Actu.fr

Actu.fr
Type of site
Local news platform
Available inFrench
Headquarters261 Rue de Châteaugiron, Rennes
Country of originFrance
OwnerGroupe actu
URLactu.fr
CommercialYes
Launched2017
Current statusActive

Actu.fr is a local news platform launched in 2017 and operated by Groupe actu, a subsidiary of the SIPA - Ouest-France Group.[1]

History

Main article: Publihebdos § History

In 2017, the Actu.fr platform — bringing together the websites of its 88 regional and local weekly newspapers — was created under the leadership of Francis Gaunand, then president of the Publihebdos group.[1]

Between 2017 and 2020, new regional editions were launched and media outlets external to the group joined the platform. In 2019, the website was among the most visited news websites in France and generated 50 million monthly visits.[1]

In 2019, according to La Lettre A, an alliance with the Rossel–La Voix group was considered but never finalized, as the latter intended to launch a competing platform.[2]

In 2023, the website generated 100 million visits each month.[3]

Editorial line and operations

Publications

The platform notably includes 77 paid weekly newspapers, 14 free information newspapers, and the departmental daily newspaper La Presse de la Manche.[5] Alongside existing titles, Publihebdos created local Actu [6] pure players (some predated the platform, such as 76actu launched in 2012 and Normandie-actu.fr in 2014).[6],[7]

More than 500 articles are published on the platform each day.[1] According to Les Echos, these provide "a panorama of regional and national topics".[5]

The website NewsGuard awarded Actu.fr its highest reliability rating and noted that it was the news site generating the most engagement on social media in 2020,[1],[8] 2022,[9] and 2023.

Editorial partnerships

The media group is forming partnerships with local digital-only publishers to integrate them into the platform (in exchange for visibility and a share of the programmatic advertising revenue generated)[10],[1]. In particular, Actu.fr has entered into a partnership with Métropolitain.[10],[1]

Organization

The Actu.fr platform has its own editorial staff and national departments, comprising about twenty people. Based in Rennes, they work in coordination with offices located throughout France.[5]

Business model

The platform's business model relies primarily on online advertising and legal notices..[5],[Note 1] While the site is free to access, Actu.fr has also experimented with paid content behind a paywall.[5],[11],[1] In 2020, advertising revenues represented between €5 million and €6 million in turnover[1],[10]

In 2022, an independent report prepared by a consulting firm mandated by the social and economic committee of Publihebdos denounced a social model described as "low-cost" journalism and poor working conditions. According to the report, pressure on journalists focused on quantitative content production rather than quality, and journalists were subject to constant numerical evaluation. The report also raised concerns over incidents that, according to the authors, could constitute sexual harassment.[12]

A lengthy investigation by Arrêt sur images also described the work of Actu.fr journalists caught in a race for audience figures, as well as controversial recruitment practices.[6] Sued for defamation by Nicolas Zaugra, editor-in-chief of "Actu Lyon", the two journalists responsible for the investigation were acquitted under the good-faith exception, while Zaugra was ordered to pay them "the total sum of €2,000 pursuant to article 472 of the Code of Criminal Procedure" for "abuse of civil party proceedings".[13]

Groupe actu, which operates the Actu.fr platform, is a subsidiary of the SIPA - Ouest-France Group through SIPA (Société d'investissements et de participations), which owns 84.34% of the company. In 2010, sociology lecturer Cégolène Frisque used this example to illustrate the creation of monopolies by regional press groups that "increasingly assign themselves the role of reporting on and even promoting the activities and achievements of local authorities, becoming full-fledged actors in local life".[14]

Visual identity

  • Logotype from 2017 to 09 2020.
    Logotype from 2017 to 09 2020.
  • Logotype since 09 2020.
    Logotype since 09 2020.

Notes

  1. ^ Legal notices are considered indirect press subsidies. Long reserved for print publications, this market has been new for pure players since 2020.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Servia, Florent (22 April 2021). "Actu.fr: The National at the Scale of Hyperlocal News". La Revue des Médias. National Audiovisual Institute. Retrieved 12 September 2024.
  2. ^ "How Rossel Wants to Counter Actu.fr". La Lettre A (in French). 2020-02-28. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  3. ^ Sequeira Martins, Gilmar (8 December 2023). "Regional Weekly Press Facing a Complex Equation". Stratégies.
  4. ^ Wojciak, Thierry (22 April 2019). "Actu.fr moves into Montpellier" [Actu.fr moves into Montpellier]. CB News (in French). Retrieved 15 January 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d e Alcaraz, Marina (2023-02-03). "How Actu.fr Carved Out Its Place in Local News". Les Echos (in French). Retrieved 2024-01-15.
  6. ^ a b c Bock, Pauline (30 January 2023). "At "Actu.fr", Journalists Worn Down by the Race for Clicks". Arrêt sur images. Retrieved 2023-01-30.
  7. ^ "Publihebdos Takes Over Mulliez's Local Newspapers". Les Echos (in French). 2014-11-16. Retrieved 2024-01-16.
  8. ^ A.L. (2020-12-21). "20 Minutes Among the Top Reliable News Sites According to NewsGuard". 20 Minutes (in French). Retrieved 2023-02-02.
  9. ^ Plottu, Pierre; Macé, Maxime (4 January 2023). "Conspiracy Theorists and the Far Right, Champions of Online Disinformation". Libération (in French). Retrieved 2024-01-15.
  10. ^ a b c "Actu.fr Targets the Entire French Mainland". La Lettre de l'Expansion. 17 February 2020. p. 5.
  11. ^ "Gaunand Will Make Actu.fr Paid". La Lettre (in French). 2018-01-16. Retrieved 2024-01-15.
  12. ^ Sanson, Manuel (8 July 2022). "At Actu.fr, the Other Side of "Low-Cost" Journalism". Mediapart (in French). Retrieved 2022-07-08.
  13. ^ Bock, Pauline (29 May 2025). "Arrêt sur images Cleared of Defamation for an Article on "Actu.fr"". Arrêt sur Images (in French).
  14. ^ Frisque, Cégolène (2010-11-19). "Local Media and Political Spaces?". French Political Science Review. 60 (5): 951–973. doi:10.3917/rfsp.605.0951. ISSN 0035-2950. Retrieved 2024-02-03.

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