''Le Figaro'' () is a French daily morning

newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written 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 politics, business, sports a ...

founded in 1826. It is headquartered on

Boulevard Haussmann 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 mostly ...

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, this arrondissement is referred to as the neuvième (; "ninth"). The arrondissement, called Opéra, is loc ...

. The oldest national newspaper in France, ''Le Figaro'' is one of three French

newspapers of record A newspaper of record is a major national newspaper with large circulation whose editorial and news-gathering functions are considered authoritative and independent; they are thus "newspapers of record by reputation" and include some of the o ...

, along with ''

Le Monde ''Le Monde'' (; ) is a French daily afternoon newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average circulation of 323,039 copies per issue in 2009, about 40,000 of which were sold abroad. It has had its own website si ...

'' and ''

Libération ''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. Initially positioned on the far-left of France's ...

''. It was named after Figaro, a character in a play by polymath

Beaumarchais Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais (; 24 January 1732 – 18 May 1799) was a French polymath. At various times in his life, he was a watchmaker, inventor, playwright, musician, diplomat, spy, publisher, horticulturist, arms dealer, satirist, ...

(1732–1799); one of his lines became the paper's motto: "''Sans la liberté de blâmer, il n'est point d'éloge flatteur''" ("Without the freedom to criticise, there is no flattering praise"). With a

centre-right Centre-right politics lean to the right of the political spectrum, but are closer to the centre. From the 1780s to the 1880s, there was a shift in the Western world of social class structure and the economy, moving away from the nobility and ...

editorial line, it is the largest national newspaper in France, ahead of ''

Le Parisien ''Le Parisien'' (; French for "The Parisian") is a French daily newspaper covering both international and national news, and local news of Paris and its suburbs. It is owned by LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE, better known as LVMH. Histor ...

'' and ''

''. In 2019, the paper had an average circulation of 321,116 copies per issue. 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. Since 2012 its editor (''directeur de la rédaction'') has been Alexis Brézet. The newspaper has been owned by

Dassault Group Dassault Group (; also GIM Dassault or Groupe Industriel Marcel Dassault SAS) is a French corporate group, group of companies established in 1929 with the creation of Société des Avions Marcel Bloch (now Dassault Aviation) by Marcel Dassault, a ...

since 2004. 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 ''Le Figaro''. History and profile The magazine is the first supplement of ''Le Figaro'' n ...

'', ''

TV Magazine ''TV Magazine'' is a weekly French television listings magazine owned by Groupe Figaro. History and profile ''TV Magazine'' was started in 1987. The magazine had been published by Hachette Filipacchi until 2001 when it began to be published Q ...

'' and ''Evene''.

History

''Le Figaro'' was founded as a satirical weekly in 1826, taking its name and

motto A motto (derived from the Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of an individual, family, social group, or organisation. Mot ...

from ''

Le Mariage de Figaro ''The Marriage of Figaro'' (french: link=no, La Folle Journée, ou Le Mariage de Figaro ("The Mad Day, or The Marriage of Figaro")) is a comedy in five acts, written in 1778 by Pierre Beaumarchais. This play is the second in the Figaro trilogy, ...

'', the 1778 play by

Pierre Beaumarchais Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais (; 24 January 1732 – 18 May 1799) was a French polymath. At various times in his life, he was a watchmaker, inventor, playwright, musician, diplomat, spy, publisher, horticulturist, arms dealer, satirist, ...

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 the ...

fought a duel with a Colonel Gallois, who was offended by an article in ''Le Figaro'', and was wounded but recovered. Albert Wolff,

Émile Zola Émile Édouard Charles Antoine Zola (, also , ; 2 April 184029 September 1902) was a French novelist, journalist, playwright, the best-known practitioner of the literary school of naturalism, and an important contributor to the development of ...

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 C ...

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 rem ...

, and

Jules Claretie Jules is the French form of the Latin "Julius" (e.g. Jules César, the French name for Julius Caesar). It is the given name of: People with the name *Jules Aarons (1921–2008), American space physicist and photographer * Jules Abadie (1876–19 ...

were among the paper's early contributors. It was published somewhat irregularly until 1854, when it was taken over by

Hippolyte de Villemessant Jean Hippolyte Auguste Delaunay de Villemessant (22 April 1810, Rouen – 12 April 1879, Monte-Carlo) was a conservative French journalist. Life The son of colonel Pierre Cartier and of Augustine Louise Renée Françoise de Launay de Vill ...

. In 1866, ''Le Figaro'' 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 Pauline Savari (born 10 January 1859 at Viarmes; died 10 January 1907 at Auteuil), was a French novelist, dramatist, journalist, stage actress, opera singer and feminist. Personal life Savari married Louis Étienne Baudier de Royaumont (185 ...

was among the contributors to the paper at this time. On 20 February 1909 ''Le Figaro'' 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 d ...

which initiated the establishment of

Futurism Futurism ( it, Futurismo, link=no) was an 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 ...

in art. On 16 March 1914,

Gaston Calmette Gaston Calmette (30 July 1858 – 16 March 1914) was a French journalist and newspaper editor, whose death was the subject of a notable murder trial. Biography Calmette was born in Montpellier. He was educated at Nice, Bordeaux, Clermont-Ferr ...

, the editor of ''Le Figaro'', was assassinated by

Henriette Caillaux Henriette Caillaux (5 December 1874 – 29 January 1943) was a Parisian socialite and second wife of the former Prime Minister of France, Joseph Caillaux. On March 16, 1914, she shot and killed Gaston Calmette, editor of the newspaper ''Le Figa ...

, the wife of

Finance Minister A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

Joseph Caillaux Joseph-Marie–Auguste Caillaux (; 30 March 1863 Le Mans – 22 November 1944 Mamers) was a French politician of the Third Republic. He was a leader of the French Radical Party and Minister of Finance, but his progressive views in opposition ...

, after he published a letter that cast serious doubt on her husband's integrity. In 1922, ''Le Figaro'' was purchased by perfume millionaire

François Coty François Coty (born Joseph Marie François Spoturno in Corsica ; 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 perfume company, today a ...

Abel Faivre 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 attende ...

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, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, ''Le Figaro'' 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 strat ...

, and continues to maintain a conservative position. In 1975, ''Le Figaro'' 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 conservative ...

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 is a multinational private equity, alternative asset management and financial services corporation based in the United States with $376 billion of assets under management. It specializes in private equity, real assets, and pri ...

obtained a 40% stake in the paper, which it later sold in March 2002. Since March 2004, ''Le Figaro'' has been controlled by

Serge Dassault Serge Dassault (; born Serge Paul André Bloch; 4 April 1925 – 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, 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. Early life and education Born on 23 January 1892 in Paris, he was the young ...

(1892–1986). Dassault owns 80% of the paper, by way of its media subsidiary

. In 2006, ''Le Figaro'' was banned in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

and

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

for publishing articles allegedly insulting

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

. ''Le Figaro'' 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'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' 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 ''Le Figaro'' website. The section ended in 2012. In the 2010s, ''Le Figaro'' saw future presidential candidate

Éric Zemmour Éric Justin Léon Zemmour (; born 31 August 1958) is a French far-right politician, essayist, writer and former political journalist and pundit. He was an editor and panelist on ''Face à l'Info'', a daily show broadcast on CNews, from 2019 to ...

'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:Logo du Figaro 1920.png, Logo since the 1920s

Editorial stance and controversies

''Le Figaro'' has traditionally held a

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

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

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 (french: link=no, Union pour un mouvement populaire, ; UMP, ) was a centre-right political party in France that was one of the two major contemporary political parties in France along with the centre-left Social ...

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 an ...

served as a member of the

French National Assembly The National Assembly (french: link=no, italics=set, Assemblée nationale; ) is the lower house of the bicameral French Parliament under the Fifth Republic, the upper house being the Senate (). The National Assembly's legislators are known a ...

. Dassault has remarked in an interview in 2004 on the public radio station

France Inter France Inter () is a major French public radio channel and part of Radio France. It is a " generalist" station, aiming to provide a wide national audience with a full service of news and spoken-word programming, both serious and entertaining, li ...

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 ''Le Figaro'' into the "bulletin" of the governing party, the

, 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. Born in Paris, he is of Hungarian, Greek Jewish, and French origin. Mayor of Neuilly-sur-Se ...

. They requested more pluralism and "honesty" and accused the paper of one-sided political reporting. Mougeotte had previously said that ''Le Figaro'' would do nothing to embarrass the government and the right."Présidentielle : les journalistes du Figaro réclament un journal plus « honnête »"

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, forme ...

, 9 February 2012 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 ''

''s 451,159 copies.

References

External links

''Le Figaro'' website

''Le Figaro'' digital archives from 1826 to 1942
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