''Ouest-France'' ( ; French for "West-France") is a daily French
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 ...
known for its emphasis on both local and national news. The paper is produced in 47 different editions covering events in different French
département
In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. There are a total of 101 ...
s within the
régions of
Brittany
Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...
,
Lower Normandy and
Pays de la Loire
Pays de la Loire (; but can also mean 'Lower Loire') is one of the eighteen administrative regions of France, located on the country's Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. It was created in the 1950s to serve as a zone of influence for its capital an ...
. Its readership has been unaffected by the decline of newspaper reading in France, unlike most other dailies.
With 2.5 million daily readers (and a circulation of almost 800 000 units), it is by far the most read
francophone
The Francophonie or Francophone world is the whole body of people and organisations around the world who use the French language regularly for private or public purposes. The term was coined by Onésime Reclus in 1880 and became important a ...
newspaper in the world, ahead of French national newspapers ''
Le Figaro
() 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'', ...
'' and ''
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 ...
''.
History

''Ouest-France'' was founded in 1944 by
Adolphe Le Goaziou and others following the closure of ''
Ouest-Éclair'', which was banned by Liberation forces for collaborationism during the war.
[Jean-Loup Avril, ''Mille Bretons, dictionnaire biographique'', Les Portes du Large, Saint-Jacques-de-la-Lande, 2003, ()] It is based in
Rennes
Rennes (; ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in Northwestern France at the confluence of the rivers Ille and Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the Brittany (administrative region), Brittany Regions of F ...
and
Nantes
Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...
and has a circulation about 792,400 (greater than any French national daily newspaper), mostly in
Brittany
Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...
.
Its editorial line has been strongly pro-
European integration
European integration is the process of political, legal, social, regional and economic integration of states wholly or partially in Europe, or nearby. European integration has primarily but not exclusively come about through the European Union ...
from the beginning, influenced by
Christian democracy
Christian democracy is an ideology inspired by Christian social teaching to respond to the challenges of contemporary society and politics.
Christian democracy has drawn mainly from Catholic social teaching and neo-scholasticism, as well ...
(
Popular Republican Movement
The Popular Republican Movement (, MRP) was a Christian-democratic political party in France during the Fourth Republic. Its base was the Catholic vote and its leaders included Georges Bidault, Robert Schuman, Paul Coste-Floret, Pierre-Henr ...
), now
MoDem
The Democratic Movement (, ; MoDem ) is a centre to centre-right political party in France, whose main ideological trends are liberalism and Christian democracy, and that is characterised by a strong pro-Europeanist stance. MoDem was establis ...
,
Nouveau Centre or
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 ...
(UMP). With 2.52 million readers, Ouest-France is also the leading French-language daily in the world.
The paper had a circulation of 773,471 copies in 2001 and 764,731 copies in 2002 with a market share of 14.41%. The paper had a circulation of 637,463 copies in 2020.
The distinct editions
The 47 different editions are divided among twelve départements :
See also
*
List of French newspapers
References
External links
''Ouest-France'' website
{{Authority control
1944 establishments in France
Daily newspapers published in France
Mass media in Rennes
Newspapers established in 1944