Le Figaro

Le Figaro (French: [l(ə) fiɡaʁo] ) is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. The oldest national newspaper in France, Le Figaro is considered a French newspaper of record, along with Le Monde and (to a lesser extent) Libération. Le Figaro is the second-largest national newspaper nationally, after Le Monde. It was named after Figaro, a character in several plays by polymath Beaumarchais (1732–1799): Le Barbier de Séville, La Mère coupable, and the eponymous Le Mariage de Figaro. One of his lines became the paper's motto: "Without the freedom to criticise, there is no flattering praise". It has a centre-right editorial stance, and has published writing by renowned contributors such as Émile Zola, Anatole France, Marcel Proust, François Mauriac, as well as Raymond Aron. The paper is published in Berliner format. Its editorial director has been Alexis Brézet since 2012. It is headquartered on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. Since 2004, it has been owned by Dassault Group. Other Groupe Figaro publications include Le Figaro Magazine and TV Magazine. Le Figaro is the main sponsor of the yearly Solitaire du Figaro sailing race.