Costly

France's best effort at a national title, Le Monde is a superb publication, but has never succeeded in being a newspaper for all of the country – and it's a big lossmaker. By Conor Brady

'How can anyone govern a country with more than 250 different cheeses?" Charles de Gaulle once demanded in exasperation. It might as readily be asked – how is it possible to operate a national newspaper in such a country? It is – or should be – a reference point, like a national broadcasting service or a grand repository of national culture, such as the Louvre.

Le General's invocation of the cheese metaphor serves only to make light of the profound divisions that run through the space of land we call France and the people whom we call the French.

The French are bitterly divided by class, by race, by politics, by regional identity. They are divided in their views of where their nation stands in the world. Some are not even sure who they are. Outside Perpignan last year I saw graffiti in various locations saying "French Go Home!"

France's best effort at a national newspaper since the 1944 liberation is Le Monde. But it has never succeeded in being a newspaper for all of France – however one segments the country. Now, in addition, it is in serious financial trouble.

Last week, after three tumultuous and divisive years, it appointed a new Redacteur-en-Chef (Editor-in-Chief) in succession to Edwy Plenel, who resigned in November "to go back to the simple joys of journalism and writing."

The new Editor-in-Chief, Gerard Courtois (55), is reportedly a close associate of the newspaper's publisher, Jean Marie Colombani, himself a former Redacteur-en-Chef. Courtois appears to be a perfect fit for the traditional Le Monde profile. From Vincennes, he holds a Master's degree from the Institut d'Études Politiques in Paris. He has edited or written for serious publications for most of his working life and has been chief editorial page editor at Le Monde for the past two years.

Le Monde is a superb newspaper. It is literate, articulate, provocative. Its contributors, from whatever part of the political or social spectrum, are of a high intellectual calibre. Its news services, both domestic and international, are comprehensive. It spans all aspects of life from sport to high art.

It is the perfect "newspaper of reference". But it is seen as the arcane voice of a Paris-oriented elite. And unfortunately, it makes no money. In fact, it loses heavily each year.

The Le Monde group is controlled through an extraordinary set of shareholding arrangements, involving the staff, institutional investors and other publishing companies, including Spain's El Pais. Colombani has led the group through a series of expansion moves that have resulted in cumulative losses of €100 million in three years.

Colombani believes that the future of Le Monde is best secured by building a network of profit-making operations around it. This model works wonderfully for The Guardian in the UK. It has been attempted in the past but has proven an elusive objective for The Irish Times.

Many staff at Le Monde see Plenel's removal as a scapegoating of the editorial side of the paper for the failure of the commercial arm to develop a viable business strategy. Editorial sensitivities have been heightened by reductions in staff numbers.

The crisis within Le Monde has been characterised by bitterness, recrimination and accusations. Those in senior management have been accused of pursuing their own agenda of self-aggrandisement and of failing to listen to what the employees are telling them.

But it is difficult to see any way forward for France's "newspaper of reference" that does not imply the sort of structure that Colombani is aiming for. Running a newspaper like Le Monde is an expensive business. High-quality, accurate information, presented within a 24-hour cycle, is costly. And the newspaper's revenue base is small, if one were to compare it pro rata with The Irish Times, for example.

Circulation is hovering around 360,000. If The Irish Times were to have that circulation in proportion to population, it would be selling around 30,000 copies a day on the whole island. Le Monde's Paris rival, Figaro, has a somewhat higher circulation but a much lower cost base.

By contrast with the Parisian newspapers, the French regional press is booming.

Ouest France, published from Rennes, but available from Bordeaux right up to the Pas de Calais, is the largest-selling daily in France. It sells almost 800,000 copies a day.

But Ouest France, although a fine newspaper, does not carry the heavy editorial costs that have to be endured at Le Monde. It is a regional newspaper, concentrating on news within its area – although it has a national and an international perspective.

Le Monde plans a makeover, a redesign and an editorial "redefinition" next year. Eric Fottorino, another close confidant of Colombani, is charged with this project.

But there is no widespread assumption among the staff that the new formula newspaper, due to be launched in September, will see an improvement in its fortunes. Change at Le Monde has often been timid. Changes that were seen as dramatic from within were hardly noticed by readers or advertisers.

Other French and European newspaper editors and managers often criticise Le Monde for being introverted. It keeps aloof from other newspapers. Its editors and managers are rarely available for conferences or other encounters that may open up new thinking and identify new opportunities.

There is a particular irony in this, since Paris is the headquarters of the World Association of Newspapers (WAN) and the World Editors' Forum.

I was president of WEF for five years. We had editors from 60 countries in all five continents. But we never saw anyone from Le Monde. There is no shortage of original thinking at WAN/WEF. It might be a good idea for Monsieur Courtois sometime to drop by to listen and learn.

Conor Brady is Editor Emeritus of The Irish Times. He is a senior teaching fellow at the Michael Smurfit Graduate School of Business, UCD