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() is a French daily morning
newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, 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 poli ...
founded in 1826. It was named after Figaro, a character in several plays by
polymath A polymath or polyhistor is an individual whose knowledge spans many different subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific problems. Polymaths often prefer a specific context in which to explain their knowledge, ...
Beaumarchais Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais (; 24 January 1732 – 18 May 1799) was a French playwright and diplomat during the Age of Enlightenment. Best known for his three Figaro plays, at various times in his life he was also a watchmaker, invent ...
(1732–1799): '' Le Barbier de Séville'', ''
La Mère coupable LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music *La (musical note), or A, the sixth note *"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smit ...
'', and the
eponymous An eponym is a noun after which or for which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. Adjectives derived from the word ''eponym'' include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Eponyms are commonly used for time periods, places, innovati ...
'' Le Mariage de Figaro''. 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 considered a French
newspaper of record A newspaper of record is a major national newspaper with large newspaper circulation, circulation whose editorial and news-gathering functions are considered authoritative and independent; they are thus "newspapers of record by reputation" and i ...
, along with and ''
Libération (), popularly known as ''Libé'' (), is a daily newspaper in France, founded in Paris by Jean-Paul Sartre and Serge July in 1973 in the wake of the protest movements of May 1968 in France, May 1968. Initially positioned on the far left of Fr ...
''. Since 2004, the newspaper has been owned by
Dassault Group Groupe Industriel Marcel Dassault SAS (; also GIM Dassault or Dassault Group) is a French corporate group established in 1929 with the creation of Société des Avions Marcel Bloch (now Dassault Aviation) by Marcel Dassault, later led by his s ...
. Its editorial director has been Alexis Brézet since 2012. ''Le Figaro'' is the second-largest national newspaper in France, after ''Le Monde''. It has a
centre-right Centre-right politics is the set of right-wing politics, right-wing political ideologies that lean closer to the political centre. It is commonly associated with conservatism, Christian democracy, liberal conservatism, and conservative liberalis ...
editorial stance and is headquartered on
Boulevard Haussmann The Boulevard Haussmann (), long from the 8th to the 9th arrondissement, is one of the wide tree-lined boulevards created in Paris by Napoleon III, under the direction of his Prefect of the Seine, Baron Haussmann. The Boulevard Haussmann is mo ...
in the
9th arrondissement of Paris The 9th arrondissement of Paris (''IXe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, it is referred to as (; "ninth"). The arrondissement, called Opéra, is located on the right bank of th ...
. Other
Groupe Figaro Groupe Figaro is a French media conglomerate owned by Dassault Group. The company contains some of the core assets of the now extinguished Socpresse that Dassault purchased in 2006. Dassault renamed its press holdings as "Groupe Figaro" in 2011. ...
publications include ''
Le Figaro Magazine ''Le Figaro Magazine'' is a French language weekly news magazine published in Paris, France. The magazine is the weekly supplement of the daily newspaper and has been in circulation since 1978. History The magazine is the first supplement of ...
'', ''
TV Magazine ''TV Magazine'' was a weekly French television listings magazine owned by Figaro Group. As a supplement for the regional press, it was France's leading television listings magazine from 1987 to 2022. ''TV Magazine'' became ''Le Figaro TV Magazi ...
'' and ''Evene''. The paper is published in
Berliner Berliner is most often used to designate a citizen of Berlin, Germany Berliner may also refer to: People * Berliner (surname) Places * Berliner Lake, a lake in Minnesota, United States * Berliner Philharmonie, concert hall in Berlin, Germany ...
format.


History

was founded as a satirical weekly in 1826, taking its name and
motto A motto (derived from the Latin language, Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian language, Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a Sentence (linguistics), sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of a ...
from '' Le Mariage de Figaro'', the 1778 play by
Pierre Beaumarchais Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais (; 24 January 1732 – 18 May 1799) was a French playwright and diplomat during the Age of Enlightenment. Best known for his three #Figaro plays, Figaro plays, at various times in his life he was also a watc ...
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 Louis-Victor-Nestor Roqueplan lso sometimes spelled Rocoplan(16 September 1805 – 24 April 1870) was a French writer, journalist, and theatre director. Early life and career Nestor Roqueplan was born near Montréal, Aude, and was th ...
fought a duel with a Colonel Gallois, who was offended by an article in , and was wounded but recovered. Albert Wolff,
Émile Zola Émile Édouard Charles Antoine Zola (, ; ; 2 April 184029 September 1902) was a French novelist, journalist, playwright, the best-known practitioner of the literary school of Naturalism (literature), naturalism, and an important contributor to ...
,
Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr (24 November 1808 – 29 September 1890) was a French critic, journalist, and novelist. Life Karr was born in Paris to German pianist and composer Henri Karr (1784–1842), and after being educated at the Co ...
,
Théophile Gautier Pierre Jules Théophile Gautier ( , ; 30 August 1811 – 23 October 1872) was a French poet, dramatist, novelist, journalist, and art and literary critic. While an ardent defender of Romanticism, Gautier's work is difficult to classify and rema ...
, 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. 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. Pauline Savari was among the contributors to the paper at this time. On 20 February 1909 published a manifesto signed by
Filippo Tommaso Marinetti Filippo Tommaso Emilio Marinetti (; 22 December 1876 – 2 December 1944) was an Italian poet, editor, art theorist and founder of the Futurist movement. He was associated with the utopian and Symbolist artistic and literary community Abbaye de ...
which initiated the establishment of
Futurism Futurism ( ) was an Art movement, artistic and social movement that originated in Italy, and to a lesser extent in other countries, in the early 20th century. It emphasized dynamism, speed, technology, youth, violence, and objects such as the ...
in art. On 16 March 1914,
Gaston Calmette Gaston Calmette (30 July 1858 – 16 March 1914) was a French journalist and newspaper editor, whose murder was the subject of a notable murder trial. Biography Calmette was born in Montpellier. He was educated at Nice, Bordeaux, Clermont-Fer ...
, the editor of , was assassinated by
Henriette Caillaux Henriette Caillaux (born 5 December 1874 – 29 January 1943) was a Parisian socialite and second wife of the former Prime Minister of France, Joseph Caillaux. On 16 March 1914, she shot and killed Gaston Calmette, editor of the newspaper ''Le F ...
, the wife of
Finance Minister A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfoli ...
Joseph Caillaux Joseph-Marie-Auguste Caillaux (; 30 March 1863 – 22 November 1944) was a French politician of the French Third Republic, Third Republic. He was a leader of the French Radical Party and Minister of Finance, but his progressive views in opposi ...
, after he published a letter that cast serious doubt on her husband's integrity. In 1922, was purchased by perfume millionaire
François Coty François Coty (; born Joseph Marie François Spoturno ; 3 May 1874 – 25 July 1934) was a French perfumer, businessman, newspaper publisher, politician and patron of the arts. He was the founder of the Coty, Coty perfume company, today a multin ...
.
Abel Faivre Jules Abel Faivre (30 March 1867 – 13 August 1945) was a French painter, illustrator and cartoonist. Early life and work Jules Abel Faivre was born in Lyon, France. He attended École nationale des beaux-arts de Lyon for three years. He then ...
did cartoons for the paper. Coty enraged many in March 1929 when he renamed the paper simply ''Figaro'', which it remained until 1933. By the start of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, had become France's leading newspaper. After the war, it became the voice of the
upper middle class In sociology, the upper middle class is the social group constituted by higher status members of the middle class. This is in contrast to the term '' lower middle class'', which is used for the group at the opposite end of the middle-class stra ...
, and continues to maintain a conservative position. In 1975, was bought 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 conservati ...
's
Socpresse Socpresse was a French corporation which controlled the conservative daily newspaper ''Le Figaro'', the weekly magazine ''L'Express'', 40% of the weekly '' Le Journal du Dimanche'', '' Valeurs Actuelles'', and the football club FC Nantes. The co ...
. In 1999,
The Carlyle Group The Carlyle Group Inc. is an American multinational company with operations in private equity, alternative asset management and financial services. As of 2023, the company had $426 billion of assets under management. Carlyle specializes in ...
obtained a 40% stake in the paper, which it later sold in March 2002. Since March 2004, has been controlled by
Serge Dassault Serge Dassault (; born Serge Paul André Bloch; 4 April 1925 â€“ 28 May 2018) was a French engineer, businessman and politician. He was the chairman and chief executive officer of Dassault Group, and a conservative politician. According to ...
, a conservative businessman and politician best known for running the aircraft manufacturer
Dassault Aviation Dassault Aviation SA () is a French Aerospace manufacturer, manufacturer of military aircraft and business jets. It was founded in 1929 by Marcel Dassault, Marcel Bloch as Société des Avions Marcel Bloch (Marcel Bloch Aircraft Company). After ...
, which he inherited from his father, its founder,
Marcel Dassault Marcel Dassault (; born Marcel Ferdinand Bloch; 23 January 1892 – 17 April 1986) was a French engineer and industrialist who spent his career in aircraft manufacturing. He was also involved in politics, serving intermittently over more than thr ...
(1892–1986). Dassault owns 80% of the paper, by way of its media subsidiary
Groupe Figaro Groupe Figaro is a French media conglomerate owned by Dassault Group. The company contains some of the core assets of the now extinguished Socpresse that Dassault purchased in 2006. Dassault renamed its press holdings as "Groupe Figaro" in 2011. ...
.
Franz-Olivier Giesbert Franz-Olivier Giesbert (born January 18, 1949) is an American-born French journalist, author, and television presenter. Early life Franz-Olivier Giesbert's American father was a painter and G.I. during D-Day, and his mother, a philosophy teacher ...
was editorial director of ''Le Figaro'' from 1998 to 2000. In 2006, was banned in
Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
and
Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...
for publishing articles allegedly insulting
Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
. switched to Berliner format in 2009. 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 ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' translated into French. In 2010, Lefigaro.fr created a section called Le Figaro in English, which provides the global English-speaking community with daily original or translated content from website. The section ended in 2012. In the 2010s, saw future presidential candidate
Éric Zemmour Éric Justin Léon Zemmour (; born 31 August 1958) is a French History of far-right movements in France, far-right politician, essayist, writer and political journalist and pundit. He was an editor and panelist on ''Face à l'Info'', a daily show ...
's columns garner great interest among readers that would later serve to launch his political career.


Logo

File:Le Figaro logo 1826 - Gallica.jpg, Logo during the 1820s File:Le Figaro Logo 1854.png, Logo from an 1854 issue File:Logo du Figaro 1920.png, Logo since the 1920s File:Le Figaro Logo 1952.png, Logo of Le Figaro from a 1952 issue


Editorial stance and controversies

has traditionally held a
conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
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 Serge Dassault (; born Serge Paul André Bloch; 4 April 1925 â€“ 28 May 2018) was a French engineer, businessman and politician. He was the chairman and chief executive officer of Dassault Group, and a conservative politician. According to ...
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 The Union for a Popular Movement ( ; UMP ) was a Liberal conservatism, liberal-conservative List of political parties in France, political party in France, largely inspired by the Gaullism, Gaullist tradition. During its existence, the UMP was o ...
party. His son
Olivier Dassault Olivier Dassault (; 1 June 1951 – 7 March 2021) was a French politician and billionaire businessman, who served as a deputy in the National Assembly. Early life and education Born in Boulogne-Billancourt, he was the son of businessman and ...
served as a member of the
French National Assembly The National Assembly (, ) is the lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral French Parliament under the French Fifth Republic, Fifth Republic, the upper house being the Senate (France), Senate (). The National Assembly's legislators are known ...
. Dassault has remarked in an interview in 2004 on the public radio station
France Inter France Inter () is a French public radio channel and part of Radio France. It is the successor to Paris Inter, later known as France I, and created as a merger of the France I and France II networks, first as RTF Inter in October 1963, then ren ...
that "newspapers must promulgate healthy ideas" and that "left-wing ideas are not healthy ideas." 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 The Union for a Popular Movement ( ; UMP ) was a Liberal conservatism, liberal-conservative List of political parties in France, political party in France, largely inspired by the Gaullism, Gaullist tradition. During its existence, the UMP was o ...
, of the government and of President
Nicolas Sarkozy Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa ( ; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012. In 2021, he was found guilty of having tried to bribe a judge in 2014 to obtain information ...
. 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. 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!"""Le Figaro" : Mougeotte répond aux critiques de ses journalistes"
''Le Nouvel Observateur'', 10 February 2012


Circulation history

In the period of 1995–96, the paper had a circulation of 391,533 copies, behind ''
Le Parisien ''Le Parisien'' (; ) is a French daily newspaper covering both international and national news, and local news of Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of ...
''s 451,159 copies.


Le Figaro Group

''Le Figaro'' formed the
Groupe Figaro Groupe Figaro is a French media conglomerate owned by Dassault Group. The company contains some of the core assets of the now extinguished Socpresse that Dassault purchased in 2006. Dassault renamed its press holdings as "Groupe Figaro" in 2011. ...
(a subsidiary of the Marcel Dassault Industrial Group). The former company,
Socpresse Socpresse was a French corporation which controlled the conservative daily newspaper ''Le Figaro'', the weekly magazine ''L'Express'', 40% of the weekly '' Le Journal du Dimanche'', '' Valeurs Actuelles'', and the football club FC Nantes. The co ...
, which was dismantled in 2005, officially became Dassault Media (Figaro Group) in 2011.


The daily ''Le Figaro'' and its supplements

The newspaper was accompanied by two daily supplements: '' Le Figaro Économie'', since 1984, printed on
salmon Salmon (; : salmon) are any of several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the genera ''Salmo'' and ''Oncorhynchus'' of the family (biology), family Salmonidae, native ...
-colored paper, and ''Le Figaro et vous'', since 2005, dedicated to culture and lifestyle. Additionally: * The
Monday Monday is the day of the week that takes place between Sunday and Tuesday. According to the International Organization for Standardization's ISO 8601 standard, it is the first day of the week. Names The names of the day of the week were co ...
edition was accompanied by a tabloid-format supplement, '' Le Figaro Réussir'', as well as four special "Health" pages since February 2010. * The
Tuesday Tuesday is the day of the week between Monday and Wednesday. According to international standard ISO 8601, Monday is the first day of the week; thus, Tuesday is the second day of the week. According to many traditional calendars, however, Sunda ...
edition was accompanied by an 8-page supplement, ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
''. * The
Wednesday Wednesday is the day of the week between Tuesday and Thursday. According to international standard ISO 8601, it is the third day of the week. In English, the name is derived from Old English and Middle English , 'day of Woden', reflecting ...
edition, in addition to the usual four sections, included the ''
Le Figaro Étudiant () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It was named after Figaro, a character in several plays by polymath Pierre Beaumarchais, Beaumarchais (1732–1799): ''Le Barbier de Séville'', ''The Guilty Mother, La Mère coupable'', ...
'' section and was accompanied in
ÃŽle-de-France The ÃŽle-de-France (; ; ) is the most populous of the eighteen regions of France, with an official estimated population of 12,271,794 residents on 1 January 2023. Centered on the capital Paris, it is located in the north-central part of the cou ...
by a supplement on entertainment and leisure, '' Le Figaroscope''. * The
Thursday Thursday is the day of the week between Wednesday and Friday. According to the ISO 8601 international standard, it is the fourth day of the week. In countries which adopt the "Sunday-first" convention, it is the fifth day of the week. Name Th ...
edition was accompanied by an 8-page supplement, ''
Le Figaro Littéraire ''Le Figaro Magazine'' is a French language weekly news magazine published in Paris, France. The magazine is the weekly supplement of the daily newspaper and has been in circulation since 1978. History The magazine is the first supplement of ...
''. * The
Friday Friday is the day of the week between Thursday and Saturday. In countries that adopt the traditional "Sunday-first" convention, it is the sixth day of the week. In countries adopting the ISO 8601-defined "Monday-first" convention, it is the fifth ...
and
Saturday Saturday is the day of the week between Friday and Sunday. No later than the 2nd century, the Romans named Saturday ("Saturn's Day") for the god Saturn. His planet, Saturn, controlled the first hour of that day, according to Vettius Valens. T ...
editions optionally included more voluminous magazine-type supplements: ''
Le Figaro Magazine ''Le Figaro Magazine'' is a French language weekly news magazine published in Paris, France. The magazine is the weekly supplement of the daily newspaper and has been in circulation since 1978. History The magazine is the first supplement of ...
'', ''
Madame Figaro ''Madame Figaro'' () is a French magazine supplement to the Saturday edition of the daily newspaper , focusing on and catering to women. History and profile The first edition was published in 1980. ''Madame Figaro'' was spearheaded by Robert H ...
'', and ''
TV Magazine ''TV Magazine'' was a weekly French television listings magazine owned by Figaro Group. As a supplement for the regional press, it was France's leading television listings magazine from 1987 to 2022. ''TV Magazine'' became ''Le Figaro TV Magazi ...
''.


Other supplements, sections, and titles

* '' Le Figaro Patrimoine'' was a monthly supplement of ''Le Figaro''. * ''
Le Figaro Étudiant () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It was named after Figaro, a character in several plays by polymath Pierre Beaumarchais, Beaumarchais (1732–1799): ''Le Barbier de Séville'', ''The Guilty Mother, La Mère coupable'', ...
'' was a monthly supplement of ''Le Figaro''. * ''F, l'art de vivre du Figaro'' (formerly ''Almaviva'') was a supplement of ''Le Figaro'' published six times a year (September, October, November, March, April, May) since September 2015. * ''Figaro plus'' was a thematic supplement (sports or others) published irregularly; * ''Le Figaro demain'' was an irregularly-published supplement; * ''Paris Chic'' was a section of about thirty pages offering a selection of articles from the "Et vous" section, dedicated to lifestyle and the Figaroscope, aimed at wealthy Chinese visitors in Paris. * The Figaro Group relaunched the title '' Jours de France'', specializing in celebrity news and European royal families. It first appeared as a website in 2011, then as a quarterly print magazine from August 7, 2013. * Every week, a volume of the "essentials" of the
Encyclopædia Universalis The ''Encyclopædia Universalis'' is a French-language general encyclopedia published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., a privately held company. The articles of the ''Encyclopædia Universalis'' are aimed at educated adult readers, and writ ...
was sold as a supplement on Tuesdays, with the first volume being free. This
encyclopedia An encyclopedia is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge, either general or special, in a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into article (publishing), articles or entries that are arranged Alp ...
contained 6,000 articles, 17,000 ''notices,'' and 200,000 links.


Online edition

The online newspaper's address has been ''lefigaro.fr'' since 1999. In January 2010, ''lefigaro.fr'' introduced features reserved for subscribers. Access to archived articles was also made available for a fee. In September 2011, the newspaper launched an online wine magazine. In February 2014, FigaroVox, a platform for debates and ideas, was launched. In 2008, ''Le Figaro'' became the leading news site on the Internet according to Internet audience data published by Nielsen
Médiamétrie Médiamétrie (), established in 1985, is a public limited company specialising in audience measurement and research into audio-visual and digital media usage in France. It is especially well known for its Audimat brand whose name is now part of ...
/ NetRatings. On November 17, 2011, the site was awarded the title of "Best Mobile Media" for the second time at the 2011 Mobile Internet Trophies. In 2013, it was still ranked as the leading French online press site in France. In November of the same year, it broke the record of 11 million unique visitors on a French news website. On April 13, 2015, Figaro Premium was launched, a paid offer (€9.90 per month initially, increasing to €15; free for newspaper subscribers). It provided access to all articles from ''Le Figaro'' and its related magazines in a more comfortable reading format with minimal advertising, available from 10 p.m. the evening before the print daily. At this stage, digital activities represented 25% of the group's revenue and 22% of advertising revenue. Various platforms were simultaneously created: Scan Politique, Scan Sport, Scan TV, Figaro Immobilier, Figaro Jardin, and recently, Scan Éco. The number of digital subscribers grew rapidly. In 2017, ''Le Figaro'' had 80,000 digital subscribers, in addition to 70,000 subscribers to both print and digital editions.. In 2019, it was among the 50 most visited sites in France and had 130,000 digital subscribers. The milestone of 200,000 website subscribers was reached in November 2020. A study conducted in early 2020 by a cybersecurity company indicated that the personal data of the newspaper's website subscribers had been exposed on an unprotected server. In July 2021, the National Commission on Informatics and Liberty fined ''Le Figaro'' €50,000 for installing third-party
cookies A cookie is a sweet biscuit with high sugar and fat content. Cookie dough is softer than that used for other types of biscuit, and they are cooked longer at lower temperatures. The dough typically contains flour, sugar, egg, and some type of ...
without users' consent, in violation of the
GDPR The General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2016/679), abbreviated GDPR, is a European Union regulation on information privacy in the European Union (EU) and the European Economic Area (EEA). The GDPR is an important component of ...
.


FigaroVox

FigaroVox is an online section of ''figaro.fr'' created in 2014 by Alexis Brézet, a former journalist at ''
Valeurs actuelles ''Valeurs actuelles'' (; ) is a French weekly news magazine published in Paris. It was initially considered to be Right-wing politics, right-wing but is today associated with the Far-right politics, far-right. It was founded by Raymond Bourgine i ...
'' (from 1987 to 2000), "holding a very right-wing line", on the advice of
Patrick Buisson Patrick Buisson (19 April 1949 – 26 December 2023) was a French right-wing essayist, journalist and political advisor. He was a journalist for ''Minute'', ''Valeurs Actuelles'' and ''Le Crapouillot'' as well as ''La Chaîne Info''. He wrote se ...
, a figure associated with Nicolas Sarkozy's shift to the far-right in 2012. FigaroVox was an extension of the "debates and opinions" pages of the print daily on
Internet The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...
;. appearing on the homepage of Figaro's website, FigaroVox articles accentuated the political character of the daily. The journalists contributing to FigaroVox were positioned at the crossroads of the right, practicing Catholicism, and the " new reactionaries". FigaroVox was led by
Vincent Trémolet de Villers Vincent (Latin: ''Vincentius'') is a masculine given name originating from the Roman name ''Vincentius'', which itself comes from the Latin verb ''vincere'', meaning "to conquer." People with the given name Artists *Vincent Apap (1909–2003) ...
, who co-authored a book on
La Manif pour tous The (), better known under its original name of (LMPT), is a nonprofit organization and political movement based in France which is responsible for most of the Anti-gender movement, anti-gender and LGBTQ rights opposition, anti-LGBTQ demonst ...
(''And France Awoke. An Investigation into the Revolution of Values''). It was edited by Alexandre Devecchio, a former journalist for the site
Atlantico ''Atlantico'' is a French news website. Founded on 28 February 2011 amid much media attention, it quickly attracted notice for scoops related to scandals involving the Socialist politician and International Monetary Fund head, Dominique Strau ...
. Its contributors included
Maxime Tandonnet Maxime Tandonnet (7 October 1958 – 21 September 2024) was a French civil servant and writer. Life and career Born in on 7 October 1958, Tandonnet graduated from the Institut d'études politiques de Bordeaux in 1979 and from the École nationa ...
, a former advisor on immigration to Nicolas Sarkozy, and Gilles-William Goldnadel, an attorney for
Patrick Buisson Patrick Buisson (19 April 1949 – 26 December 2023) was a French right-wing essayist, journalist and political advisor. He was a journalist for ''Minute'', ''Valeurs Actuelles'' and ''Le Crapouillot'' as well as ''La Chaîne Info''. He wrote se ...
. FigaroVox's preferred themes were "the decline of the republican school, poorly controlled
immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as Permanent residency, permanent residents. Commuting, Commuter ...
, and
Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
as the primary threat to national identity". Sociologist Philippe Corcuff considered FigaroVox an "ultraconservative" section. Sociologist Jean-Louis Schlegel of the magazine ''Esprit'' described it as a platform for "the right of the right", akin to ''Causeur'' or ''Valeurs actuelles''. Political scientist Eszter Petronella suggested that FigaroVox allowed ''Le Figaro'' to "balance" the more moderate positions of the print by giving voice to an "identitarian and militant journalism," thereby catering to the needs of all readers. Nolwenn Le Blevennec of
Rue89 Rue89 is a French news website started by former journalists from the newspaper ''Libération''. It was officially launched on 6 May 2007, on the day of the second round of the French presidential election. Its news editor is Pascal Riché, form ...
described it as a "platform for the hard-right of ''Le Figaro''".. Information science specialist Aurélie Olivesi noted the proximity between the "polemical site" FigaroVox and the magazine '' Causeur'', with some journalists having worked for both media. According to ''Causeur'', the section opened its doors to authors from both the left and the right. According to Nolwenn Le Blevennec, however, FigaroVox was haunted by an "identitarian obsession," exhibited an
ultra-conservative Ultraconservatism refers to extreme conservative views in politics or religious practice. In modern politics, ''ultraconservative'' usually refers to conservatives of the far-right on the political spectrum, comprising groups or individuals who a ...
and
sovereigntist Sovereigntism, sovereignism or souverainism (from , , meaning "the ideology of sovereignty") is the notion of having control over one's conditions of existence, whether at the level of the self, social group, region, nation or globe. Typically ...
editorial line, and remained a platform where "one could read the National Front in the text, or link
Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
and
Daesh The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS occupied signif ...
". Left-wing figures, such as Gaël Brustier,
Jean-Luc Mélenchon Jean-Luc Antoine Pierre Mélenchon (; born 19 August 1951) is a French politician who has been the ''de facto'' leader of La France Insoumise (LFI) since it was established in 2016. He was the Deputy (France), deputy in the National Assembly ( ...
, and Thomas Guénolé, were invited "sometimes" or more regularly like
Laurent Bouvet Laurent Bouvet (9 July 1968 – 18 December 2021) was a French political scientist. In 2016, he cofounded the political movement Printemps républicain. Bouvet died from complications of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis Amyotrophic later ...
.
Éric Zemmour Éric Justin Léon Zemmour (; born 31 August 1958) is a French History of far-right movements in France, far-right politician, essayist, writer and political journalist and pundit. He was an editor and panelist on ''Face à l'Info'', a daily show ...
and
Alain Finkielkraut Alain Luc Finkielkraut (; ; born 30 June 1949) is a French essayist, radio producer, and public intellectual. Since 1986, he has been the host of ''Répliques'', a talk show broadcast weekly on France Culture. He was elected a Fellow of the Ac ...
were very appreciated there. According to ''
L'Express (, stylized in all caps) is a French weekly news magazine headquartered in Paris. The weekly stands at the political centre-right in the French media landscape, and has a lifestyle supplement, ''L'Express Styles'', and a job supplement, ''RÃ ...
'', the invited authors included liberals and left-wing sovereigntists, but in larger numbers were advocates of the "conservative reaction." These intellectuals and polemicists used the platform to criticize
globalization Globalization is the process of increasing interdependence and integration among the economies, markets, societies, and cultures of different countries worldwide. This is made possible by the reduction of barriers to international trade, th ...
. Since 2019, the section has been headed by Guillaume Perrault; Alexandre Devecchio, whom ''Le Monde'' associates with the far-right, was its deputy editor. In 2020, the section had six regular columnists, Bertille Bayart,
Nicolas Baverez Nicolas or Nicolás may refer to: People Given name * Nicolas (given name) Mononym * Nicolas (footballer, born 1999), Brazilian footballer * Nicolas (footballer, born 2000), Brazilian footballer Surname Nicolas * Dafydd Nicolas (c.1705–1774), ...
, Renaud Girard,
Mathieu Bock-Côté Mathieu Bock-Côté (; born August 20, 1980), often referred to by his initials MBC, is a Canadian sociologist, essayist, writer, public intellectual, and conservative political commentator who resides in Paris, where he appears as a television ...
,
Luc Ferry Luc Ferry (; born 3 January 1951) is a French public intellectual and voluminous author, who is a proponent of secular humanism. He was Minister of National Education for three years during the presidency of Jacques Chirac. Biography He rece ...
,
Ivan Rioufol Ivan () is a Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John) from Hebrew meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. The earliest person known to bear the name was the Bul ...
, along with guest contributors.


Participation and Subsidiaries

In February 2006, Le Figaro acquired the sports information and content site sport24.com, which had already been managing the sports section of figaro.fr since 2004; this was the first time that Figaro made such an acquisition. In May 2007, ''Le Figaro'' purchased the cultural site evene.fr, which quickly found synergies with ''Le Figaroscope'', and then in June 2007, the ticketing service Ticketac.com was acquired by the group. In 2008, the group took over the company Météo Consult, which included
La Chaîne Météo La Chaîne Météo (lit. ''The Weather Channel'') is a French TV channel, broadcasting weather forecasts 24 hours a day. The channel is similar to the American cable and satellite service The Weather Channel. Viewers can buy a paid membership ...
, and in December 2008, it acquired La Banque Audiovisuelle, the publishing company of vodeo.tv, through its subsidiary The Skreenhouse Factory, dedicated to TV and video on the Internet. On May 18, 2009, it purchased Particulier et Finances Éditions, which included ''Le Particulier'', ''Le Particulier pratique'', ''Le Particulier Immobilier'', and ''La Lettre des Placements'', as well as about thirty practical guides and the site leparticulier.fr. In September 2010, it took over Adenclassifieds, following a friendly
takeover bid In business, a takeover is the purchase of one company (the ''target'') by another (the ''acquirer'' or ''bidder''). In the UK, the term refers to the acquisition of a public company whose shares are publicly listed, in contrast to the acquisi ...
; the subsidiary became Figaro Classifieds, which included Cadremploi, Keljob.com, kelformation, kelstage, kelsalaire.net, CVmail, Explorimmo, CadresOnline, OpenMedia, Seminus, Microcode, achat-terrain.com. The sites achat-terrain.com and constructeurs-maisons.com, created in 2005, were acquired in September 2012. ''Campus-Channel'', a video platform for students launched in 2011, was acquired by Figaro Classifieds in June 2014. In 2015, CCM Benchmark Group was fully acquired, including leading websites like ''
L'Internaute Linternaute.com (webified name for or "the internet navigator", ) is a major French news site, launched in 2000. As of November 2020, it was the 99th most visited website in France. is published by Groupe Figaro. School rankings creates i ...
'', ''Journal du Net'', ''Le Journal des femmes'', Droit-finances.net. The acquisition of these leading sites allowed Figaro to move from the fifteenth place in non-mobile web traffic to fourth place, with 24 million unique visitors, behind Google (41 million), Microsoft (35 million), and Facebook (26 million). * Media Figaro (formerly Publiprint, formerly Figaro media) (advertising agency), *
Météo Consult Météo may refer to: *Weather in French * Météo-France, the French national meteorological service * MétéoMédia, a 24-hour Canadian French-language cable television specialty channel and web site * Météo Suisse, officially the Federal Offic ...
and
La Chaîne Météo La Chaîne Météo (lit. ''The Weather Channel'') is a French TV channel, broadcasting weather forecasts 24 hours a day. The channel is similar to the American cable and satellite service The Weather Channel. Viewers can buy a paid membership ...
, * Particulier et Finances Éditions, * Figaro Classifieds (Cadremploi, Keljob.com, Explorimmo, Propriétés Le Figaro, Le Figaro Étudiant, KelFormation, etc.) * Marco Vasco.


Group partnerships

Le Figaro sponsored the sailing race, the
Solitaire du Figaro The Solitaire du Figaro, previously called the Course de l'Aurore, is a solo multi-stage sailing race created in 1970 by Jean-Louis Guillemard and . The unique character of the race, the presence of great solo sailors and its being open to amateu ...
, since its creation in 1970. The newspaper and the ''Center for Political Research at Sciences Po'' (CEVIPOF) presented their "Political Studies." ''Le Figaro'' replaced ''
Le Monde (; ) is a mass media in France, French daily afternoon list of newspapers in France, newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average print circulation, circulation of 480,000 copies per issue in 2022, including ...
'' as a partner of the program '' Le Grand Jury'' in September 2006. In partnership with
Dargaud Benelux Société Dargaud (), doing business as Les Éditions Dargaud, is a publisher of Franco-Belgian comics series, headquartered in the 18th arrondissement of Paris. It was founded in 1936 by Georges Dargaud, publishing its first comics in 1943. ...
, the newspaper launched in 2010 a 20-volume collection of
XIII XIII may refer to: * 13 (number) or XIII in Roman numerals * 13th century in Roman numerals * ''XIII'' (comics), a Belgian comic book series by Jean Van Hamme and William Vance ** ''XIII'' (2003 video game), a 2003 video game based on the comic b ...
in a "prestige" edition Thibaut Dary,
XIII: The VII Reasons for a Triumph
" ''Le Figaro'', June 29, 2010.
and a pre-publication of the latest volumes of the series throughout the summer of the same year in ''
Le Figaro Magazine ''Le Figaro Magazine'' is a French language weekly news magazine published in Paris, France. The magazine is the weekly supplement of the daily newspaper and has been in circulation since 1978. History The magazine is the first supplement of ...
''. Additionally, the daily also offered a selection of comic books, from
Largo Winch ''Largo Winch'' is a Belgian comic book series by Philippe Francq and Jean Van Hamme, published by Dupuis. It started as a series of novels by Van Hamme in the late 1970s, but stopped due to a lack of success and the huge amount of work Van Hamme ...
to
Blake and Mortimer ''The Adventures of Blake & Mortimer'' is a Belgian comics series created by writer and comics artist Edgar P. Jacobs. It was one of the first book series to appear in the Franco-Belgian comics magazine ''Tintin'' in 1946, and was subsequentl ...
to
Gaston Gaston is a masculine given name of French origin and a surname. The name "Gaston" may refer to: People First name *Gaston I, Count of Foix (1287–1315) * Gaston II, Count of Foix (1308–1343) *Gaston III, Count of Foix (1331–1391) *Gaston ...
,
Tintin Tintin usually refers to: * ''The Adventures of Tintin'', the comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé ** Tintin (character), the protagonist and titular character of the series Tintin or Tin Tin may also refer to: Material related to ''The A ...
,
Lucky Luke ''Lucky Luke'' is a Western (genre), Western bande dessinée, comic album series created by Belgian cartoonist Morris (cartoonist), Morris in 1946. Morris wrote and drew the series single-handedly until 1955, after which he started collaborati ...
, and
Spirou and Fantasio ''Spirou & Fantasio'' (), commonly shortened to ''Spirou'', is one of the most popular classic Franco-Belgian comics. The series, which has been running since 1938, shares many characteristics with other European comics, European humorous adventu ...
.


See also

* ''
Le Monde (; ) is a mass media in France, French daily afternoon list of newspapers in France, newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average print circulation, circulation of 480,000 copies per issue in 2022, including ...
'' * ''
Libération (), popularly known as ''Libé'' (), is a daily newspaper in France, founded in Paris by Jean-Paul Sartre and Serge July in 1973 in the wake of the protest movements of May 1968 in France, May 1968. Initially positioned on the far left of Fr ...
'' *''
Madame Figaro ''Madame Figaro'' () is a French magazine supplement to the Saturday edition of the daily newspaper , focusing on and catering to women. History and profile The first edition was published in 1980. ''Madame Figaro'' was spearheaded by Robert H ...
''


References


Further reading

* Merrill, John C. and Harold A. Fisher. ''The World's Great Dailies: Profiles of Fifty Newspapers'' (1980) pp 124–29


External links


website

digital archives from 1826 to 1952
in Gallica, the digital library of the BnF {{DEFAULTSORT:Figaro 1826 establishments in France The Carlyle Group companies Centre-right newspapers Conservative media in France Daily newspapers published in France Dassault Group French news websites Gaullism Liberal conservatism Liberal media in France Newspapers established in 1826 Newspapers published in Paris Private equity portfolio companies