While not as important as their English equivalents on the
international stage, French-language weeklies are the cornerstone of
news coverage in France. And until six months ago it was a crowded,
rather pedestrian market.
But then Marianne arrived. Taking its name from the symbol of the French
Revolution, this magazine has stormed the barricades of its opposition,
winning in a few short months almost twice as many readers as any title
in its sector, and 40 per cent of the weekly newsstand circulation.
Marianne’s founder and director, Jean-Francois Kahn, explains: ’I felt
there was a tendency in the press towards a uniform point of view and
there was room for a different stance. A gap between the press and its
readers has become apparent, leading to falling circulations in the
papers that cover politics.’
Kahn has no doubt as to why Marianne has raced ahead of its four main
competitors - Le Nouvel Observateur, L’Express, Le Point and L’Evenement
du Jeudi. ’Those papers haven’t evolved in ten years and, in the
meantime, the French people have been though major changes - the
government, the depression, the markets. Yet the press has stayed the
same and is increasingly seen as a discourse of the elite.’
The answer, according to Kahn, is a more self-questioning liberal
stance.
It also involves a middle-brow approach, snappy news style, and a cover
price - Fr10 - at half the price of its rivals.
’Marianne is there to shake up that complacency. We are cheaper - that
has a lot to do with our success - but on the essential subjects we have
a coherent approach,’ he argues. ’People these days need that coherence,
whether it takes the form of a rejection of the old Gauche Caviar
(champagne socialism) or a questioning of Republican values. It’s clear,
it’s muscular, and it has a lot of shorter news features as well as
longer analyses. We have to be top of the range for politics and
economics, but also cultivate a wider audience - that’s the challenge we
face.’
Kahn’s goal is 500,000 copies. He still has some way to go since
Marianne is averaging 187,000 a week, but the title not only continues
to grow, but continues to undermine the comfortable status quo of the
French weeklies market.
MARIANNE AND ITS COMPETITORS
Title Circulation
Marianne 187,000
Le Nouvel Observateur 84,000
L’Express 75,000
Le Pont 75,000
L’Evenement du Jeudi 58,000
