Ouest-France

Ouest-France
Front page, 12 February 2014
TypeDaily newspaper
FormatBerliner
Owner(s)Groupe Sipa – Ouest-France
EditorJean-Luc Évin
Founded1944; 80 years ago (1944)
Political alignmentCentrism
Moderate conservatism
HeadquartersRennes
Circulation645,344 (total; 2022)[1]
Websiteouest-france.fr

Ouest-France (French pronunciation: [wɛst.fʁɑ̃s] ; French for "West-France") is a daily French newspaper known for its emphasis on both local and national news. The paper is produced in 47 different editions covering events in different French départements within the régions of Brittany, Lower Normandy and Pays de la Loire. Its readership has been unaffected by the decline of newspaper reading in France, unlike most other dailies.

With 2.5 million daily readers (and a circulation of almost 800 000 units), it is by far the most read francophone newspaper in the world, ahead of French national newspapers Le Figaro and Le Monde.

History

Ouest-France building in Rennes

Ouest-France was founded in 1944[2] by Adolphe Le Goaziou and others following the closure of Ouest-Éclair, which was banned by Liberation forces for collaborationism during the war.[3] It is based in Rennes and Nantes and has a circulation about 792,400 (greater than any French national daily newspaper), mostly in Brittany.

Its editorial line has been strongly pro-European integration from the beginning, influenced by Christian democracy (Popular Republican Movement), now MoDem, Nouveau Centre or Union for a Popular Movement (UMP). With 2.52 million readers, Ouest-France is also the leading French-language daily in the world.

The paper had a circulation of 773,471 copies in 2001 and 764,731 copies in 2002 with a market share of 14.41%.[4] The paper had a circulation of 637,463 copies in 2020.[5]

The distinct editions

The 47 different editions are divided among twelve départements :

Département Numbers Circulation Name of editions
Calvados 4 52,000 Bayeux, Caen, Pays d'Auge, Vire / Falaise
Côtes-d'Armor 5 95,000 Dinan, Guingamp, Lannion / Paimpol, Loudéac – Rostrenen, Saint-Brieuc
Finistère 5 46,000 Brest, Châteaulin / Carhaix, Finistère sud, Morlaix, Quimper
Ille-et-Vilaine 10 134,000 Redon, Rennes (Rennes nord, sud, est, ouest, centre), Saint-Malo, Vitré, Fougères
Loire-Atlantique 6 112,000 Châteaubriant – Ancenis, Nantes vignoble, Pays de Retz, Nantes ville, Nantes nord, St-Nazaire / La Baule
Maine-et-Loire 2 24,000 Angers – Segré, Cholet
Manche 3 33,000 Cherbourg, Saint-Lô / Coutances, Sud Manche
Mayenne 1 41,000 Mayenne
Morbihan 5 113,000 Auray, Lorient, Ploërmel, Pontivy, Vannes
Orne 2 22,000 Argentan-Flers, Alençon-Orme-Est
Sarthe 2 25,000 Le Mans / Sarthe nord, Sarthe sud
Vendée 4 72,000 Fontenay-le-Comte / Luçon, La Roche-sur-Yon, Montaigu / Les Herbiers, Ouest Littoral

See also

References

  1. ^ "Ouest-France − History". Alliance pour les chiffres de la presse et des médias (in French). n.d. Archived from the original on 7 January 2024. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
  2. ^ "Historical development of the media in France" (PDF). McGraw-Hill Education. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 February 2015. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
  3. ^ Jean-Loup Avril, Mille Bretons, dictionnaire biographique, Les Portes du Large, Saint-Jacques-de-la-Lande, 2003, (ISBN 2-914612-10-9)
  4. ^ David Ward (2004). "A Mapping Study of Media Concentration and Ownership in Ten European Countries" (PDF). Dutch Media Authority. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
  5. ^ "Ouest France – ACPM". www.acpm.fr. Retrieved 7 May 2021.