DAILY NEWSPAPERS: FIRST IN A SERIES ON THE FRENCH MEDIA

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 PARIS 007251 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR/PPD, EUR/WE, INR, R E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL KPAO OPRC FR SUBJECT: DAILY NEWSPAPERS: FIRST IN A SERIES ON THE FRENCH MEDIA PARIS 00007251 001.2 OF 004 Sensitive but unclassified. Please protect accordingly. -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (SBU) Embassy Paris has been reviewing and recalibrating its media strategy for the 2006-2007 to determine the appropriate attention to keep on traditional print media while pivoting to expand our efforts with radio and TV media, as well as with the new Internet media. This analysis of French daily print press is the first in a series of cables analyzing the particularities of the French media environment. Future cables will examine France's influential news weeklies, its broadcast media, and the dynamic French blogo-sphere. ¶2. (U) Today's French daily print press scene is characterized by illustrious national mastheads (Le Monde, Le Figaro, Liberation) losing money and readership as they are challenged by increasingly credible upstarts. There also remains a powerful regional print press network, mostly controlled by old newspaper families. Embassy Paris maintains its own contacts with the regional press -- whose leadership gathers in Paris at least quarterly -- but we coordinate most of our regional outreach efforts through the two Consulates and five American Presence Posts. ¶3. (U) Lively and competitive print media still exercise significant influence on French public opinion, despite a lasting and serious crisis affecting the traditional daily newspapers. Twenty-seven national dailies of general interest were available in France before World War II; only six are still available today. Some still exist thanks only to financial help from the French state, others because of private investment. Since 2004 there has been growing French interest in free daily publications such as "20 Minutes" and "Metro" (in the morning) and, more recently, "Direct Soir" (in the evening). Seventy-five percent of the French people reading one of these free newspapers do not and would not buy and read any other daily publication. ¶4. (U) In terms of reach, radio and television are the main French sources of news. The French spend an average of 3 hours 40 minutes per day watching television (versus only 35 minutes spent reading the press). Nevertheless, there are 75 daily titles across France (national and regional),served by 5,000 journalists, and read by more than 18 million readers. End Summary. -------------- LE MONDE, CIRCULATION 372,310 -------------- ¶5. (U) France's newspaper of record, Le Monde is considered one of the great papers in Europe. Influential in government, business and intellectual circles, the editorial line is left-of-center. Although Le Monde has traditionally been critical of the United States, the paper adopted a more balanced approach on 9/11 when director Jean-Marie Colombani wrote the famous front-page headline "We Are All Americans." Despite Le Monde's critical assessment of American foreign policy since the beginning of the war in Iraq, it has been more moderate since the departure of controversial deputy director Edwy Plenel in December 2004. ¶6. (U) The brainchild of General Charles de Gaulle, who wanted to give France a daily newspaper during the war, Le Monde was founded in December 1944 by Hubert Beuve-Mery. The paper's current CEO is Jean-Marie Colombani, with the paper owned by the joint-stock company La Vie-Le Monde. La Vie-Le Monde publishes 43 press titles, including magazines such as: Courrier International, Telerama, Notre Histoire, Top Famille Magazine, and La Vie. ¶7. (U) As most French dailies, Le Monde suffers from a decline in readership and advertising revenue. The paper launched a new formula on November 7, 2005, which divided it into three sections, gave images more importance, and attempted to develop a certain intimacy with the reader. ¶8. (SBU) In addition to Colombani's occasional in-depth political analysis, the most influential editorialists and journalists are News Director Gerard Courtois, co-deputy news directors Patrick Jarreau, Franck Nouchi and Alain Frachon(also in charge of Le Monde 2),international relations director Daniel Vernet, Sylvain Cypel (in charge of Focus),and Nathalie Nougayrede (foreign correspondent). U.S.-based correspondents are Corine Lesnes (Washington),and Eric Leser (New York). ¶9. (U) Le Monde group's other holdings include Le Monde de l'education, Le Monde des religions, Le Monde diplomatique and Le Monde 2. Le Monde 2, Le Monde's weekly supplement launched in 2002 and published every Saturday, continues to have difficulties making PARIS 00007251 002.2 OF 004 a name for itself among the other weekly publications. -------------- LE FIGARO, CIRCULATION 343,594 -------------- ¶10. (U) Le Figaro is France's oldest national daily. Founded in 1826, Le Figaro has counted among its contributors writers such as Alexandre Dumas, Edmond and Jules Goncourt, Emile Zola (during the Dreyfus Affair),Tristan Bernard, Andre Maurois, Paul Claudel and Colette. Socpresse S.A. currently owns Le Figaro. The paper's editorial line is right-of-center and usually supportive of President Chirac's administration. ¶11. (SBU) In addition to Le Figaro, Socpresse S.A. also owns 65 percent of the news weekly publications Figaro Magazine, Madame Figaro, TV Magazine, Version Femina. The most influential editorialists and journalists are news director Nicolas Beytout, Alexandre Adler, Michel Schiffres, Alain-Gerard Slama, Pierre Rousselin, Luc de Barochez and international affairs correspondent Renaud Girard. The Washington correspondent is Philippe Gelie, and Guillaume Faure also frequently writes from DC or New York. -------------- LIBERATION, CIRCULATION 142,198 -------------- ¶12. (U) Liberation is moderately left-wing and pro-socialist. Jean-Paul Sartre founded Liberation in 1973. Despite having lower circulation than either Le Monde or Le Figaro, Liberation is the paper of reference in leftist intellectual circles. "Libe," as it is affectionately called, is facing a serious financial crisis due to a decline in readership. ¶13. (U) Since 2004, the newspaper has been run by a joint stock company headed by Edouard de Rothschild, Liberation employees, the movie company Pathe, the British risk capital company 3i, and a number of additional long-term shareholders. Vittorio de Filippis is currently the acting publication director. ¶14. (SBU) Liberation's most influential editorialists and journalists include Gerard Dupuy, Jean-Michel Thenard, and recently-arrived deputy news director and editorialist Pierre Haski. U.S.-based correspondents are Philippe Grangereau in Washington and Laurent Mauriac in New York. -------------- LES ECHOS, CIRCULATION 142,966 -------------- ¶15. (U) Focusing on economic and financial news, Les Echos has been in the Pearson Group's portfolio of international newspapers since ¶1988. (Note: The Pearson Group also prints the Financial Times. End Note.) In addition to the daily, the Les Echos Groupe (Pearson Group's French subsidiary company) also publishes the monthly economic magazine Enjeux-Les Echos (circulation 142,487). In 1996, Les Echos was the first national daily to launch a Web site. -------------- LA TRIBUNE, CIRCULATION 92,535 -------------- ¶16. (U) La Tribune is owned by the Desfosse International group (D.I.),the media subsidiary of world leader of luxury products L.V.M.H. (Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton). D.I. also owns Investir, Le Monde de la Musique, and Radio Classique. -------------- LE PARISIEN, CIRCULATION 345,082 -------------- ¶17. (U) Le Parisien/Aujourd'hui en France, a regional daily paper, was founded in 1944 by Emilien Amaury under the title Le Parisien Libere. His son changed the name in 1985 upon becoming the paper's director. He created the national Aujourd'hui en France (circulation 161,408). In addition to Le Parisien and Aujourd'hui en France, the Amaury family and the Hachette group also owns three popular sports publications: L'Equipe (circulation 357,731),France Football, and Velo magazine. ¶18. (SBU) Under Editorial Director Christian Villaneuve, Le Parisien has self-consciously positioned itself as the "USA Today" of France. It publishes no editorials per se, nor does it normally accept op-ed contributions. The notable exception was Le Parisien's decision to publish President George Bush's January 2005 op-ed about U.S. tsunami assistance efforts. -------------- PARIS 00007251 003.2 OF 004 LA CROIX, CIRCULATION 102,022 -------------- ¶19. (U) Catholic La Croix is part of the Bayard Press group that includes newspapers, magazines and books directed to an audience ranging from children to seniors. Bayard Press group claims 27 percent of the children's press market share (the most popular titles include Popi, Pomme d'Api, as well as Les Belles Histoires de Pomme d'Api). They also have a wide range of teen press, including Okapi, Je Bouquine, Phosphore. ¶20. (SBU) La Croix was founded in 1883 by the Augustines of the Assumption who still own the paper within the Bayard Press group. The most influential editorialists and journalists there are director and political analyst Dominique Quinio, political analyst Francois Ernenwein, foreign editor Jean-Christophe Ploquin, and international reporters Francois d'Alancon and Gilles Biassette. -------------- L'HUMANITE, CIRCULATION 54,083 -------------- ¶21. (SBU) The French communist party's national daily continues to command a loyal readership among its members, but with little influence beyond the party faithful. -------------- FREE PAPERS SNAGGING READERS -------------- ¶22. (SBU) In recent years, two free daily newspapers, 20 Minutes (circulation 695,998) and Metro (circulation 519,028),have become serious challengers to the traditional press. 20 Minutes' news director is former U.S.-based Liberation correspondent Frederic Filloux. Metro's news director is Jennifer Galle. The papers publish little in the way of original reporting, deferring to the wire services for much of the substantive reportage. ¶23. (U) In France, the free daily press represents a significant 36 percent of the daily national newspaper market. Both 20 Minutes and Metro have editions in the regional capital cities Bordeaux, Lille, Lyon, Marseille, Nantes, Strasbourg, as well as Toulouse. ¶24. (U) Direct Soir is a third free publication, published in the evening in 15 French cities (circulation 500,000). Launched on June 6, 2005, Direct Soir is owned by Vincent Bollore. -------------- REGIONAL DAILY PRESS -- WHERE THE ACTION IS -------------- ¶25. (U) With more than 400 titles and a total circulation exceeding 2.5 billion copies per year, the regional daily press includes some of the most-widely circulated dailies in France. Readership is slowly declining, however, as the traditional readership base ages. ¶26. (U) Ouest-France, which covers most of western France, tops all French newspapers with a circulation of 781,803. Other influential regional titles include Le Progres (circulation 241,754) in the Lyon area, Sud-Ouest (circulation 323,542) in the Bordeaux area, La Voix du Nord (circulation 303,621) in the Lille area, La Nouvelle Republique du Centre-Ouest (circulation 232,709) in the Tours area, La Depeche du Midi (circulation 201,805) in the Toulouse area, La Montagne (circulation 207,202) in the Clermont-Ferrand area, Les Dernieres Nouvelles d'Alsace (circulation 193,994) in the Strasbourg area, La Provence (circulation 163,112) in the Marseille area, and Nice-Matin (circulation 125,182) in the Nice area. -------------- OUEST-FRANCE, CIRCULATION 781,803 -------------- ¶27. (U) Paul Hutin-Degrees launched Ouest-France on August 7, 1944, following Charles de Gaulle's call to revive the French free press. The paper has developed into the number one daily in France in terms of circulation and enjoys a solid reputation. Francois-Regis Hutin (son of the late founder) has managed the paper since 1965. ¶28. (U) Headquartered in Rennes, Ouest-France has offices in several French departments reporting local news. The paper maintains 63 local offices, 545 journalists, 2635 correspondents, and 42 different daily editions in Bretagne, Pays-de-la-Loire and Basse-Normandie, as well as a significant presence in Paris, where ten journalists cover national and international events. The paper's foreign editor, Joseph Limagne, is based in Paris. Additionaly, Ouest-France holds 25 percent of the shares of the free daily newspaper 20 Minutes. PARIS 00007251 004.2 OF 004 -------------- AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE -------------- ¶29. (U) Agence France-Presse (AFP) is the oldest of the world's three major wire services, founded in 1835 by banker Charles-Louis Havas. With more than 2,000 employees worldwide, including 1,100 journalists and 150 photographers in 165 countries, AFP produces 400,000 to 600,000 words, 1,000 photos and 50 news graphics per day. Its reporters work in French, English, Spanish, Arabic, Portuguese and German. Within France, AFP has bureaus in seven regional capital cities, Bordeaux, Lille, Lyon, Marseille, Rennes, Strasbourg, and Toulouse. In the U.S., AFP has bureaus in Washington DC, Los Angeles, New York, The United Nations (NY), Chicago, Miami, and San Francisco. --- IHT --- ¶30. (U) Paris is home to a wide variety of international media as well, the best-known being The International Herald Tribune, which has a circulation of 24,858 in France. STAPLETON