Indigo Publications is a French company that publishes 4 news websites, mostly dedicated to specialized business sectors.

History

Indigo Publications was established in Paris in 1981. Founder Maurice Botbol assembled a small team of investigative journalists dedicated to economic news. Botbol serves as director of Indigo Publications and was President of the ''Syndicat presse indépendante d' information en ligne'' (Union of the Independent Press Information Online). Indigo is a French media group serving a global audience, but hangs its credibility on remaining editorially independent: as Botbol explains, "We are not culturally partisan, either toward France's interests nor those of the third world.... We are very careful not to have any 'national' positioning." ''The Indian Ocean Newsletter'' was the first Indigo publication, focused on the business interests of

East East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...

and

southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number o ...

and the

Indian Ocean states This list of sovereign states and dependent territories in the Indian Ocean consists of 38 countries, with 13 in Africa, 22 in Asia, and 1 in Oceania that either border on or are in the Indian Ocean, as well as 2 European countries which administer ...

. Over the years, the company launched other regional titles including the economic newsletter for Francophone Africa, ''La Lettre du Continent'' (and its English equivalent, ''West Africa Newsletter''); the

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

n newspaper ''Maghreb Confidential''; and more specialized business publications like ''Africa Mining Intelligence'' and ''Intelligence Online''. In 2007, Indigo acquired ''La Lettre A'', a newsletter established in 1978 that specializes in news and analysis of politics and business in France. In April 2011, Indigo launched an online spinoff of ''La Lettre A'' called ''Entourages''. The company functions as a SAS (''sociétés par actions simplifiées''), with headquarters in Paris in the

rue Montmartre Boulevard Montmartre is one of the four grands boulevards of Paris. It was constructed in 1763. Contrary to what its name may suggest, the road is not situated on the hills of Montmartre. It is the easternmost of the grand boulevards. History ...

Value-added tax audit controversy

On December 16, 2013, Indigo Publications and another French digital publisher,

Mediapart ''Mediapart'' is an independent French investigative online newspaper created in 2008 by Edwy Plenel, former editor-in-chief of ''Le Monde''. ''Mediapart'' is published in French, English and Spanish. ''Mediapart's'' income is solely derived ...

, were audited by the French Inland Revenue Service over

Value-added tax A value-added tax (VAT), known in some countries as a goods and services tax (GST), is a type of tax that is assessed incrementally. It is levied on the price of a product or service at each stage of production, distribution, or sale to the en ...

(VAT). The VAT rate for online news was 19.6% (20% starting in 2014), while that of traditional media was 2.1%, a disparity that had been in place since 2009. The companies contested the higher rate, and on January 31, 2015, in a ruling opposed by the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body ...

, but consistent with the jurisprudence of the

Court of Justice of the European Union The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) (french: Cour de justice de l'Union européenne or "''CJUE''"; Latin: Curia) is the judicial branch of the European Union (EU). Seated in the Kirchberg quarter of Luxembourg City, Luxembour ...

, the French Budget Ministry issued taxing instructions, and a law was unanimously adopted by the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...

on February 4, and by the Senate on February 17, 2014, granting equality of tax treatment between traditional print and digital press.

Publications

Indigo publishes six news websites and 16 specialized newsletters. Since 1995, Indigo Publications has implemented a digital development strategy, and went with all digital publication of Intelligence Online and all the company's Africa publications, on the Africa Intelligence website in April 2013. As of January 2016, all publications are now 100% digital.

''Intelligence Online''

''Intelligence Online'', formerly ''Intelligence Newsletter'', reports on and analyses secret

diplomacy Diplomacy comprises spoken or written communication by representatives of states (such as leaders and diplomats) intended to influence events in the international system.Ronald Peter Barston, ''Modern diplomacy'', Pearson Education, 2006, p. ...

, parallel operations and conflicts around the world, focusing on the role of

government intelligence An intelligence agency is a government agency responsible for the collection, analysis, and exploitation of information in support of law enforcement, national security, military, public safety, and foreign policy objectives. Means of informa ...

agencies,

corporate intelligence A corporation is an organization—usually a group of people or a company—authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law "born out of statute"; a legal person in legal context) and r ...

firms and lobby groups. It also investigates

money-laundering Money laundering is the process of concealing the origin of money, obtained from illicit activities such as drug trafficking, corruption, embezzlement or gambling, by converting it into a legitimate source. It is a crime in many jurisdictions ...

, political instability,

terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

, espionage and organized crime in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Pierre Gastineau is the Editor-in-Chief.

''The Indian Ocean Newsletter''

''The Indian Ocean Newsletter'' is a newsletter-style publication covering the business and economies of East Africa and the

. It provides news and analysis of the region's business communities and economic affairs, as well as related political issues. The newsletter has been published fortnightly since 1981. Tristan Coloma is the editor-in-chief.

''Africa Mining Intelligence''

''Africa Mining Intelligence'' is a specialist publication for the

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic ...

industry in Africa. ''Africa Mining Intelligence'' covers the mining business, reporting on deals in the sector, the business strategies of the key players and on the policies of governments and state-owned mining companies. It also provides detailed background information about the sector's movers and shakers. It has been published fortnightly since 2000. Louise Margolin is the Editor-in-Chief.

''West Africa Newsletter''

''West Africa Newsletter'', and its French-language version, ''La Lettre du Continent'', are newsletter-style publications focused on business and economic affairs in French-speaking West and Central Africa. The newsletter covers the activities of the region's business communities, while its "Corridors of Power" section provides news and analysis of national and international politics. It has been published fortnightly since 1985. Philippe Vasset is the Editor-in-Chief. Its founder is the retired journalist

Antoine Glaser Antoine is a French given name (from the Latin ''Antonius'' meaning 'highly praise-worthy') that is a variant of Danton, Titouan, D'Anton and Antonin. The name is used in France, Switzerland, Belgium, Canada, West Greenland, Haiti, French Guiana ...

''Maghreb Confidential''

''Maghreb Confidential'' is a newsletter specializing in North African politics and business. It has been published each week since 1990. ''Maghreb Confidential'' provides news and expert analysis of the evolving economic, political and diplomatic situation in North Africa, examining the public and less visible activities of the most influential players in politics and business and reporting on the latest business negotiations and deals. Lazare Beullac is the Editor-in-Chief of ''Maghreb Confidential''.

''La Lettre A''

''La Lettre A'' is dedicated to the political, economic and media news in France. Marion Deye is the Editor-in-Chief of ''La Lettre A''.

Notes

References

External links

* {{Official website, URL=http://www.indigo-net.com/index.aspx?lng=EN Publishing companies of France Newsletter publishing companies