Axel Springer to launch Bild-style French daily this fall

Posted by Maddie Hanna on July 5, 2006 at 2:19 PM

Publishing giant Axel Springer will launch a new paid-for daily in France this fall modeled after its German tabloid Bild, the most popular newspaper in Europe.

While Axel Springer would not confirm the information Tuesday to Le Monde, the group plans to print 600,000 copies and charge 0,50 euro each, according to a report in Le Parisien. Didier Pourquery is leaving his post with Metro and will reportedly head the new publication.

Axel Springer already publishes Télémagazine and Bien dans ma vie! in France. The publishing group has been watching the French market for a while. In March, CEO Mathias Döpfner told the Financial Times Deutschland that France is a “country with potential.”

In terms of content, the new daily is expected to compete most directly with Le Parisien. But with such a low price — compared to the 1 euro Le Figaro and the 1,20 euro Le Monde — the paper will affect the freesheets as well.

Source: Le Monde (in French)

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