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paris - lionel
lumbroso
the daily news @ libération
From its inception as a newspaper for workers on strike to
the facilities in which it operates today (a parking lot) to the various
forms of its Web presence, Libération tends to stand out in the French
press and to reveal a few facts on where France is at.
Located not far from the Place de la République in Paris, the
Libération building is a surprisingly made over parking lot: you walk up a
large carpeted alley that used to be the spiral ramp for cars and each
parking half-floor is now an open space for one editorial section of the
newspaper. Numerous windows and glass partitions have naturally been
added.
But you don't necessarily realize that immediately. Funny how familiar
objects or settings look unfamiliar, even eerie, when reused differently.
The man I came to see, Laurent Mauriac, had to point it out. "Of course!",
you say, "I knew something was... different". And then, for the rest of
your visit, you tend to have Before/After flashes!
Facts, please... Libération is the fourth
or fifth best-selling newspaper in France but it is still very young and
has an original story: Founded 23 years ago in the aftermath of May'68
with the support of writer-philosoph turned activist Jean-Paul Sartre,
Libération was initially owned by its employees, who were all paid
equally, from the editor-in-chief to the cleaning ladies.
A generous and idealistic but hard to maintain policy.
Over the years, Libération mutated to a more normal left-oriented daily,
still headed and inspired by baby-boomers.
Classy multimedia supplement -
"Can do better" Web siteWith that kind of a past, it is not
entirely surprising that it was the first French newspaper to devote a
weekly 8-page supplement to the Internet, at the end of 1994. And a rather
intelligent one at that, with educated editorials as well as "how to"
sections, a weekly column by Silicon Valley French expat guru Jean-Louis
Gassée and well-chosen special reports.
Libération was also the first newspaper to open its own Web site in May
1995 on a US site first, and
later on a French site. In 18
months, however, they have shown nothing very spectacular on it.
Cold passionSo I went there to ask Laurent Mauriac, in charge of
the multimedia supplement and of the Web site, what his plans were. There
was a pilgrimage side to the visit, too: I've been reading the newspaper
since it came out. Being there, amid the people behind the lines, I was
however slightly worried to hear cynical comments belying the incisive and
humanistic tone of the paper, and to discover that a posture I respect
could be just faked for the public eye. (How suspicious we've gotten to
be!)
Mauriac told me very coldly how passionate he felt about the Internet.
This sort of things puts me ill-at-ease. I tried different questioning
angles (come on, man, unbutton yourself!), but couldn't get Laurent to
really open up. The day's info is that a monthly debate on a given topic
will be at the center of both the supplement and the Web site this season.
It doesn't sound like a revolution and isn't one. It makes you wonder
whether a paper medium can produce a relevant web form without dedicating
a hefty budget to it (which is not the case here).
Lone journalist does Web at nightOr maybe the Web is not a
question of means, but mostly of spirit. Case in point: A journalist from
another section of Libération, David Dufresne, manages his own Web site
from home, at night.
La Rafale (ie. machine gun
burst) oozes of something that Web Liberation lacks: real Web funk. Its
webmaster wails at the advent of the commercial Web and you can feel his
palpable dejection and growing envy to just end it all very soon. A bit
too fallen-from-grace romantic for me. But otherwise, he writes perfectly
mastered and soulful articles for Liberation. Do you have to be a
"webwolf" to produce authentic web substance?
A true precursor in free expression?Let's not however write off
Libération as just another inadequate net player. For one thing, they do
their job of reporting about it on paper quite decently. For another, this
is a newspaper in which, in its first leftist incarnation, typists once
decided to insert their occasional comments in the articles they
keyed in (we're talking pre-PC time here). In true communal,
everybody-has-a-right-to-express fashion, nobody said anything about it.
For several years, readers were treated not only to the journalist's
comments, but occasionally to the typist's as well. Often irritating,
sometimes invigorating, always instructive.
Yesterday, Frédéric Filloux founder of Libe's multimedia supplement and
former boss of Mauriac replied to an email of mine: "Don't be mad at
Mauriac, he's hyperstressed, gets to deal with one problem after another,
runs taut like a bow. I've known that myself; it's no excuse but explains
a lot. Libé is really hell and I'm glad I left."
Uh oh! The positive image of my morning's newspaper in danger of being
shattered again? I'M NOT LISTENING. Whatever the backstage commotion, how
could I give up starting the day with Libé, a strong expresso and a
croissant at a Café table?! |
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November 1996
Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980), a writer, philosopher, and
resistance fighter, he was called "the conscience of our time."
80,000 people attended his funeral. |
France tends to retain some of the Left's positive values.
Separation of church and state, tolerance and acceptance of the
Other, concern for the disadvantaged. Even under a Right-wing
government, the attachment to public services and common good is
still strong.
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Marianne, the personnification of the French Republic,
adorns Place de la République in Paris. |
Laurent Mauriac, head of the multimedia supplement, on the
spiral ramp. |
Each half-floor is an open space for one
of the newspaper's sections.
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