''L'Écho du Sud'' () is a French weekly

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...

founded in 1929 by Louis Cambrézy. It was bought in 2022 by the Ferber Group, which used it to implement deceptive marketing practices, ranging from unreported advertising to extortion attempts.

History

On 13 April 1929, Louis Cambrézy, a French

settler A settler or a colonist is a person who establishes or joins a permanent presence that is separate to existing communities. The entity that a settler establishes is a Human settlement, settlement. A settler is called a pioneer if they are among ...

, founded the newspaper ''L'Écho du Sud: organe des intérêts généraux du Sud de Madagascar'', in

Fianarantsoa Fianarantsoa is a city (commune urbaine) in south central Madagascar, and is the capital of Haute Matsiatra Region. History It was built in the early 19th century by the Merina as the administrative capital for the newly conquered Betsileo kin ...

. Its goal was initially to maintain an active newspaper following the disappearance the previous year of ''La Voix du Sud'', another newspaper founded in Fianarantsoa by Jules Thibier. Its head office is located on Avenue Clémenceau, in Fianarantsoa, and it is printed by the ''Imprimerie du Betsileo''. It is distributed at a price of 0.40

francs The franc is any of various units of currency. One franc is typically divided into 100 centimes. The name is said to derive from the Latin inscription ''francorum rex'' ( King of the Franks) used on early French coins and until the 18th centur ...

. The newspaper appears every Saturday and deals with general information in

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

. It is thanks to this newspaper that Louis Cambrézy was awarded the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

in 1935, by Louis Rollin, Minister of the Colonies.

Logo

File:Logo ancien L'Écho du Sud.png, Logo during the 1920s File:Logo_L'Écho_du_Sud_1941.png, Logo during the 1940s File:Logo L'Écho du Sud transparent.png, Logo today

Editorial stance

The newspaper is openly in favor of colonialism and the maintenance of France in Africa, its founder having himself taken part in the

Second Madagascar expedition The Second Madagascar expedition was a French military intervention which took place in 1894–1895, sealing the conquest of the Merina Kingdom on the island of Madagascar by France. It was the last phase of the Franco-Hova War and followed th ...

. From 1936, he sided with the

Spanish Republicans The Republican faction (), also known as the Loyalist faction () or the Government faction (), was the side in the Spanish Civil War of 1936 to 1939 that supported the government of the Second Spanish Republic against the Nationalist faction of t ...

who were victims of the

Francoists Francoist Spain (), also known as the Francoist dictatorship (), or Nationalist Spain () was the period of Spanish history between 1936 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death i ...

. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the newspaper took a stand against

Vichy France Vichy France (; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was a French rump state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II, established as a result of the French capitulation after the Battle of France, ...

, which persecuted its founder Louis Cambrézy for his membership in

Freemasonry Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

Takeover by Ferber group

It is bought in 2022 by Ferber Enterprises (mg), a holding that uses it to blackmail its customers victims of the deceptive practices of its subsidiaries, by publishing defamatory articles focused on customers who have posted negative reviews of their experience with Ferber Enterprises, the deletion of which is explicitly promised upon deletion of said negative reviews. Thus, in 2023, L'Écho du Sud is at the heart of a controversy after publishing a defamatory article against a client of Ferber Painting, a company of the Ferber group. This client testifies to being blackmailed after publishing a negative review on Ferber Painting, and that she would have been offered to delete this article if she agreed to delete her negative review. Similar articles have also been published.

References

External links

''L'Écho du Sud'' digital archives from 1929 to 1941
in Gallica, the digital library of the BnF {{DEFAULTSORT:Echo du Sud Newspapers published in Madagascar 1929 establishments in France Centre-right newspapers Conservative media in France Weekly newspapers published in France Newspapers established in 1929