Soir'', which with 1.7 million copies in 1936 was the leading French daily between the wars, forfeited its printing plant in Lyon due to its ambiguous behavior under occupation.

Pierre Lazareff Pierre Lazareff (1907–1972) was a French newspaper editor and publisher. He was the son of a Russian Jewish emigrant, David Lazareff, and an Alsatian Jew, Marthe Helft. He was passionate about newspapers from his childhood, even running a fam ...

, its former editor, had returned from the US and joined ''Défense de la France'' in September 1944. The first issue of ''France-Soir - Défense de la France'' was printed using ''Paris-Soir''s presses on 7 November 1944. The hyphenated name affiliated the old paper with that of the

French resistance The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...

. Pierre Haski
"France Soir ne sera plus imprimé, la fin d’un dinosaure de la presse"
''Rue89'', 11 October 2011, Retrieved 23 July 2012. The paper's name was truncated to ''France Soir'' after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The paper grew to be ranked among the country's (and the European continent's) most circulated, reaching 1.5 million in 1955 with Pierre Lazareff as chief editor. Its circulation was more than 1.4 million in the late 1950s. Early in the 21st century, circulation dropped below 90,000. Its circulation was 30,000 copies just before its closure in 2011. In 2013, FranceSoir.fr was relaunched as a digital tablet version for a fee, but met with mixed success.

Cartoon controversy

In February 2006, Jacques Lefranc, managing director of the news, was dismissed by then owner

Raymond Lakah Raymond Lakah, (born c. 1960 as Rami Lakah) (رامي لكح), is a French- Egyptian magnate, and former owner of the French newspaper ''France Soir''. Lakah was born in Egypt to a Coptic Christian Egyptian family, and first came to prominence ...

for re-printing the cartoon depictions of

Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...

that were the subject of the "

Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy The ''Jyllands-Posten'' Muhammad cartoons controversy (or Muhammad cartoons crisis, da, Muhammedkrisen) began after the Danish newspaper ''Jyllands-Posten'' published 12 editorial cartoons on 30 September 2005, most of which depicted Muhamma ...

". The 12 cartoons were printed with the addition of another depicting other religious figures sitting on a cloud with the caption reading, "Don't worry Muhammad, we've all been caricatured here".

Acquisition by Jean-Pierre Brunois and Olivier Rey

In April 2006, the

Tribunal of Commerce A tribunal, generally, is any person or institution with authority to judge, adjudicate on, or determine claims or disputes—whether or not it is called a tribunal in its title. For example, an advocate who appears before a court with a si ...

Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Pref ...

announced that the paper would become the property of

Jean-Pierre Brunois ''France Soir'' ( en, France Evening) was a French newspaper that prospered in physical format during the 1950s and 1960s, reaching a circulation of 1.5 million in the 1950s. It declined rapidly under various owners and was relaunched as a popul ...

, a real-estate developer, and Olivier Rey, a former journalist for the paper. The tribunal had been overseeing the bankruptcy and bids for take over since October 2005, at which point the circulation had dropped to around 50,000. The decision lead to strike by the staff who were displeased with Brunois' plan to cut costs by firing many, and increase circulation by turning the paper into a tabloid. One of the opposing bids, favored by the staff, was from

Arkadi Gaydamak Arkadi ( el, Αρκάδι) is a former municipality in the Rethymno regional unit, Crete, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Rethymno, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of . ...

, the owner of ''

The Moscow News ''The Moscow News'', which began publication in 1930, was Russia's oldest English-language newspaper. Many of its feature articles used to be translated from the Russian language ''Moskovskiye Novosti.'' History Soviet Union In 1930 ''The Mo ...

'', who had promised not to fire the staff. Due to the turbulence, ''France Soir'' was not published for a month and a half. Brunois brought in bi-lingual British photographer

Jason Fraser Jason-Collin Fraser (born 15 April 1991 in Amanzimtoti, South Africa) is a South African rugby union player, currently playing with Nevers in the French Pro D2. His regular position is flanker or number eight. Career Varsity Rugby Fraser was ...

to lead the tabloid remodelling of the paper.

Pugachyov ownership

In March 2010, ''France Soir'' was acquired by Alexander Pugachyov, son of Russian ex-billionaire

Sergey Pugachyov Sergei Viktorovich Pugachev, also spelled Sergey Pugachyov, (french: Sergueï Pougatchev, russian: Сергей Викторович Пугачёв; born 4 February 1963) is a Russian-born French business magnate. He is a doctor of technical ...

. The paper was relaunched in 2010, but its last print issue appeared on 13 December 2011, with the online version ending in July 2012 with the court-ordered bankruptcy of the company. During the liquidation process, the name ''France-Soir'' was then bought by the group Mutualize Corporation SA. which relaunched the newspaper as a 100% online media with an innovative strategy.

Mutualize Corporation

Mutualize Corporation SA. relaunched the newspaper as a 100% online media with an innovative strategy in 2016 reaching peak audience in 2018. In August 2019, site staff (4 employees) went on strike, and were eventually fired, but the website kept publishing content.

Publishing of conspiracy theories

The site has been criticised since 2019 for publishing false information and spreading conspiracy theories

Notable contributors

''France-Soir'' had many contributors, journalists and writers, among them

Joseph Kessel Joseph Kessel (10 February 1898 – 23 July 1979), also known as "Jef", was a French journalist and novelist. He was a member of the Académie française and Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour. Biography Kessel was born to a Jewish family in ...

, Lucien Bodard,

Jean-Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was one of the key figures in the philosophy of existentialism (and phenomenology), a French playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and lit ...

, Henri de Turenne,

Henri Amouroux Henri Amouroux (1 July 1920 in Périgueux, Dordogne – 5 August 2007 in Le Mesnil-Mauger) was a French historian and journalist. Life and career Amouroux was born in the French city of Périgueux on 1 July 1920.Jean Lacouture Jean Lacouture (9 June 1921 – 16 July 2015) was a journalist, historian and author. He was particularly famous for his biographies. Career Jean Lacouture was born in Bordeaux, France. He began his career in journalism in 1950 in ''Combat'' ...

Philippe Labro Philippe Labro (born 27 August 1936) is a French author, journalist and film director. He has worked for RTL, ''Paris Match'', TF1 and Antenne 2. He is a laureate of the Prix Interallié, a French literary distinction founded in 1930, which ...

Philippe Bouvard Philippe Bouvard (; born 6 December 1929 in Coulommiers) is a French television and radio presenter. From 1977 to 2014 he hosted the French radio program ''Les Grosses Têtes'' on Radio Luxemburg RTL, from 1982 to 1986 he hosted the television ...

, Jacqueline Cartier,

Max Gallo Max Gallo (; 7 January 1932 – 18 July 2017) was a French writer, historian and politician. He wrote over one hundred books. The son of Italian immigrants (his father was of Piedmontese descent and his mother was from the region of Parma), Gall ...

Roger Grenier Roger Grenier (19 September 1919 – 8 November 2017) was a French writer, journalist and radio animator. He was Regent of the Collège de ’Pataphysique. Biography As a youth, Grenier lived in Pau, where Andrélie opened a shop selling gla ...

Jean Dutourd Jean Gwenaël Dutourd (; 14 January 192017 January 2011) was a French novelist. Biography Dutourd was born in Paris. His mother died when he was seven years old. At the age of twenty, he was taken prisoner fifteen days after Germany's invasion ...

, Gonzague Saint Bris,

Jacques Sternberg Jacques Sternberg (April 17, 1923, Antwerp, Belgium – October 11, 2006, Paris) was a French-language writer of science fiction and ''fantastique''. Biography Sternberg was born to a well-to-do Russian-Jewish family. He was a poor student in ...

and

Jean-Pierre Thiollet Jean-Pierre Thiollet (; born 9 December 1956) is a French writer and journalist. Primarily living in Paris, he is the author of numerous books and one of the national leaders of the European Confederation of Independent Trade Unions (CEDI), a ...

References

{{Reflist 1944 establishments in France 2011 disestablishments in France Defunct newspapers published in France French news websites Newspapers published in Paris Publications established in 1944 Publications disestablished in 2011 Daily newspapers published in France