View source for Libération

{{short description|French daily newspaper founded in 1973}}
{{Other uses}}
{{redirect|Libe}}
{{Expand French}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2024}}
{{infobox newspaper
| name = {{Lang|fr|Libération}}
| image = [[Image:Libération frontpage.JPG|250px|border]]
| logo = [[Image:Libération.svg|250px]]
| type = Daily newspaper
| format = [[Compact (newspaper)|Compact]]
| foundation = {{Start date and age|df=yes|1973}}
| owners = Bruno Ledoux
| language = [[French language|French]]
| political = [[Centre-left politics|Centre-left]]
| headquarters = [[Paris]], France
| publishing_country = France
| editor = [[Dov Alfon]]
| ISSN = 0335-1793
| website = [http://www.liberation.fr/ liberation.fr]
| circulation = 97,633 (total, 2022)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.acpm.fr/Support/liberation |title=Libération − History |date=n.d. |website=[[Alliance pour les chiffres de la presse et des médias]] |language=fr |access-date=26 June 2023 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20230626165919/https://www.acpm.fr/Support/liberation |archive-date=26 June 2023}}</ref><br />9,900 (digital, 2018)
}}

'''{{Lang|fr|Libération}}''' ({{IPA|fr|libeʁɑsjɔ̃|-|LL-Q150 (fra)-Jules78120-Libération.wav}}), popularly known as '''''Libé''''' ({{IPA|fr|libe|pron}}), is a daily newspaper in France, founded in Paris by [[Jean-Paul Sartre]] and [[Serge July]] in 1973 in the wake of the protest movements of [[May 1968 in France|May 1968]]. Initially positioned on the far left of France's political spectrum, the editorial line evolved towards a more centre-left stance at the end of the 1970s,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.france-medias.fr/liberation/e-28|title=Évaluation Libération|publisher=france-medias.fr|access-date=31 January 2020|language=fr|archive-date=4 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190904082436/https://www.france-medias.fr/liberation/e-28|url-status=dead}}</ref> where it remains as of 2012.<ref>{{cite news|title=French press rallies behind new President Hollande|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-17980952|access-date=22 November 2014|work=BBC|date=7 May 2012|archive-date=3 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150103162400/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-17980952|url-status=live}}</ref>

The publication describes its "DNA" as being "liberal libertarian". It aims to act as a common platform for the diverse tendencies within the [[French Left]], with its "compass" being "the defence of freedoms and of minorities".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.liberation.fr/ecrans/2014/03/13/liberation-et-son-rapport-a-la-gauche_986845|title="Libération" et son rapport à la gauche|publisher=Libération|date=13 March 2014|language=fr|access-date=31 January 2020|archive-date=31 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200131031108/https://www.liberation.fr/ecrans/2014/03/13/liberation-et-son-rapport-a-la-gauche_986845|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Edouard Etienne de Rothschild|Edouard de Rothschild]]'s acquisition of a 37% capital interest in 2005,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.acrimed.org/article1903.html |title="Libération" tombe sous le charme d'Edouard de Rothschild |publisher=Acrimed |date=31 January 2005 |language=fr |access-date=30 December 2010 |archive-date=20 December 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101220182525/http://www.acrimed.org/article1903.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and editor Serge July's campaign for the "yes" vote in the [[2005 French European Constitution referendum|referendum establishing a Constitution for Europe]] the same year,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://tempsreel.nouvelobs.com/actualite/media/20061205.OBS1535/l-editorial-de-serge-july.htmlv|title=L'éditorial de Serge July |work=Le Nouvel Observateur|date=25 June 2008|language=fr}}</ref> alienated it from a number of its left-wing readers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://lmsi.net/Un-cri-de-douleur-de-Serge-July|title=Un " cri de douleur " de Serge July|publisher=Les Mots Sont Importants|date=June 2005|language=fr|access-date=30 December 2010|archive-date=17 December 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101217124359/http://lmsi.net/Un-cri-de-douleur-de-Serge-July|url-status=live}}</ref>

In its early days, it was noted for its irreverent and humorous style and unorthodox journalistic culture. All employees, including management, received the same salary. In addition to traditional editor's notes, known as [[:fr:Note de la rédaction|Note de la rédaction]] and marked as N.D.L.R., it included the innovative NDLC (''note de la claviste''), apt and witty comments inserted at the last moment by the typesetter.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lemonde.fr/blog/correcteurs/2011/06/24/ndlc-note-de-la-claviste/|title=NDLC (note de la claviste)|publisher=Le Monde|date=24 June 2011|language=fr|access-date=31 January 2020|archive-date=31 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200131031046/https://www.lemonde.fr/blog/correcteurs/2011/06/24/ndlc-note-de-la-claviste/|url-status=live}}</ref> It was the first French daily to have a website. It had a circulation of about 67,000 in 2018.<ref name="ACPM">{{cite web |url=https://www.acpm.fr/Les-chiffres/Diffusion-presse/Presse-Payante/Presse-Quotidienne-Nationale |title=ACMP |quote=French NGO responsible for surveying newspaper circulation |access-date=29 April 2019 |archive-date=9 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190409113126/https://www.acpm.fr/Les-chiffres/Diffusion-presse/Presse-Payante/Presse-Quotidienne-Nationale |url-status=live }}</ref> ''Libération'' has been considered a [[newspaper of record]] in France.<ref>{{cite news |last=Bryant |first=Elizabeth |date=27 October 2006 |title=A capital crisis may bring down leftist French paper / Liberation, founded in 1968, has seen circulation plummet |url=https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/A-capital-crisis-may-bring-down-leftist-French-2548623.php |url-status=live |newspaper=[[San Francisco Chronicle]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170225132811/https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/A-capital-crisis-may-bring-down-leftist-French-2548623.php |archive-date=25 February 2017 |access-date=21 June 2023}}</ref>

==History==
===First period (1973–81)===
{{Lang|fr|Libération}} was founded by Jean-Paul Sartre, Philippe Gavi, Bernard Lallement, Jean-Claude Vernier, Pierre Victor alias [[Benny Lévy]] and [[Serge July]] and was first published on 3 February 1973,<ref name=ess>{{cite web|title=Media Landscape Media Claims
|url=http://www.europeansocialsurvey.org/docs/round6/methods/ESS6_media_landscape_media_claims_ed_02_0.pdf|publisher=European Social Survey |access-date=12 January 2015|date=May 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140816014141/http://www.europeansocialsurvey.org/docs/round6/methods/ESS6_media_landscape_media_claims_ed_02_0.pdf|archive-date=16 August 2014 }}</ref> in the wake of the protest movements of [[May 1968 in France|May 1968]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia
|author=John Tebbel|title=Print Media. France|url=http://www.discoverfrance.net/France/DF_media-prt.shtml|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Americana
|year=2003|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190509082817/http://www.discoverfrance.net/France/DF_media-prt.shtml|archive-date=9 May 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref> Sartre remained editor of {{Lang|fr|Libération}} until 24 May 1974. During this period one of the contributors was [[Samir Frangieh]], a leftist Lebanese journalist.<ref>{{cite book|title=Who's Who in Lebanon|year=2007|location=Beirut|publisher=Publitec Publications
|edition=19th|url=https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110945904.476|isbn=978-3-598-07734-0|page=132|doi=10.1515/9783110945904.476 }}</ref>

The paper was initially run along non-hierarchical lines, with all staff – from the editor-in-chief to the janitor – receiving the same salary, but this later gave way to a "normal set-up". In the early 1980s it began to take advertisements and allowed external bodies to have a stake in its financing, which it had completely refused before, but continued to maintain a left leaning<ref name=ess/> editorial stance.

===Second period (since 1981)===
After several crises, {{Lang|fr|Libération}} temporarily stopped being published in February 1981. It resumed publication on 13 May under a new format, with [[Serge July]] as new director.<ref>{{cite book|author=Philip Thody|author-link=Philip Thody|title=Le Franglais: Forbidden English, Forbidden American: Law, Politics and Language in Contemporary France: A Study in|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W56vAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA290|access-date=31 December 2014|date=2000|publisher=A&C Black|isbn=978-1-4411-7760-5|page=290}}</ref>

Although {{Lang|fr|Libération}} is not affiliated with any political party, it has, from its theoretical origins in the May 1968 turmoil in France, a left-wing slant.<ref>[http://perso.wanadoo.fr/jatteau/tpe/interviews.htm Interviews with journalists from Libération] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050526075436/http://perso.wanadoo.fr/jatteau/tpe/interviews.htm |date=26 May 2005 }} {{in lang|fr}}</ref> According to co-founder and former director Serge July, ''Libé'' was an activist newspaper that, however, does not support any particular political party, acts as a counter-power, and generally has bad relations with both left-wing and right-wing administrations. ''Libé''<nowiki>'s</nowiki> opinion pages (''rebonds'') publish views from many political standpoints. An example of their proclaimed independent, "counter-power" slant is when in 1993 {{Lang|fr|Libération}} leaked [[French Socialist Party|Socialist]] president [[François Mitterrand]]'s illegal wiretapping program.

{{Lang|fr|Libération}} is known for its sometimes alternative points of view on cultural and social events. For instance, in addition to reports about crimes and other events, it also chronicles daily criminal trials, bringing in a more human vision of petty criminals. As Serge July puts it, "the equation of {{Lang|fr|Libération}} consisted in combining counter-culture and political radicalism".<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20010511213202/http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/label_france/FRANCE/COM/july/july.html Interview with Serge July] (on official French government website) {{in lang|fr}}</ref> The editors' decision, in 2005, to support the [[Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe]] (TCE) was criticized by many of its readers, who later [[2005 French European Constitution referendum|decided to vote "no"]] to a treaty seen as too [[Neoliberalism|neoliberal]], lacking social views deemed necessary to the solid foundation of a "European nation".

On 11 December 2010, {{Lang|fr|Libération}} started hosting a mirror of the [[WikiLeaks]] website, including the [[United States diplomatic cables leak|United States diplomatic cables]] and other document collections,<ref name="liberation_cablegate_mirror">{{cite web |title=Secret US Embassy Cables |work=Libération |date=4 January 2011 |url=http://wikileaks.liberation.fr/cablegate.html |access-date=11 January 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101228233926/http://wikileaks.liberation.fr/cablegate.html |archive-date=28 December 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> in solidarity with WikiLeaks, in order to prevent it from being "suffocated" by "governments and companies that were trying to block [WikiLeaks'] functioning without even a judicial decision".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.liberation.fr/making-of/01012307421-liberation-abrite-wikileaks |title="Libération" abrite WikiLeaks |work=Libération |language=fr |date=11 December 2010 |quote=Nous avons choisi d'empêcher l'asphyxie de WikiLeaks à l'heure où des gouvernements et des entreprises cherchent à bloquer son fonctionnement sans même une décision de justice. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110115003158/http://www.liberation.fr/making-of/01012307421-liberation-abrite-wikileaks |archive-date=15 January 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In June 2015, {{Lang|fr|Libération}}, working with WikiLeaks, reported that the United States [[National Security Agency]] had been secretly spying on the telephone conversations of presidents [[Jacques Chirac]], [[Nicolas Sarkozy]] and [[François Hollande]] from at least 2006 through 2012.<ref name="wikilib">{{cite news |url=http://www.liberation.fr/monde/2015/06/23/chirac-sarkozy-et-hollande-trois-presidents-sur-ecoute_1335767 |title=WikiLeaks – Chirac, Sarkozy, et Hollande : trois présidents sur écoute |last1=Guiton |first1=Amaelle |last2=Léchenet |first2=Alexandre |last3=Manach |first3=Jean-Marc |last4=Assange |first4=Julian |author-link4=Julian Assange |newspaper=Libération |language=fr |date=23 June 2015 |access-date=24 June 2015 |archive-date=24 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150624015443/http://www.liberation.fr/monde/2015/06/23/chirac-sarkozy-et-hollande-trois-presidents-sur-ecoute_1335767 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="wikigua">{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jun/23/francois-hollande-emergency-meeting-wikileaks-us-spied-three-presidents-france |title=François Hollande calls emergency meeting after WikiLeaks claims US spied on three French presidents |last=Willsher |first=Kim |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date=23 June 2015 |access-date=24 June 2015 |archive-date=24 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150624010049/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jun/23/francois-hollande-emergency-meeting-wikileaks-us-spied-three-presidents-france |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Édouard de Rothschild's involvement===
In 2005 {{Lang|fr|Libération}} badly needed funds,<ref name=bbc11>{{cite news|title=The press in France|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4295349.stm|access-date=22 November 2014|work=BBC|date=11 November 2006|archive-date=15 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201115012202/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4295349.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> and Serge July strove to convince the board to allow [[Édouard de Rothschild]]<ref name=bbc11/> to buy a stake in the paper. The board agreed on 20 January 2005. Social conflicts arose shortly after. On 25 November 2005, the paper went on strike, protesting against the layoff of 52 workers.<ref>[https://www.humanite.fr/journal/2006-01-02/2006-01-02-821053 Libération ? Un cas d’école pour la presse française] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060622165236/http://www.humanite.fr/journal/2006-01-02/2006-01-02-821053 |date=22 June 2006 }}, ''[[L'Humanité]]'', 26 May 2006 {{in lang|fr}}</ref> Rothschild, who had promised he would not interfere in editorial decisions, decided that he was not playing an active enough role in the paper's management.<ref>[http://www.lefigaro.fr/medias/20060614.FIG000000196_les_raisons_d_un_divorce.html Les raisons d'un divorce] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929132019/http://www.lefigaro.fr/medias/20060614.FIG000000196_les_raisons_d_un_divorce.html |date=29 September 2007 }}, ''[[Le Figaro]]'', 14 June 2006 {{in lang|fr}}</ref> In May 2006 the paper announced a weekend magazine called ''Libé week-end'', with a supplement called ''Ecrans'' (covering television, internet and film), and another called ''R''. (The latter was abandoned in September of the same year.)

On 13 June 2006, Serge July told the editorial staff that Édouard de Rothschild was refusing to invest more money in the paper unless [[:fr:Louis Dreyfus (homme de médias)|Louis Dreyfus]] (directeur général) and himself left the paper. July had accepted, believing the paper's future existence to depend on his decision. The journalists were shocked. The next day, they published a public statement praising the paper's founder and expressing their worries about journalistic independence.<ref>[http://www.liberation.fr/page.php?Article=390093 Depuis trente-trois ans, Serge July, cofondateur de «Libération»....] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060617192959/http://www.liberation.fr/page.php?Article=390093 |date=17 June 2006 }}, {{Lang|fr|Libération}}, 14 June 2006 {{in lang|fr}}</ref> Serge July left the paper on 29<ref>{{Cite web |date=July 30, 2006 |title=Serge July, "infiniment triste", tourne la page de "Libération" |url=https://www.lemonde.fr/actualite-medias/article/2006/06/30/serge-july-infiniment-triste-tourne-la-page-de-liberation_790151_3236.html |website=Le Monde |language=fr}}</ref> June 2006.<ref>" Pourquoi je quitte "Libération" " ; Serge July; {{Lang|fr|Libération}}; 30 June 2006 <blockquote>
« ''The orchestral conductor that I was bids you farewell.''<br/>
''The journalist who I am is infinitely sad no longer to be able to write here.''<br/>
''The reader that I shall remain bids you good-bye.'' »
</blockquote>([http://www.liberation.fr/dossiers/liberation/serge/190731.FR.php article en ligne] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061124201521/http://www.liberation.fr/dossiers/liberation/serge/190731.FR.php |date=24 November 2006 }})</ref>

A debate between Bernard Lallement, the first administrator-manager of {{Lang|fr|Libération}} and Edouard de Rothschild took place in {{Lang|fr|[[Le Monde]]}} newspaper. In a column published on 4 July 2006, Lallement argued that July's departure was the end of an era where "writing meant something". Lallement painted a bleak picture of {{Lang|fr|Libération}}<nowiki>'</nowiki>s future, as well as that of the press as a whole. Criticizing Rothschild's interference, Lallement quoted Sartre, who had famously said that "Money doesn't have any ideas".<ref>[http://www.lemonde.fr/web/article/0,1-0@2-3232,36-791233,0.html Une complainte pour Libé] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060705024903/http://www.lemonde.fr/web/article/0,1-0@2-3232,36-791233,0.html |date=5 July 2006 }}; {{Lang|fr|[[Le Monde]]}} 4 July 2006</ref> Later, on his blog, Lallement argued that Rothschild, who had had no historic attachment to the paper, was only interested in making money, not in the paper itself.<ref>[http://sartre.blogspirit.com/archive/2006/07/06/libe-un-paradoxe-tres-cavalier.html Libé : un paradoxe très cavalier] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060808051829/http://sartre.blogspirit.com/archive/2006/07/06/libe-un-paradoxe-tres-cavalier.html |date=8 August 2006 }} 6 July 2006</ref> On 6 July, Rothschild declared: "{{Lang|fr|Libération}} needs help and moral, intellectual and financial support. {{Lang|fr|Libération}} doesn't need a requiem."<ref>[http://www.lemonde.fr/web/article/0,1-0@2-3232,36-792175,0.html Libération n'a pas besoin de requiem] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060719104507/http://www.lemonde.fr/web/article/0%2C1-0@2-3232%2C36-792175%2C0.html |date=19 July 2006 }} ; {{Lang|fr|[[Le Monde]]}} 6 July 2006</ref>

Sixty-two employees—including 35 journalists, such as Antoine de Gaudemar, chief editor, [[Sorj Chalandon]], who was awarded the [[Albert Londres Prize]], both present since the 1973 creation of ''Libé'', and [[Pierre Haski]], deputy editor, present since 1981—were about to resign at end of January 2007 (of a total of 276 employees). With the 55 other employees who left the newspaper at the end of 2005, this made a total of about 150 staff who had left since Rothschild's ownership, not including tens of resignations (including Florence Aubenas, Dominique Simonnot, Antoine de Baecque, Jean Hatzfeld)<ref>[http://www.lemonde.fr/web/article/0,1-0@2-3236,36-858581@51-829464,0.html "Libération" : 62 candidats au départ] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070127030116/http://www.lemonde.fr/web/article/0%2C1-0@2-3236%2C36-858581@51-829464%2C0.html |date=27 January 2007 }}, {{Lang|fr|[[Le Monde]]}}, 23 January 2007 –. Retrieved 23 January 2007 {{in lang|fr}}</ref>

In May 2007, former {{Lang|fr|Libération}} journalists, including Pierre Haski and [[Pascal Riché]] (Op-Ed editor of {{Lang|fr|Libération}}) created the news website ''[[Rue 89]]''.

In 2014, the newspaper once again found itself in the news, following a public dispute between its journalists and shareholders over the future of the newspaper. In the face of falling circulation the latter had sought to re-invent the paper's web site as a social network. The editor-in-chief [[Nicolas Demorand]] resigned over the row.<ref>{{cite news|title=Liberation newspaper boss quits over restructuring row|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/business-26169559|access-date=22 November 2014|work=BBC|date=13 February 2014|archive-date=25 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141025045521/http://www.bbc.com/news/business-26169559|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Change in Newspaper Circulation in France, 1999-2011.png|570px|''Liberation''{{-'}}s circulation figures have under-performed compared to other French newspapers in the 21st century]]

==Circulation statistics==

{| class="wikitable" align="center"
!Year
!France paid circulation
|-
! 1999
| {{formatnum:169427}}
|-
! 2000
| {{formatnum:169011}}
|-
! 2001
| {{formatnum:174310}}
|-
! 2002
| {{formatnum:164286}}
|-
! 2003
| {{formatnum:158115}}
|-
! 2004
| {{formatnum:146109}}
|-
! 2005
| {{formatnum:133270}}
|-
! 2006
| {{formatnum:142557}}
|-
! 2007
| {{formatnum:132356}}
|-
! 2008
| {{formatnum:123317}}
|-
! 2009
| {{formatnum:111584}}
|-
! 2010
| {{formatnum:113108}}
|-
! 2011
| {{formatnum:119205}}
|-
! 2012
| {{formatnum:119418}}
|-
! 2013
| {{formatnum:101616}}
|-
! 2014
| {{formatnum:93781}}
|-
! 2015
| {{formatnum:88395}}
|-
! 2016
| {{formatnum:73331}}
|-
! 2017
| {{formatnum:75275}}
|-
! 2018
| {{formatnum:67238}}
|-
! 2019
| {{formatnum:71522}}
|-
! 2020
| {{formatnum:76522}}
|}

==See also==
* ''[[Chunichi Shimbun]]'', affiliated newspaper in Japan
* [[List of French newspapers]]          

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Official website|1=http://www.liberation.fr/}} {{in lang|fr}}
* {{Newseum front page|FRA_LIB}}
* [http://www.rfi.fr/actuen/listes/001/liste_type_article_54.asp Regular French Press Review] ({{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090416190350/http://www.rfi.fr/actuen/listes/001/liste_type_article_54.asp |date=16 April 2009 }}) – Radio France International
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20140222012006/http://www.ojd.com/adherent/3347 OJD]
* [http://www.acpm.fr/Support/liberation ACPM]
* [https://www.google.com/custom?hl=en&cof=BIMG%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2FWORLDMEETS.US%2Fimages%2FUSAbkgd.jpg%3BAH%3Aleft%3BS%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2FWORLDMEETS.US%3BL%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2FWORLDMEETS.US%2Fimagesui%2Fwalogo_siteid.gif%3BLH%3A90%3BLW%3A213%3BBGC%3A%23e9f9e9%3BT%3A%2300354f%3BVLC%3A%230000ff%3BGALT%3A%230000cc%3B&domains=WORLDMEETS.US&q=Liberation&sitesearch=WORLDMEETS.US English translations of {{Lang|fr|Libération}} articles from nonprofit WorldMeets.US]

{{Newspapers in France}}
{{Rothschilds}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Liberation}}
[[Category:1973 establishments in France]]
[[Category:Centre-left newspapers]]
[[Category:Daily newspapers published in France]]
[[Category:French news websites]]
[[Category:Newspapers established in 1973]]
[[Category:Newspapers published in Paris]]
[[Category:Social democratic media]]
[[Category:Socialism in France]]
[[Category:Socialist newspapers]]