''Madame Figaro'' is a French

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

supplement to the Saturday edition of the daily newspaper ''

Le Figaro ''Le Figaro'' () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It is headquartered on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. The oldest national newspaper in France, ''Le Figaro'' is one of three French newspapers of reco ...

'', focusing on and catering to women.

History and profile

The first edition was published in 1980. ''Madame Figaro'' was spearheaded by

Robert Hersant Robert Hersant (30 January 1920 – 21 April 1996) was a French newspaper magnate. He was a leader in the pro-Nazi youth movement during the Vichy wartime years, but after prison time built a major newspaper empire and engaged in conservative ...

, who succeeded

Jean Prouvost Jean Prouvost (24 April 1885, Roubaix – 18 October 1978, Yvoy-le-Marron) was a businessman, media owner and French politician. Prouvost was best known for building and owning the publications that became ''France-Soir'', ''Paris Match'', and '' ...

(creator of the French women's fashion magazine ''

Marie Claire ''Marie Claire'' is a French international monthly magazine first published in France in 1937, followed by the United Kingdom in 1941. Since then various editions are published in many countries and languages. The feature editions focus on wo ...

''). The magazine experienced immediate success, owing to its diverse contents, and the quality of the writing, targeting affluent readers. The first female Editor-in-Chief of the magazine was Marie-Claire Pauwels, daughter of

Louis Pauwels Louis Pauwels (; 2 August 1920 – 28 January 1997) was a French journalist and writer. Born in Paris, France, he wrote in many monthly literary French magazines as early as 1946 (including ''Esprit'' and ''Variété'') until the 1950s. He partic ...

. The launch of ''Madame Figaro'' in 1980 marked a distinct distancing from the

feminist movement The feminist movement (also known as the women's movement, or feminism) refers to a series of social movements and political campaigns for Radical politics, radical and Liberalism, liberal reforms on women's issues created by the inequality b ...

of the preceding decade (notably from the movement to "liberate

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" that had a goal of seizing power from the dominant

moral A moral (from Latin ''morālis'') is a message that is conveyed or a lesson to be learned from a story or event. The moral may be left to the hearer, reader, or viewer to determine for themselves, or may be explicitly encapsulated in a maxim. A ...

and religious institutions). ''Madame Figaro'' had its origins as a single page feature appearing in ''Figaro Magazine'', because that magazine's majority of readers were female, drawn to its orientation towards topics on culture and the art of living (''l’art de vivre''). ''

'' publishes a number of other supplements, each on a particular day of the week, for example, an economic news supplement, a supplement for its Paris-region readers, and so on. ''Madame Figaro'' is devoted solely to topics interesting to female readers. This has included such highly debated topics of the 1980s as: sexual relationships between men and women; aspirations towards equality between the sexes and to further women's emancipation; how to make families succeed during marriage; children and strong families. ''Madame Figaro'' is a mainstream women's magazine, feminine and a vehicle for ideas that are both liberal and conservative, since the beginning of the 1980s. A vital part of "Madame Figaro's" content is its focus on enhancing women's careers, and challenging conventional views of women's roles in society. ''Madame Figaro'' was among the first news publications in France to publish feature-length articles on the condition of women in foreign countries, using its own journalists. The worlds of fashion, beauty and interior design are the fundamental content of the magazine. Articles discussing elegance and distinction, all while taking a critical view of fashion's social conformity, have been hallmarks of the presentation of fashion in ''Madame Figaro''. Culture in its broad sense occupies a place of importance in ''Madame Figaro'', from literature, to history, as well as music. The magazine has had many articles on French celebrities such as

Jean Giono Jean Giono (30 March 1895 – 8 October 1970) was a French writer who wrote works of fiction mostly set in the Provence region of France. First period Jean Giono was born to a family of modest means, his father a cobbler of Piedmontese descent a ...

Jean Anouilh Jean Marie Lucien Pierre Anouilh (; 23 June 1910 – 3 October 1987) was a French dramatist whose career spanned five decades. Though his work ranged from high drama to absurdist farce, Anouilh is best known for his 1944 play ''Antigone'', an ad ...

, as well as the

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, and

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

. The magazine had been published by

Hachette Filipacchi Hachette may refer to: * Hachette (surname) * Hachette (publisher), a French publisher, the imprint of Lagardère Publishing ** Hachette Book Group, the American subsidiary ** Hachette Distribution Services, the distribution arm See also * Hachett ...

until 2001 when it began to be published Quebecor World Inc. The first international edition was published in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

under the name '' Máxima''. During the 1980s, ''Madame Figaro'' expanded into several countries, such as Japan and Turkey, following the trend of globalization in women's magazines. In the 1990s, the Chinese version began to be published. In 2019, ''Madame Figaro'' further developed to a total of ten editions, latest of which started in Hong Kong in fall 2019. ''Madame Figaro'' appears with the Saturday edition of ''

''.

''Madame Figaro'' today

The magazine published an online edition in addition to its paper edition. A part of the content of ''Madame Figaro'' is accessible free of charge online. The online edition also has several blogs dedicated to fashion and beauty topics, such as ''Fashion, etc…'' by Claudine Hesse. During the last half of 2007, the circulation of ''Madame Figaro'' was 455,802 copies. In 2011, the magazine had a circulation of 449,800 copies. The director of publishing in 2012 is Anne-Florence Schmitt. The magazine has two

editors-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

, Nicole Picart (Fashion) and Blanche Rival (magazine).

Editorial direction

The publication is dedicated to trends in beauty and fashion. The editorial approach and the design target readers with high incomes, with

luxury good In economics, a luxury good (or upmarket good) is a good for which demand increases more than what is proportional as income rises, so that expenditures on the good become a greater proportion of overall spending. Luxury goods are in contrast to n ...

advertising, and publishing articles for readers with a familiarity with current affairs. Among its regular features are : ''Culture Madame'', ''Rendez-vous Madame'' (public events and places), ''mode / accessoires et beauté'' (fashion, accessories, and beauty), ''le Carnet de Stéphane Bern'' (Stéphane Bern's journal), and the pages ''Conversation'', ''Week-end'', and others.

Notable former contributors

* Princess Grace of Monaco * Geneviève Gennart * Élisabeth Gassier * Marie-Dominique Sassin * Constance Poniatowski * Christine Clerc *

Philippe Nassif Philippe Nassif (1971 – 18 March 2022) was a French journalist and writer. In 2011, he was editorial advisor to Philosophie Magazine, and worked for the Madame Figaro, or ADN" and responsible for the "Essays" section of Technikart. Biography ...

Grand Prix Littéraire (great literary prize)

The ''Grand Prix Littéraire de l'Héroïne Madame Figaro'' is a prize awarded every year since 2006 by the magazine. It is awarded to a writer, who by her writing, has made a contribution to the biography genre. * 2010: Violaine Binet, ''Diane Arbus'' (Grasset) * 2009: Jacqueline Mesnil-Amar, ''Ceux qui ne dormaient pas'' (Stock) * 2008: Marie-Dominique Lelièvre, ''Sagan à toute allure'' (Denoël) * 2007:

Dominique Bona Dominique Bona (born 29 July 1953 in Perpignan) is a French writer. Life She won the 2000 Bourse Goncourt for biography, and 1998 Prix Renaudot. She was literary critic for ''Le Figaro'' and ''Le Journal du dimanche ''Le Journal du diman ...

, ''Camille et Paul: La passion claudel'' (Grasset) * 2006:

Angie David Angie David (born 1978) is a French writer, actress and publisher. Biography Angie David joined the in 2002. The editorial secretary of ' in 2006, she also was a critic in the team of the ' radio program on France Culture until 2012. Since 2013 ...

, ''Dominique Aury'' (Léo Scheer)

References

External links

Official website''Madame Figaro'' Japan''Madame Figaro'' Hong Kong''Madame Figaro'' Cyprus
{{DEFAULTSORT:Madame Figaro 1980 establishments in France French-language magazines Liberal media in France Magazines established in 1980 Magazines published in Paris Newspaper supplements Weekly magazines published in France Women's fashion magazines Women's magazines published in France