Le Monde

'
Type	Daily newspaper
Format	Berliner
Owner	Groupe Le Monde
Editor	Jean-Marie Colombani
Founded	1944
Headquarters	Bd Auguste-Blanqui 80, F-75707 Paris Cedex 13
Website: www.lemonde.fr

Le Monde (The World) is a French daily evening newspaper with a circulation in 2004 of 371,803. It is considered the French newspaper of record, and is generally well respected, often the only French newspaper easily obtainable in non-Francophone countries.

The newspaper should not be confused with the monthly publication Le Monde diplomatique, of which Le Monde has 51% ownership, but which is editorially independent.

History

Le Monde was founded by Hubert Beuve-Méry at the request of General Charles de Gaulle after the German army was driven from Paris during World War II, and took over the format of Le Temps, whose reputation had suffered during the Occupation. Beuve-Méry reportedly demanded total editorial independence as the condition for his taking on the project. Its first edition appeared on November 19, 1944. Le Monde has been available on the Internet since December 19, 1995. It is the principal publication of Groupe Le Monde.

As of 2006, its current board chairman and director of publication is Jean-Marie Colombani and the current chief editor (rédacteur en chef) is Gérard Courtois. Plantu (Jean Plantureux) is one of several political cartoonists who contribute to the paper, and his work is often featured on the front page above the fold.

Editorial Stance

In contrast with Le Figaro, which traditionally caters to the right, and Libération, which serves the far left, Le Monde is thought to be the choice of those in the center. In the past, its stance was often described as centre-left, this has become more moderate in recent years. Some critics contend that its current line is, broadly speaking, biased against Jacques Chirac. In 1981 it backed the election of Socialist François Mitterrand on the grounds that alternation of the political party in government would be beneficial to the country.

Le Monde Today

The paper's journalistic side has a collegial form of organization, in which most journalists are not only tenured, but financial stakeholders in the enterprise as well, and participate in the elections of upper management and senior executives. In contrast to other world newspapers such as The New York Times, Le Monde used to be more geared to analysis and opinion, rather than simply being a newspaper of record. Hence, it was considered less important for the paper to cover "all the news that's fit to print" (the motto of The New York Times) than to offer thoughtful interpretation of current events. Writers of lead reporting articles did not hesitate to provide commentary or venture predictions. In recent years, however, greater separation has been established between facts and opinion.

Despite its reputation for quality reporting, in their 2003 book entitled La face cachée du Monde ("The hidden face of Le Monde"), authors Pierre Péan and Philippe Cohen alleged that Colombani and the then editor Edwy Plenel had, amongst other things, shown partisan bias and engaged in financial dealings that compromised the paper's independence. It also accused the paper of dangerously damaging the authority of the French state by having revealed various political scandals (notably corruption scandals surrounding Jacques Chirac, and the sinking of a Greenpeace boat, the Rainbow Warrior, by French intelligence under President François Mitterrand). In one chapter, the authors of the book accused Colombani and Plenel of "xenophilia" and of "not liking France". This book remains controversial, but attracted much attention and media coverage in France and around the world at the time of its publication. Following a lawsuit, the authors and the publisher agreed in 2004 not to proceed to any reprinting.

After the terrorist attacks on America of September 11, 2001, Le Monde published on its front page a famous quote written by Jean-Marie Colombani, entitled "We all are Americans".

During the 2004 U.S. Presidential Election, The Economist published an article in which John F. Kerry's popularity among Europeans (allegedly based on his cosmopolitanism and leftism) was illustrated by a cartoon showing him holding a copy of Le Monde.

Recently the paper, like many other French newspapers, has faced declining readership, which many attributed to the publication of "The hidden face of 'Le Monde'".

Recent circulation history:

Year	2001	2002	2003	2004	2004-2005
Circulation	405 983	407 085	389 249	371 803	363 999

External links

• Le Monde website
• OJD

Credits

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• History of "Le Monde"

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