''Le Rénovateur'' is the only

French-language French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. Like all other Romance languages, it descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. French evolved from Northern Old Gallo-Romance, a descendant of the Latin spoken in ...

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 ...

in the Lao PDR (

Laos Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...

). It is published weekly by the ''Lao Press in Foreign Languages'', which is a specialised agency of the Ministry of Information and Culture It was started in 1998 after the

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

government decided to start a new policy in order to open the country. It was helped in the beginning by the Agence intergouvernementale de la Francophonie, an international organisation that promotes the French language, especially in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

and in

South-East Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Australian mainland, which is part of Oceania. Southeast Asia i ...

. Its first editor-in-chief was Douangta Manokoun, with the support of a French advisor, Michel Leroy. Since the newspaper's 200th edition, FrancoNet Canada has helped it to publish on-line. The French Cultural Center of

Vientiane Vientiane (, ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of Laos. Situated on the banks of the Mekong, Mekong River at the Thailand, Thai border, it comprises the five urban districts of Vientiane Prefecture and had a population of 840,000 ...

pays someone to correct the articles written by Laotian

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

s. ''Le Rénovateur'' is sometimes described as a

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded l ...

newspaper by the opposition living abroad. In 2003, ''Le Rénovateur'' published an interview with Mr Phivath, the lawyer of Thierry Falise and Vincent Reynaud,

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an journalists arrested because they were investigating reports of the war between the Laotian Army and the country's

Hmong Hmong may refer to: * Hmong people, an ethnic group living mainly in Southwest China, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand * Hmong cuisine * Hmong customs and culture ** Hmong music ** Hmong textile art * Hmong language, a continuum of closely related ...

tribespeople in the jungle of Saysomboun special zone. The interviews were censored, but received the ''

Prix de la libre expression Prix was an American power pop band formed in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1975 by Tommy Hoehn and Jon Tiven. The group ended up primarily as a studio project. Its recordings were produced by Tiven along with former Big Star member Chris Bell, who al ...

'' (Free-Speech Prize), given by the

Union de la Presse Francophone The International Francophone Press Union (, UPF) is a Francophone association of journalists. Founded in 1950, it is the world's oldest Francophone organisation, and has more than 3,000 members in 110 countries. History The association was fou ...

. Also in 2003, ''Le Rénovateur'' published stories about working in garment

sweat shop A sweatshop or sweat factory is a cramped workplace with very poor and/or illegal working conditions, including little to no breaks, inadequate work space, insufficient lighting and ventilation, or uncomfortably or dangerously high or low temperat ...

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governmen ...

at the beginning of the socialist revolution, and the difficulties of being

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

in Vientiane. Created by Soumsanouk Mixay, the newspaper was taken over Savankhone Razmountry in 2003.

References

External links

Renovateur'' Web page
Newspapers published in Laos French-language newspapers published in Asia Newspapers established in 1998 {{Laos-newspaper-stub

See also

References

External links