The publishing group may have dropped its launch plans based on concerns over the distribution, but the immutable nature of the French publishing industry no doubt played a role in the decision as well.  As the proposed Fall 2007 launch approached, it appeared that the French Bild would not exactly model its German counterpart due to a general lack of French tabloid culture.  Axel Springer had recently announced that it would not launch the project without a French partner to share the €120 million cost over the first three years.

Axel Springer hoped to have the same success in France as it did with Fakt in Poland, with plans to produce between 500,000 and 800,000 copies of the low-cost, tabloid style daily.  Although the paper was set to pose direct competition for Le Parisien, at €0.50 per copy, the Bild-style daily could have significantly affected France’s free-shirt circulation as well. (More information on the launch plans here and here.)

Axel Springer must now deal with the approximately forty employees it had recruited from other companies to work on the paper.  In the wake of this decision, it remains to be seen if publishing group Amaury, which controls Le Parisien, will press forward with its T9 project, for which it has also recruited journalists.

Source: Presse News