List of newspapers in France

Below is a list of newspapers in France.

Evolution in circulation, 1999-2011
Evolution in circulation, 1999-2011

National

Daily

Newspaper Logo Founded Circulation Chief Editor Ideology Political Position
La Croix 15 June 1883 87 682 (2019) Jérôme Chapuis, Anne-Bénédicte Hoffner Christian Democracy Centre-Right
Les Échos 1908 132 210 (2019) Neo-Liberalism, Liberalism Centre-Right
Le Figaro 15 January 1826 350 397 (2021) Robert Mergui Liberal Conservatism, Gaullism, Conservatism Centre-Right
L'Humanité 18 April 1904 36 347 (2019) Fabien Gay Socialism, Communism Left-Wing
Libération 18 April 1973 91 833 (2021) Don Alfon Socialism, Social Democracy Left-Wing
Le Monde 1944 323 565 (2019) Jérôme Fenoglio Social Liberalism, Social Democracy Centre-Left
Online newspapers
Free newspapers

Weekly

Monthly

Every four years

Presse quotidienne nationale française

Presse quotidienne nationale française is a group of eighteen paid-for French daily newspapers, of which six have circulations in excess of 100,000, and four free newspapers, which have a much larger circulation: not only is the paid-for press more expensive, but there are fewer outlets from which to buy newspapers. In recent years many newsstands and newsagents in Paris that sold newspapers have closed, and customers would need to travel far to get some titles.

Name Founded Founder Replaced/merged Group Major shareholders Circulation (2013) Remarks
Le Parisien / Aujourd'hui en France 22 August 1944 Émilien Amaury Le Parisien Libéré Groupe Amaury 411,003 Quality general and popular paper. Centre-left politics. Circulation figures for Le Parisien and 'Aujourd'hui en France are combined here.
Le Figaro Weekly: 15 January 1826
Daily: 1866 		Étienne Arago and Maurice Alhoy L'Aurore Socpresse Groupe Industriel Marcel Dassault (Serge Dassault) 317,225 General newspaper, right-wing politics.
Le Monde 18 December 1944 Hubert Beuve-Méry Le Temps Groupe Le Monde Pierre Bergé, Matthieu Pigasse, Xavier Niel 275,310 Known as the "journal of reference". Politically independent, it often leans to centre-left views. Le Monde is the only evening newspaper in this list.
L'Équipe (general edition) 28 February 1946 Jacques Goddet L'Auto Groupe Amaury 243,580 Sports newspaper
Les Échos Monthly: 1908
Daily: 1928 		Émile Servan-Schreiber Les Échos de l’Exportation DI Group LVMH (Bernard Arnault) 123,636 Primarily financial. Takes a liberal-conservative editorial stance, leaning to the right.
Libération 22 May 1973 Jean-Paul Sartre and Serge July SARL Libération Patrick Drahi and Bruno Ledoux 101,616 Left-wing newspaper, aligned with the Parti socialiste.
La Croix 1883 Assumptionist Bayard Presse 94,673 Roman-Catholic newspaper and centre-right conservative.
Le Petit Quotidien 1998 Play Bac Presse Play Bac Presse 53,807 For 6- to 10-year-olds.
Mon quotidien 1995 Play Bac Presse Play Bac Presse 47,358 For 10- to 14-year-olds.
Paris Turf 1946 Turf Éditions 41,393 Horse racing.
L'Humanité 18 April 1904 Jean Jaurès Société nouvelle du journal l'Humanité 40,562 Organ of the French Communist Party from 1920 to 1994; it remains close but has flirted with other left-wing bodies.
Paris Courses 1994 Jean Claude Seroul Turf Éditions 20,653 Horse racing.
International New York Times 1887 James Gordon Bennett, Jr. New York Herald Tribune New York Times Company 17,167 English language newspaper.
Tiercé Magazine 1978 Jean Claude Seroul Turf Éditions 13,952 Horse racing.
Week End 1962 Leo Zitrone Turf Éditions 13,859
La Gazette des Courses 13,847 Horse racing.
Bilto 1985 Les Editions de la Bulle Turf Éditions 10,405

Free

Free newspapers are distributed from newsstands and traditional newsagent's shops at the entrances of metro stations and other public places.

Morning

  • 20 minutes: Schibsted, a Norwegian group, launched this in France at the start of 2002. It has a circulation of 870,000 in France (over 8 editions) of which 510,000 is in Paris. With 2,160 million readers, 20 Minutes is the largest general-readership newspaper in France.
  • Metronews: Circulation of over 800,000.
  • Direct Matin: Published by a partnership of Bolloré and Le Monde. It produces its own content, and also republishes articles from Le Monde and Courrier international.

Evening

  • Direct Soir: Published by Bolloré between 2006 and 2010. The group also publish the morning free newspaperMatinPlus in partnership with the press group La Vie-Le Monde.

21st century

The storm of new free titles, together with the expansion of Internet use and the closure of so many points of sale, a turndown in advertising revenue after the World financial crisis of 2007, the high cost of printing and other phenomena significantly affected the print media, especially dailies, which underwent a severe crisis.

English-language

Regional

Daily

Weekly

Biweekly

Monthly

Bimonthly

Quarterly

  • L'Anjou
  • La Galipote (Auvergne)
  • Le Berry
  • Le Journal de la Sologne (Centre-Val de Loire)
  • Les Saisons d'Alsace (Alsace)
  • Le Magazine de la Touraine
  • Massif Central (newspaper)
  • Patrimoine normand (Normandy)
  • Xaintonge, le jhornau des Charentais

Former newspapers

German-language

  • Pariser Tageblatt, 1933-1936 (German-language daily for German exiles in France)
  • Pariser Tageszeitung (see Pariser Tageblatt), 1936-1940 (Anti-Hitler daily for expatriates)

Ottoman Turkish

See also