''La Bougie du Sapeur'' () is a
French satirical newspaper launched in 1980 that is published only on
Leap Day
February 29, also known as leap day or leap year day, is a date added to leap years. A leap day is added in various solar calendars (calendars based on the Earth's revolution around the Sun), including the Gregorian calendar standard in m ...
,
making it the world's least frequently published newspaper.
History
''La Bougie du Sapeur'' was created by JacquesDebuisson and ChristianBailly, as a joke between friends.
The newspaper's name, literally ''The Sapper's Candle'',
refers to Camember, a
sapper
A sapper, also called a pioneer or combat engineer, is a combatant or soldier who performs a variety of military engineering duties, such as breaching fortifications, demolitions, bridge-building, laying or clearing minefields, preparing ...
in a
comic book
A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...
created by
Georges Colomb
Marie-Louis-Georges Colomb (Lure, Haute-Saône, 25 May 1856 – Nyons, 3 January 1945) was a French botanist, science populariser, and a pioneer of French comics, known as '' bandes dessinées ''.
Under the pseudonym Christophe (playing on "Chr ...
in 1896.
In the story, Camember was born on 29 February and joined the army when he had celebrated his birthday only four times.
Content
The paper's tenth edition was released in February 2016 and of each edition are printed. It sells for €4.70
from newsstands for one month,
but subscriptions are available€100 per century
and back issues are €15.
The first edition of ', a special
Sunday supplement, was published in 2004; the next edition will not be published until .
Profits from the 2008
and 2012
editions went to charity.
The 2012 edition of the paper featured a story on the end of the
Euro
The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...
that led readers to believe that the paper supported the politics of the far‑right ''
Frontnational'', however, the editor‑in‑chief maintains that the paper is apolitical.
The 2016 edition was the first to be sold in
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
,
Switzerland,
Luxembourg
Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...
, and
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
.
Management
,
Jean d'Indy serves as editor-in-chief and has worked for the paper since 1992.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bougie du Sapeur, La
Newspapers published in Paris
Publications established in 1980
1980 establishments in France
February