French daily newspaper Le Figaro has announced details of its plans to charge for online content, offering three different tiers of subscriptions.

The three levels will be called Connect, Select and Business. Connect is a free subscription that allows access to free email newsletters with general, cultural and financial news. It also enables users to comment on articles and create a personalised front page.

Select also offers these features, and in addition, it includes more in-depth news, and specialist reporting on politics, culture, and international news. It features a selection of articles from The New York Times translated into French, access to the digital edition of the newspaper from 3am, 30 archived articles a month, and access to networks of other subscribers with common interests. Subscribers can publish their own articles and ask questions directly to Le Figaro's journalists about a particular theme of the news. All of this will cost subscribers €8 a month, with the first month free.

The third level, Business, gives subscribers access to everything included in Select, but with 90 archived articles a month instead of 30. It will also add a morning and afternoon economics newsletter, as well as news about business and management, a business-focused social network, and a concierge service for restaurant and travel bookings. It will cost €15 a month.

The service will officially open on Monday, but is currently available in a preview mode.

Managing editor of LeFigaro.fr Luc de Barochez said: "Information is available everywhere, in abundance. But quality information, which helps us to reflect and to act, is rare. Understanding the world that surrounds us is necessary at every moment. To help you with this, LeFigaro.fr offers you three innovative options. They will give you information, but also tools for debating and exchanging your points of view. Further, LeFigaro.fr has privileges reserved for its subscribers that I invite you to discover."

By comparison, LeMonde.fr already offers subscriptions to its website for €6 per month. It includes newsletters, email alerts for important news events, specialist reporting, multimedia, access to forums, and a personalised page with the user's recommended reading.

Sources: Le Figaro (1), Le Figaro (2), Le Monde