Robert Hersant (30 January 1920 – 21 April 1996) was a French newspaper magnate. He was a leader in the pro-Nazi youth movement during the Vichy wartime years, but after prison time built a major newspaper empire and engaged in conservative politics. At the time of his death he operated 40 publications and employed 8,000 people, but failed in his leap into television.
43-517: Hersant was born in Vertou , Loire-Atlantique . . He was the son of a captain in the merchant navy and showed early on an interest in school newspapers. Initially involved with the Socialist Youth movement in 1935, Robert Hersant founded the rightist political party Jeune Front in the summer 1940. During that period, he became a friend of Jean-Marie Balestre . Jeune Front although a small group,
86-519: A platform for the hard right of Le Figaro . Information science specialist Aurélie Olivesi noted the proximity between the "polemical site" FigaroVox and the magazine Causeur , with some journalists having worked for both media. According to Causeur , the section opened its doors to authors from both the left and the right. According to Nolwenn Le Blevennec, however, FigaroVox was haunted by an "identitarian obsession," exhibited an ultra- conservative and sovereignist editorial line, and remained
129-536: A centre-right editorial stance and is headquartered on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement of Paris . Other Groupe Figaro publications include Le Figaro Magazine , TV Magazine and Evene . The paper is published in Berliner format. Le Figaro was founded as a satirical weekly in 1826, taking its name and motto from Le Mariage de Figaro , the 1778 play by Pierre Beaumarchais that poked fun at privilege. Its motto, from Figaro's monologue in
172-541: A conservative editorial stance, becoming the voice of the French upper and middle classes. More recently, the newspaper's political stance has become more centrist. The newspaper's ownership by Serge 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 the Union for a Popular Movement party. His son Olivier Dassault served as
215-482: A 40% stake in the paper, which it later sold in March 2002. Since March 2004, Le Figaro has been controlled by Serge Dassault , a conservative businessman and politician best known for running the aircraft manufacturer Dassault Aviation , which he inherited from his father, its founder, Marcel Dassault (1892–1986). Dassault owns 80% of the paper, by way of its media subsidiary Groupe Figaro . Franz-Olivier Giesbert
258-643: A deputy seat in the Assemblée Nationale as a radical candidate. He was elected with the support of French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO) and Democratic and Socialist Union of the Resistance (UDSR). However, on 18 April 1956 his election caused a heated debate at the Assemblée Nationale due to his collaborationist past. The Assemblée Nationale cancelled his election, but on 25 October 1956 he
301-460: A fee. In September 2011, the newspaper launched an online wine magazine. In February 2014, FigaroVox , a platform for debates and ideas, was launched. In 2008, Le Figaro became the leading news site on the Internet according to Internet audience data published by Nielsen Médiamétrie / NetRatings . On November 17, 2011, the site was awarded the title of "Best Mobile Media" for the second time at
344-458: A manifesto signed by Filippo Tommaso Marinetti which initiated the establishment of Futurism in art. On 16 March 1914, Gaston Calmette , the editor of Le Figaro , was assassinated by Henriette Caillaux , the wife of Finance Minister Joseph Caillaux , after he published a letter that cast serious doubt on her husband's integrity. In 1922, Le Figaro was purchased by perfume millionaire François Coty . Abel Faivre did cartoons for
387-479: A member of the French National Assembly . Dassault has remarked in an interview in 2004 on the public radio station France Inter that "newspapers must promulgate healthy ideas" and that "left-wing ideas are not healthy ideas." In February 2012, a general assembly of the newspaper's journalists adopted a motion accusing the paper's managing editor, Étienne Mougeotte , of having made Le Figaro into
430-558: A more comfortable reading format with minimal advertising, available from 10 p.m. the evening before the print publication. 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. 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. In 2019, it
473-574: A platform where one could read the National Front in the text, or link Islam and Daesh . Left-wing figures, such as Gaël Brustier , Jean-Luc Mélenchon , and Thomas Guénolé , were invited "sometimes" or more regularly like Laurent Bouvet . Éric Zemmour and Alain Finkielkraut were very appreciated there. According to L'Express , the invited authors included liberals and left-wing sovereignists, but in larger numbers were advocates of
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#1733084931744516-399: A political ally. In 1979, Hersant launched Le Figaro-Magazine , a weekly supplement of Le Figaro , headed by Louis Pauwels . In 1980, Le Figaro absorbed L'Aurore . In 1983, Hersant bought Le Dauphiné Libéré , in 1986, Le Progrès de Lyon and l'Union de Reims , and in 1987 Les Nouvelles Calédoniennes . As a result, in 1986, according to Daniel Singer , he was controlling 38% of
559-622: 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!" In the period of 1995–96, the paper had a circulation of 391,533 copies, behind Le Parisien ' s 451,159 copies. Le Figaro formed the Groupe Figaro (a subsidiary of the Marcel Dassault Industrial Group ). The former company, Socpresse , which was dismantled in 2005, officially became Dassault Media (Figaro Group) in 2011. The newspaper
602-495: A section called Le Figaro in English, which provides the global English-speaking community with daily original or translated content from Le Figaro 's website. The section ended in 2012. In the 2010s, Le Figaro saw future presidential candidate Éric Zemmour 's columns garner great interest among readers that would later serve to launch his political career. Defunct Defunct Le Figaro has traditionally held
645-570: A video platform for students launched in 2011, was acquired by Figaro Classifieds in June 2014. In 2015, CCM Benchmark Group was acquired at 100%, including leading websites like L'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). Le Figaro sponsored
688-412: Is twinned with: This Loire-Atlantique geographical article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Le Figaro Le Figaro ( French: [lə fiɡaʁo] ) is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It was named after Figaro, a character in a play by polymath Beaumarchais (1732–1799); one of his lines became the paper's motto: "Without
731-468: The GDPR . FigaroVox is an online section of figaro.fr created in 2014 by Alexis Brézet , a former journalist at Valeurs actuelles (from 1987 to 2000), "holding a very right-wing line", on the advice of Patrick Buisson , a figure associated with Nicolas Sarkozy's shift to the far right in 2012. FigaroVox was an extension of the "debates and opinions" pages of the print daily on Internet ; appearing on
774-478: The "bulletin" of the governing party, the Union for a Popular Movement , of the government and of President Nicolas Sarkozy . They requested more pluralism and "honesty" and accused the paper of one-sided political reporting. Mougeotte had previously said that Le Figaro would do nothing to embarrass the government and the right. 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
817-495: The "conservative reaction." These intellectuals and polemicists used the platform to criticize globalization . Since 2019, the section has been headed by Guillaume Perrault ; Alexandre Devecchio, whom Le Monde associates with the far right, 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. In February 2006, Le Figaro acquired
860-495: The 1950s enabled him to start fresh. After launching a few unsuccessful publications, ( Bazars et Galeries , l'Equipement Ménager , le Quincailler ), in 1950, he started L'Auto-Journal , which met success due to the increasing popularity of automobiles. In October 1952, he bought la semaine de l'Oise and used it to launch his political career. In February 1953, he was elected mayor of Ravenel, Oise , and in January 1956 he ran for
903-496: The 2011 Mobile Internet Trophies. In 2013, it was still ranked as the leading French online press site in France. In November of the same year, it broke the record of 11 million unique visitors on a French news website. On April 13, 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 from Le Figaro and its related magazines in
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#1733084931744946-421: The freedom to criticise, there is no flattering praise". The oldest national newspaper in France, Le Figaro is one of three French newspapers of record , along with Le Monde and Libération . Since 2004, the newspaper has been owned by Dassault Group . Its editorial director has been Alexis Brézet since 2012. Le Figaro is the second-largest national newspaper in France, after Le Monde . It has
989-468: The great conservative newspaper le Figaro (with the help of Pierre Juillet and Marie-France Garaud , then adviser of Jacques Chirac ), in 1976 the popular daily France-Soir , and in 1980 acquired "L'Aurore" from the estate of Marcel Boussac . At the time, it was rumored that president Giscard d'Estaing had facilitated the obtaining of loans by Hersant in order to have the three Parisian newspapers (totalling 1.06 million in circulation) controlled by
1032-556: The group took over the company Météo Consult , which included La Chaîne Météo , 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 May 18, 2009, it purchased Particulier et Finances Éditions , which included Le Particulier , Le Particulier pratique , Le Particulier Immobilier , and La Lettre des Placements , as well as about thirty practical guides and
1075-476: The homepage of Figaro's website, FigaroVox articles accentuated the political character of this daily. The journalists contributing to FigaroVox were positioned at the crossroads of the right, practicing Catholicism, and the " new reactionaries ". FigaroVox was led by Vincent Trémolet de Villers , who co-authored a book on La Manif pour tous ( And France Awoke. An Investigation into the Revolution of Values ). It
1118-421: The magazine Esprit described it as a platform for "the right of the right", akin to Causeur or Valeurs actuelles . Political scientist Eszter Petronella suggested that FigaroVox allowed Le Figaro to "balance" the more moderate positions of the print daily by giving voice to an "identitarian and militant journalism," thereby catering to the needs of all readers. Nolwenn Le Blevennec of Rue89 described it as
1161-482: The national press, and 26% of the regional press in France. After the fall of the Berlin Wall , Hersant extended his activities to eastern Europe. In 1991, he bought Magyar Nemzet (Hungary), 51% of Rzeczpospolita (Poland), Tempo, Dziennik Baltycki , Dziennik Lodzki , Trybuna Slaska , Express Ilustrowany , Wieczor Wybrzeza , Dziennik Zachodni and Gazeta Krakowska . This large number of acquisitions gained him
1204-519: The nicknames of Citizen H and Le Papivore in the satirist Le Canard enchaîné . In 1987, he was involved with Silvio Berlusconi in the launching of the La Cinq TV-channel. He withdrew in 1990 after suffering serious losses. La Cinq collapsed in 1992. Robert Hersant's group was, in 1996, employing 8,000 persons, and generating a revenue of 6 billion French francs. He died at Saint-Cloud in 1996. After his death of Hersant, Socpresse
1247-467: The paper's early contributors. It was published somewhat irregularly until 1854, when it was taken over by Hippolyte de Villemessant . In 1866, Le Figaro became a daily newspaper. 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. Pauline Savari was among the contributors to the paper at this time. On 20 February 1909 Le Figaro published
1290-430: The paper. Coty enraged many in March 1929 when he renamed the paper simply Figaro , which it remained until 1933. By the start of World War II , Le Figaro had become France's leading newspaper. After the war, it became the voice of the upper middle class , and continues to maintain a conservative position. In 1975, Le Figaro was bought by Robert Hersant 's Socpresse . In 1999, The Carlyle Group obtained
1333-488: 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, editor Nestor Roqueplan fought a duel with a Colonel Gallois, who was offended by an article in Le Figaro , and was wounded but recovered. Albert Wolff , Émile Zola , Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr , Théophile Gautier , and Jules Arsène Arnaud Claretie were among
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1376-574: The sailing race, the Solitaire du Figaro , since its creation in 1970. The newspaper and the Center for Political Research at Sciences Po (CEVIPOF) presented their "Political Studies." Le Figaro replaced Le Monde as a partner of the program Le Grand Jury in September 2006. In partnership with Dargaud Benelux , the newspaper launched in 2010 a 20-volume collection of XIII in a "prestige" edition and
1419-482: The site leparticulier.fr. In September 2010, it took over Adenclassifieds, following a friendly takeover bid ; the subsidiary became Figaro Classifieds , which included Cadremploi , Keljob.com , kelformation , kelstage , kelsalaire.net , CVmail , Explorimmo , CadresOnline , OpenMedia , Seminus , Microcode , achat-terrain.com . The sites achat-terrain.com and constructeurs-maisons.com , created in 2005, were acquired in September 2012. Campus-Channel ,
1462-409: 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. In May 2007, Le Figaro purchased the cultural site evene.fr , which quickly found synergies with Le Figaroscope , and then in June 2007, the ticketing service Ticketac.com was acquired by the group. In 2008,
1505-408: Was accompanied by two daily supplements: Le Figaro Économie , since 1984, printed on salmon-colored paper , and Le Figaro et vous , since 2005, dedicated to culture and lifestyle. Additionally: The online newspaper's address has been lefigaro.fr since 1999. In January 2010, lefigaro.fr introduced features reserved for subscribers. Access to archived articles was also made available for
1548-622: Was among the 50 most visited sites in France and had 130,000 digital subscribers. The milestone of 200,000 website subscribers was reached in November 2020. 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. In July 2021, the National Commission for Informatics and Liberties fined Le Figaro €50,000 for installing third-party cookies without users' consent, in violation of
1591-578: Was arrested and jailed for one month in Fresnes on 15 June 1945. He was tried in 1947 and sentenced to 10 years of national indignity for collaboration with Nazi Germany . The court emphasized that Jeune Front had received support from the Nazis as early as August 1940 to justify that sentence. He was released through the general amnesties in 1947, 1951 and 1953. His personal friendships with notable Socialist leaders such as Guy Mollet and François Mitterrand during
1634-538: Was edited by Alexandre Devecchio, a former journalist for the site Atlantico . Its contributors included Maxime Tandonnet , a former advisor on immigration to Nicolas Sarkozy, and Gilles-William Goldnadel , an attorney for Patrick Buisson . FigaroVox's preferred themes were "the decline of the republican school, poorly controlled immigration , and Islam as the primary threat to national identity". Sociologist Philippe Corcuff considered FigaroVox an "ultraconservative" section. Sociologist Jean-Louis Schlegel of
1677-500: Was editorial director of Le Figaro from 1998 to 2000. In 2006, Le Figaro was banned in Egypt and Tunisia for publishing articles allegedly insulting Islam . Le Figaro switched to Berliner format in 2009. The paper has published The New York Times International Weekly on Friday since 2009, an 8-page supplement featuring a selection of articles from The New York Times translated into French. In 2010, Lefigaro.fr created
1720-1166: Was elected as a Radical within the Federation of the Democratic and Socialist Left . He then became a conservative supporting Valéry Giscard d'Estaing . He remained a deputy until 1978. In 1984, he became a deputy in the European Parliament on the Rally for the Republic – Union for French Democracy (RPR/UDF) list led by Simone Veil . He remained a European Deputy until his death. He gradually built his empire by buying or creating local or regional newspapers through his holding company Socpresse (and its associate France-Antilles ). In 1957, he created Centre Presse and in 1964, France-Antilles . Robert Hersant also took control of various regional titles such as Le Courrier de l'Ouest , Nord Matin (bought in 1967), Paris Normandie (bought in 1972), Nord Eclair (bought in 1975, and merged with Nord Matin ). In 1975, he purchased from Jean Prouvost
1763-695: Was publishing the pro-Nazi newspaper Au Pilori . He left this movement in October 1940, to become a member of the secretariat general de la jeunesse of the Vichy Regime . In 1941–1942, he created a camp in Brévannes , named after the Marshal Philippe Pétain to indoctrinate young people in the Révolution nationale ideology. He was not affected in the first waves of the Épuration légale after liberation. He
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1806-548: Was reelected. As a deputy, Hersant championed a reform of the constitution of 1946, altering the articles 45, 46, 47, 48 and 52. It would have permitted the direct election of the Président du Conseil , and would have obliged him to form his cabinet from personalities that did not belong to legislative bodies. Hersant advocated a partition of Algeria as a solution to the Algerian War . In 1958, Hersant became Gaullist . In 1967, he
1849-637: Was sold to Serge Dassault . Vertou Vertou ( French pronunciation: [vɛʁtu] ; Breton : Gwerzhav ) is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France . It is located on the river Sèvre Nantaise , and was a historical town of Brittany . Today, Vertou is a component of the Nantes Métropole and is the fifth-largest suburb of the city of Nantes , lying just southeast of Nantes. Vertou station has rail connections to Clisson and Nantes. Vertou
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