''Le Point'' () is a French weekly political and
conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
news magazine published in Paris. It is one of the three major French news magazines.
''Le Point'' was founded in 1972 by former journalists of ''
L'Express
(, stylized in all caps) is a French weekly news magazine headquartered in Paris. The weekly stands at the political centre-right in the French media landscape, and has a lifestyle supplement, ''L'Express Styles'', and a job supplement, ''R� ...
'' and quickly rose to become a major competitor. The magazine has changed ownership multiple times since its inception and is currently owned by Artémis, an investment group of billionaire businessman
François Pinault.
History and profile
''Le Point'' was founded in September 1972 by a group of
journalist
A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism.
Roles
Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...
s who had, one year earlier, left the editorial team of ''
L'Express
(, stylized in all caps) is a French weekly news magazine headquartered in Paris. The weekly stands at the political centre-right in the French media landscape, and has a lifestyle supplement, ''L'Express Styles'', and a job supplement, ''R� ...
'',
which was then owned by
Jean-Jacques Servan-Schreiber
Jean-Jacques Servan-Schreiber, often referred to as JJSS (13 February 19247 November 2006), was a French journalist and politician. He co-founded in 1953 with Françoise Giroud, and then went on to become president of the Radical Party in 19 ...
, a ''député'' (member of
parliament
In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
) of the
Parti Radical, a centrist party.
The company operating ''Le Point'', ''Société d'exploitation de l'hebdomadaire Le Point'' (''SEBDO Le Point'') has its head office in the
14th arrondissement of Paris
The 14th arrondissement of Paris ( ), officially named ''arrondissement de l'Observatoire'' (; meaning "arrondissement of the Observatory"; named after the Paris Observatory), is one of the 20 Arrondissements of Paris, arrondissements of Paris, ...
.
The founders focused on readers' needs, which became ''Le Point''s ideal,
[ published by Le Point Communication on Thursdays.]
After a fairly difficult start in September 1972, the magazine quickly challenged ''L'Express''. The editorial team of spring 1972 found financial backing with Hachette and was then directed by Claude Imbert. Other journalists making up the team were: Jacques Duquesne, Henri Trinchet, Pierre Billard, Robert Franc, and Georges Suffert. The management included Olivier Chevrillon and Philippe Ramond. It has changed ownership several times. Gaumont bought the magazine in 1981. In 1993, Generale Occidentale purchased 82.5% of publisher Sebdo, the owner of magazine Le Point from Gaumont.
In 1997 the magazine was acquired by its current owner Artémis, a French investment group founded and owned by the billionaire businessman François Pinault. In 2001, the logo and layout of ''Le Point'' was changed.[ The weekly recruited journalists from the ]Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
ian press and relied on its ability to redefine the genre
Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other fo ...
. It modeled itself closely on ''Time Magazine
''Time'' (stylized in all caps as ''TIME'') is an American news magazine based in New York City. It was published weekly for nearly a century. Starting in March 2020, it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York Cit ...
'' and ''Newsweek
''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...
''.
Franz-Olivier Giesbert was chief executive officer
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization.
CEOs find roles in variou ...
of ''Le Point'' from 2000 until 18 January 2014, when Etienne Gernelle replaced him. Giesbert, however, remained an adviser to the magazine and continued to write editorials and articles. It publishes a list regarding the reputation of companies, Baromètre d’Image des Grandes Entreprises.
In February 2025, Erwan Seznec, a journalist working for ''Le Point'', allegedly wrote to a French Wikipedia editor that his employer would publish an article revealing their personal information over a dispute with content the editor had added to the magazine's French Wikipedia article. The editor added content which described ''Le Point'' as "populist" and "increasingly close to the right-wing Identitarian movement". Seznec denied accusations that he had made doxing threats, saying he had merely asked for corrections. ''Le Point'' backed and defended Seznec, describing the edits and accusations as a "series of malicious acts" and the sources cited for the edits as unreliable.
Editorial stance
''Le Point'' has a conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
, centre-right
Centre-right politics is the set of right-wing politics, right-wing political ideologies that lean closer to the political centre. It is commonly associated with conservatism, Christian democracy, liberal conservatism, and conservative liberalis ...
stance without any party affiliation.[
]
Circulation
''Le Point'' had a circulation of 336,000 copies in 1981. It was 311,000 copies in 1987 and 320,000 copies in 1988.[
In 2001 ''Le Point'' had a circulation of 303,000 copies.] During the 2007-2008 period its circulation was 419,000 copies. In 2009 the circulation of the magazine was 435,000 copies.[ Its circulation in 2011 was 428,114 copies. The 2013 circulation of the magazine was 417,062 copies.][ The 2020 circulation of the magazine was 288,361 copies.]
See also
*'' Le Nouvel Observateur'' – general information French newsmagazine
*''L'Express
(, stylized in all caps) is a French weekly news magazine headquartered in Paris. The weekly stands at the political centre-right in the French media landscape, and has a lifestyle supplement, ''L'Express Styles'', and a job supplement, ''R� ...
'' – conservative newsmagazine, owned by Belgian group Roularta
*'' Valeurs Actuelles''
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Point
1972 establishments in France
Conservatism in France
Conservative magazines
French-language magazines
News magazines published in France
French news websites
Political magazines published in France
Weekly magazines published in France
Magazines established in 1972
Magazines published in Paris