Mediapart - Wikipedia Jump to content Main menu Main menu move to sidebar hide Navigation Main page Contents Current events Random article About Wikipedia Contact us Contribute Help Learn to edit Community portal Recent changes Upload file Special pages Search Search Appearance Donate Create account Log in Personal tools Donate Create account Log in Contents move to sidebar hide (Top) 1 Profile 2 Ownership 3 Landmark investigations 4 References 5 External links Toggle the table of contents Mediapart 9 languages العربية Català Deutsch Español Euskara Français Italiano Nederlands Русский Edit links Article Talk English Read Edit View history Tools Tools move to sidebar hide Actions Read Edit View history General What links here Related changes Upload file Permanent link Page information Cite this page Get shortened URL Switch to legacy parser Print/export Download as PDF Printable version In other projects Wikimedia Commons Wikidata item Appearance move to sidebar hide From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia French independent online newspaper You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in French. (March 2024) Click [show] for important translation instructions. Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must follow the LLM translation guideline, revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing French Wikipedia article at [[:fr:Mediapart]]; see its history for attribution. You may also add the template {{Translated|fr|Mediapart}} to the talk page. For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation. <small>(\"Only our readers can buy us\")</small>"},"logo":{"wt":"Mediapart logo.svg"},"type":{"wt":""},"format":{"wt":"Online"},"school":{"wt":""},"owners":{"wt":"Le Fonds pour une Presse Libre"},"founder":{"wt":"[[Edwy Plenel]]"},"publisher":{"wt":""},"president":{"wt":"[[Carine Fouteau]]"},"chief_editor":{"wt":"Lénaïg Bredoux<br>Valentine Oberti"},"general_manager":{"wt":"Cécile Sourd"},"staff_writers":{"wt":"~70"},"founded":{"wt":"2008"},"political_position":{"wt":"[[Left-wing politics|Left-wing]]<ref name=Willsher>Kim Willsher, [https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/mar/16/how-pioneering-mediapart-has-set-the-french-news-agenda \"How pioneering Mediapart has set the French news agenda\"], ''[[The Guardian]]'', 16 March 2008.</ref><ref name=\"BpB\">{{Cite web |title=Mediapart |url=https://www.eurotopics.net/en/148717/mediapart |access-date=2021-05-10 |publisher=[[Federal Agency for Civic Education|Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung]] |location=Bonn, Germany}}</ref>"},"language":{"wt":"French, English, Spanish"},"headquarters":{"wt":"[[Paris]], [[France]]"},"circulation":{"wt":"245,000 (paid subscribers)"},"circulation_date":{"wt":"January 2025"},"circulation_ref":{"wt":"<ref name=\"20_Minutes\">{{Cite web |last=Mimran |first=Olivier |date=2025-03-11 |title=Mediapart : Pour le site d’investigation, l’année 2024 aura été celle « de tous les records » |url=https://www.20minutes.fr/arts-stars/medias/4142978-20250311-mediapart-site-investigation-annee-2024-celle-tous-records |url-status=live |access-date=2026-02-28 |website=[[20 minutes (France)|20 Minutes]]}}</ref>"},"website":{"wt":"[http://mediapart.fr mediapart.fr]"}},"i":0}}]}'>MediapartSeuls nos lecteurs peuvent nous acheter ("Only our readers can buy us") Format Online Owner Le Fonds pour une Presse Libre Founder Edwy Plenel President Carine Fouteau Editor-in-chief Lénaïg Bredoux Valentine Oberti General manager Cécile Sourd Staff writers ~70 Founded 2008 Political alignment Left-wing[1][2] Language French, English, Spanish Headquarters Paris, France Circulation 245,000 (paid subscribers) (as of January 2025)[3] Website mediapart.fr Mediapart (French: [medjapaʁt]) is an independent nonprofit French investigative online newspaper created in 2008 by Edwy Plenel,[1] former editor-in-chief of Le Monde. It is published in French, English, and Spanish. The newspaper is owned by Le Fonds pour une Presse Libre, a non-profit trust created to support freedom of the press. It has produced hundreds of investigations over the past 15 years, on political corruption, financial fraud, environmental crimes, as well as on sexual harassment and police violence. The New York Times has called Mediapart "France's leading investigative news site".[4] By early 2025, Mediapart reached more than 245,000 paid subscribers.[3] Profile [edit] Mediapart's income is only derived from paid subscribers.[1] Unlike most French newspapers, Mediapart refuses to display any advertising. It also refuses all commercial partnerships.[5] Its official slogan is "Only Our Readers Can Buy Us". The New York Times has called Mediapart "France's leading investigative news site".[4] The Financial Times described the editor as an "ex-Trotskyist rocking the French establishment".[6] Mediapart consists of two main sections: Le Journal, run by professional journalists, and Le Club, a collaborative forum edited by its subscriber community. In 2011, Mediapart launched FrenchLeaks, a whistleblower website inspired by WikiLeaks.[7][8] On 8 May 2026, the National Communication Observatory in Niger suspended Mediapart due to its "repeated dissemination of content likely to seriously undermine public order, national unity, social cohesion, and the stability of republican institutions". The decision was criticised by the Committee to Protect Journalists as "censorship".[9] Ownership [edit] Mediapart was originally a for-profit business. In 2018, the newspaper was converted by shareholders into a non-profit.[10] The newspaper is now owned by Le Fond pour une Presse Libre, a non-profit trust created to secure the financial and editorial independence of Mediapart in perpetuity and support freedom of the press.[10] By design, trust board members don't have any authority over the newsroom.[11] Landmark investigations [edit] Mediapart has played a central role in the investigation and revelation of several major French political scandals, including: The Bettencourt affair in 2010.[12] The Sarkozy-Gaddafi case in 2012. Mediapart made public two official Libyan documents suggesting the existence of a €50 million transfer from the Libyan regime to Nicolas Sarkozy's successful 2007 campaign for President of France. In June 2021, Mediapart reported that Michèle Marchand, an influential figure in the French celebrity press and proponent of Nicolas Sarkozy, had been taken into custody and interviewed over alleged witness tampering in relation to a witness in the Sarkozy corruption trial.[13] The Cahuzac affair in 2012. Mediapart made public an audio recording from 2000 compromising Jérôme Cahuzac, then France's Minister for the Budget, in tax fraud.[14] Former National Front candidate Jean-Claude Veillard's role in the payment of taxes to ISIS middlemen by Lafarge in 2013–2014.[15] The Benalla affair. On 31 January 2019, Mediapart released voice recordings attributed to Alexandre Benalla and Vincent Crase that suggested serious offenses committed by the two.[16] On 4 February 2019, the office of Mediapart was subjected to a raid which failed as Mediapart refused it on the ground that the warrant was not authorised by a judge. The raid was in connection with a new investigation concerning a breach of Benalla's and Crase's privacy, prompted by the office of the Prime Minister of France.[17] Neither of the two has launched action against Mediapart for breach of privacy. Mediapart sees in the raid an attempt by the government to reveal and intimidate the source of the voice recordings and to stifle journalistic rights to inform the public.[18] Mediapart has never been subject to such a raid before, and received support from other press organisations and the European Federation of Journalists.[19] The incident was reported by The New York Times,[20] and also by The Washington Post.[21] In July 2019, Mediapart revealed that €63,000 of public money had been spent by François de Rugy on the refurbishment of his official residence, including €19,000 on a dressing room, and published photographs of lobster and champagne dinners, implying profligacy at the taxpayers' expense whilst he was President of the National Assembly.[22][23] On 16 July 2019 Rugy resigned as Ecology Minister.[24] In April 2021, Mediapart revealed that luxury giant LVMH secretly paid Bernard Squarcini, the former head of French intelligence, to put journalist François Ruffin under illegal surveillance.[25] Ruffin was preparing a documentary about billionaire Bernard Arnault, CEO of LVMH.[25] In May 2022, Mediapart revealed that Patrick Poivre d'Arvor, one of the most powerful news anchors in France, had been accused of rape and sexual assault by at least 20 different women.[26] References [edit] 1 2 3 Kim Willsher, "How pioneering Mediapart has set the French news agenda", The Guardian, 16 March 2008. ↑ "Mediapart". Bonn, Germany: Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung. Retrieved 10 May 2021. 1 2 Mimran, Olivier (11 March 2025). "Mediapart : Pour le site d'investigation, l'année 2024 aura été celle « de tous les records »". 20 Minutes. Retrieved 28 February 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) 1 2 "The Fall of the 'Sun King' of French TV, and the Myth of Seduction". New York Times. 2022. ↑ Rubio, Marthe (11 March 2011). "How France's Mediapart Built a Successful News Model Around Investigative Journalism". Global Investigative Journalism Network. Retrieved 16 March 2022. ↑ "Edwy Plenel : The ex-trotkyst rocking the french establishment". Financial Times. 2013. ↑ Smith, Sydney (12 March 2011). "New WikiLeaks Partner Launches FrenchLeaks, Canadian Man Launches QuebecLeaks". iMediaEthics. Art Science Research Laboratory. Retrieved 29 June 2015. ↑ Cherubini, Federica (11 March 2011). "FrenchLeaks launches: a new whistle-blowing site from Mediapart". Editor's Weblog. World Association of Newspapers and New Publishers. Retrieved 29 June 2015. ↑ "Niger suspends 9 French media outlets for alleged public order threat". Committee to Protect Journalists. 14 May 2026. Archived from the original on 19 May 2026. Retrieved 25 May 2026. 1 2 "" Mediapart " modifie sa gouvernance pour préserver son indépendance". Retrieved 2 February 2023. ↑ "STATUTS Fonds pour une presse libre". 14 August 2019. Retrieved 14 August 2019. ↑ Jacinto, Leela (6 July 2010). "How a start-up news site broke and rode the Bettencourt scandal". France 24. Retrieved 20 March 2012. ↑ Willsher, Kim (4 June 2021). "Nicolas Sarkozy case: 'paparazzi queen' in custody over alleged witness tampering". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 June 2021. ↑ Sayare, Scott (19 March 2013). "French Minister Steps Down in Swiss Bank Investigation". The New York Times. Retrieved 29 June 2015. ↑ de Boni, Marc (3 May 2017). "Un ex-candidat du FN impliqué dans les relations troubles entre Lafarge et Daech". Le Figaro. Retrieved 4 May 2017. ↑ Turchi, Fabrice Arfi, Antton Rouget and Marine. "Probe launched into Russian oligarch contract linked to Élysée security aide". Mediapart.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) ↑ "Benalla: Matignon a transmis des éléments au parquet, dit Griveaux". Reuters via Mediapart. 6 February 2019. Retrieved 10 February 2019. ↑ "Mediapart blocks prosecutors' bid to search offices over Macron security aide affair". Mediapart. ↑ "France: Mediapart secret sources …