Libération

Libération (French pronunciation: [libeʁɑsjɔ̃] ^ⓘ), popularly known as Libé (pronounced [libe]), 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. 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, where it remains as of 2012.

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". Edouard de Rothschild's acquisition of a 37% capital interest in 2005, and editor Serge July's campaign for the "yes" vote in the referendum establishing a Constitution for Europe the same year, alienated it from a number of its left-wing readers.

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 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. It was the first French daily to have a website. It had a circulation of about 67,000 in 2018. Libération has been considered a newspaper of record in France.

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, in the wake of the protest movements of May 1968. Sartre remained editor of Libération until 24 May 1974. During this period one of the contributors was Samir Frangieh, a leftist Lebanese journalist.

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 editorial stance.

After several crises, Libération temporarily stopped being published in February 1981. It resumed publication on 13 May under a new format, with Serge July as new director.

Although 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. 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's opinion pages (rebonds) publish views from many political standpoints. An example of their proclaimed independent, "counter-power" slant is when in 1993 Libération leaked Socialist president François Mitterrand's illegal wiretapping program.

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 Libération consisted in combining counter-culture and political radicalism". The editors' decision, in 2005, to support the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe (TCE) was criticized by many of its readers, who later decided to vote "no" to a treaty seen as too neoliberal, lacking social views deemed necessary to the solid foundation of a "European nation".