Metro, info, haro! Fierce reactions to regime competition in the French newspaper industry

Abstract

This article analyses the strength of opposition generated when foreign newspaper operators attempted to introduce free daily newspapers into France. The ‘ Metro crisis’ of 2002 represents a significant event in the history of the French newspaper industry, upsetting the status quo in an industry where restrictive practices abound, and causing the quasi-iconic status of Le Monde, one of France’s most respected newspapers, to be called into question. Although the crisis revealed that the state-dependent industry was particularly vulnerable to competition from external sources, the competitive pressure exerted by the foreign rival publications acted as a spur to regeneration, and showed that the French newspaper industry is capable of adapting in response to market forces.

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