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| Type | Daily newspaper (since 16 November 1866) |
|---|---|
| Format | Berliner |
| Owner | Groupe Figaro (Dassault Group) |
| Editor | Alexis Brézet[1] |
| Founded | 15 January 1826; 199 years ago (1826-01-15) |
| Political alignment | |
| Language | French |
| Headquarters | 14Boulevard Haussmann 75009 Paris |
| Country | France |
| Circulation | 354,853 (total, 2022)[7] 84,000 (digital, 2018)[8] |
| ISSN | 0182-5852 (print) 1638-606X (web) |
| OCLC number | 473539292 |
| Website | www |
Le Figaro (French:[ləfiɡaʁo]ⓘ) is a French daily morningnewspaper founded in 1826. It was named after Figaro, a character in several plays bypolymathBeaumarchais (1732–1799):Le Barbier de Séville,La Mère coupable, and theeponymousLe 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,[9]Le Figaro is considered a Frenchnewspaper of record,[10] along withLe Monde andLibération.[11] Since 2004, the newspaper has been owned byDassault Group. Its editorial director has been Alexis Brézet since 2012.[12]Le Figaro is the second-largest national newspaper in France, afterLe Monde.[13] It has acentre-right editorial stance and is headquartered onBoulevard Haussmann in the9th arrondissement of Paris.[11] OtherGroupe Figaro publications includeLe Figaro Magazine,TV Magazine andEvene. The paper is published inBerliner format.
Le Figaro was founded as a satirical weekly in 1826,[14][15] taking its name andmotto fromLe Mariage de Figaro, the 1778 play byPierre Beaumarchais 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, editorNestor Roqueplan fought a duel with a Colonel Gallois, who was offended by an article inLe Figaro, and was wounded but recovered.[16]Albert Wolff,Émile Zola,Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr,Théophile Gautier, andJules Arsène Arnaud Claretie were among the paper's early contributors. It was published somewhat irregularly until 1854, when it was taken over byHippolyte de Villemessant.
In 1866,Le Figaro became a daily newspaper.[17] 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.[18]Pauline Savari was among the contributors to the paper at this time.[citation needed]
On 20 February 1909Le Figaro published a manifesto signed byFilippo Tommaso Marinetti which initiated the establishment ofFuturism in art.[19]
On 16 March 1914,Gaston Calmette, the editor ofLe Figaro, was assassinated byHenriette Caillaux, the wife ofFinance MinisterJoseph Caillaux, after he published a letter that cast serious doubt on her husband's integrity.[20] In 1922,Le Figaro was purchased by perfume millionaireFrançois Coty.[21]Abel Faivre did cartoons for the paper.[22] Coty enraged many in March 1929 when he renamed the paper simplyFigaro, which it remained until 1933.[23]
By the start ofWorld War II,Le Figaro had become France's leading newspaper. After the war, it became the voice of theupper middle class, and continues to maintain a conservative position.[citation needed]
In 1975,Le Figaro was bought byRobert Hersant'sSocpresse. In 1999,The Carlyle Group obtained a 40% stake in the paper, which it later sold in March 2002. Since March 2004,Le Figaro has been controlled bySerge Dassault,[14] a conservative businessman and politician best known for running the aircraft manufacturerDassault Aviation, which he inherited from his father, its founder,Marcel Dassault (1892–1986). Dassault owns 80% of the paper, by way of its media subsidiaryGroupe Figaro.[14]
Franz-Olivier Giesbert was editorial director ofLe Figaro from 1998 to 2000.[24]
In 2006,Le Figaro was banned inEgypt andTunisia for publishing articles allegedly insultingIslam.[25][26]
Le Figaro switched to Berliner format in 2009.[27] The paper has publishedThe New York Times International Weekly on Friday since 2009, an 8-page supplement featuring a selection of articles fromThe New York Times translated into French. In 2010, Lefigaro.fr created a section called Le Figaro in English,[28] which provides the global English-speaking community with daily original or translated content fromLe Figaro's website. The section ended in 2012.[29]
In the 2010s,Le Figaro saw future presidential candidateÉric Zemmour's columns garner great interest among readers that would later serve to launch his political career.[30]
Le Figaro has traditionally held aconservative editorial stance, becoming the voice of the French upper and middle classes.[12] More recently, the newspaper's political stance has become more extreme -right. Fir instance there are censure on fournalist when they write about RN:there are not allowed to say that RN is far-right (extreme droite), despite the official classification.[citation needed]
The newspaper's ownership bySerge Dassault 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 theUnion for a Popular Movement party. His sonOlivier Dassault served as a member of theFrench National Assembly.[31] Dassault has remarked in an interview in 2004 on the public radio stationFrance Inter that "newspapers must promulgate healthy ideas" and that "left-wing ideas are not healthy ideas."[32]
In February 2012, a general assembly of the newspaper's journalists adopted a motion accusing the paper's managing editor,Étienne Mougeotte, of having madeLe Figaro into the "bulletin" of the governing party, theUnion for a Popular Movement, of the government and of PresidentNicolas Sarkozy. They requested more pluralism and "honesty" and accused the paper of one-sided political reporting. Mougeotte had previously said thatLe Figaro would do nothing to embarrass the government and the right.[33][34][35] 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!"[36]
In the period of 1995–96, the paper had a circulation of 391,533 copies, behindLe Parisien's 451,159 copies.[37]
| Year | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Circulation | 366,690 | 360,909 | 366,529 | 369,108 | 369,706 | 365,083 | 337,118 | 332,818 | 338,618 | 330,482 | 323,991 | 325,509 |
| Year | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Circulation | 329,367 | 330,952 | 324,170 | 320,732 | 317,152 | 311,127 | 312,994 | 313,694 | 329,462 | 331,927 |
Le Figaro formed theGroupe Figaro (a subsidiary of theMarcel Dassault Industrial Group). The former company,Socpresse, which was dismantled in 2005, officially became Dassault Media (Figaro Group) in 2011.[38]
The newspaper was accompanied by two daily supplements:Le Figaro Économie, since 1984, printed onsalmon-colored paper, andLe Figaro et vous, since 2005, dedicated to culture and lifestyle.
Additionally:
Type of site | Online newspaper |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1999 |
| Headquarters | Paris,Île-de-France, France |
| Owner | Le Figaro |
| URL | lefigaro.fr |
The online newspaper's address has beenlefigaro.fr since 1999.
In January 2010,lefigaro.fr introduced features reserved for subscribers.[42] 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.[43][44]
In 2008,Le Figaro became the leading news site on the Internet according to Internet audience data published byNielsenMédiamétrie/NetRatings.[45] On 17 November 2011, the site was awarded the title of "Best Mobile Media" for the second time at the 2011 Mobile Internet Trophies.[46] In 2013, it was still ranked as the leading French online press site in France.[47] In November of the same year, it broke the record of 11 million unique visitors on a French news website.[48]
On 13 April 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 fromLe 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.[49]
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.[50] In 2019, it was among the 50 most visited sites in France[51] and had 130,000 digital subscribers.[52] The milestone of 200,000 website subscribers was reached in November 2020.[53]
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.[54] In July 2021, theNational Commission on Informatics and Liberty finedLe Figaro €50,000 for installing third-partycookies without users' consent, in violation of theGDPR.[55]
FigaroVox is an online section offigaro.fr created in 2014 byAlexis Brézet, a former journalist atValeurs actuelles (from 1987 to 2000),[56] "holding a very right-wing line",[57] on the advice ofPatrick Buisson,[58] a figure associated with Nicolas Sarkozy's shift to the far-right in 2012.[56] FigaroVox was an extension of the "debates and opinions" pages of the print daily onInternet;[59] appearing on the homepage of Figaro's website, FigaroVox articles accentuated the political character of the daily.[56] The journalists contributing to FigaroVox were positioned at the crossroads of the right, practicing Catholicism, and the "new reactionaries".[60] FigaroVox was led byVincent Trémolet de Villers, who co-authored a book onLa Manif pour tous (And France Awoke. An Investigation into the Revolution of Values).[56] It was edited by Alexandre Devecchio, a former journalist for the siteAtlantico.[56] Its contributors includedMaxime Tandonnet, a former advisor on immigration to Nicolas Sarkozy, andGilles-William Goldnadel, an attorney forPatrick Buisson.[56]
FigaroVox's preferred themes were "the decline of the republican school, poorly controlledimmigration, andIslam as the primary threat to national identity".[57]
SociologistPhilippe Corcuff considered FigaroVox an "ultraconservative" section.[61] SociologistJean-Louis Schlegel of the magazineEsprit described it as a platform for "the right of the right", akin toCauseur orValeurs actuelles.[62] Political scientist Eszter Petronella suggested that FigaroVox allowedLe 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.[63] Nolwenn Le Blevennec ofRue89 described it as a "platform for the hard-right ofLe Figaro".[57] Information science specialist Aurélie Olivesi noted the proximity between the "polemical site" FigaroVox and the magazineCauseur, with some journalists having worked for both media.[64] According toCauseur, the section opened its doors to authors from both the left and the right.[59] According to Nolwenn Le Blevennec, however, FigaroVox was haunted by an "identitarian obsession," exhibited anultra-conservative andsovereigntist editorial line, and remained a platform where "one could read theNational Front in the text, or linkIslam andDaesh". Left-wing figures, such as Gaël Brustier,Jean-Luc Mélenchon, and Thomas Guénolé,[59] were invited "sometimes"[57] or more regularly likeLaurent Bouvet.[65]Éric Zemmour andAlain Finkielkraut were very appreciated there.[57] According toL'Express, 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 criticizeglobalization.[66]
Since 2019, the section has been headed byGuillaume Perrault; Alexandre Devecchio, whomLe Monde associates with the far-right,[67] was its deputy editor. In 2020, the section had six regular columnists, Bertille Bayart,Nicolas Baverez,Renaud Girard,Mathieu Bock-Côté,Luc Ferry,Ivan Rioufol, along with guest contributors.[59]
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.[68] In May 2007,Le Figaro purchased the cultural site evene.fr, which quickly found synergies withLe Figaroscope,[69] and then in June 2007, the ticketing service Ticketac.com was acquired by the group.[70] In 2008, the group took over the company Météo Consult, which includedLa Chaîne Météo,[71] 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 18 May 2009, it purchased Particulier et Finances Éditions, which includedLe Particulier,Le Particulier pratique,Le Particulier Immobilier, andLa Lettre des Placements, as well as about thirty practical guides and the site leparticulier.fr.[71] In September 2010, it took over Adenclassifieds, following a friendlytakeover bid; the subsidiary became Figaro Classifieds,[72] which included Cadremploi, Keljob.com, kelformation, kelstage, kelsalaire.net, CVmail, Explorimmo, CadresOnline, OpenMedia, Seminus, Microcode, achat-terrain.com.[73] The sites achat-terrain.com and constructeurs-maisons.com, created in 2005, were acquired in September 2012.[74]Campus-Channel, a video platform for students launched in 2011, was acquired by Figaro Classifieds in June 2014.[75] In 2015,[76] CCM Benchmark Group was fully acquired, including leading websites likeL'Internaute,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).[77]
Le Figaro sponsored the sailing race, theSolitaire du Figaro, since its creation in 1970.[citation needed]
The newspaper and theCenter for Political Research at Sciences Po (CEVIPOF) presented their "Political Studies."Le Figaro replacedLe Monde as a partner of the programLe Grand Jury in September 2006.[citation needed]
The newspaper has maintained partnerships with Chinesestate media. Until 2020,Le Figaro published inserts fromChina Daily. In April 2025, it agreed to strengthen "communication and coordination" withXinhua News Agency.[78]
In partnership withDargaud Benelux, the newspaper launched in 2010 a 20-volume collection ofXIII in a "prestige" edition[79] and a pre-publication of the latest volumes of the series throughout the summer of the same year inLe Figaro Magazine. Additionally, the daily also offered a selection of comic books, fromLargo Winch toBlake and Mortimer toGaston,Tintin,Lucky Luke, andSpirou and Fantasio.[citation needed]
Two newer stars on the French right are Renaud Camus, author of Le Grand Remplacement (The Great Replacement) and Éric Zemmour, an observant Jew of Algerian provenance who wrote for the centre-rightLe Figaro.
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