Sacre Bleu! Le Monde Gets a Facelift   

"Of course, Le Monde will always be Le Monde." Reporters and editors, printers and copy aides alike repeat these words as though they need to reassure themselves that their beloved paper isn't selling its soul. Yet the fact remains, on the occasion of its 50th anniversary, Paris' highly respected, austere (some might say stodgy) afternoon daily has undergone a facelift.

"For the readers it's a reform, but for us it's a revolution," says Laurent Greilsamer, a member of the five-person committee that designed what he describes as "the new formula," which includes a new typeface, new layout and even a new editorial hierarchy. The paper is making a concerted effort to cover such issues as immigration and the plight of inner cities, moving beyond its traditional preoccupation with government ministries.

Le Monde is not the only French daily attempting to remake itself. At least two others have felt the need for a revolution, and the reasons are obvious: The French print media, especially daily newspapers, are in crisis. Readership has been falling steadily for years, and advertising revenues have plummeted as well.

At the end of World War II France witnessed an explosion of small papers that enjoyed immense credibility due to the work of their young editors and reporters in the clandestine press during the Nazi occupation. But the public lost interest over time. "I don't know why it is, but the French don't read newspapers," says General News Editor Philippe Labarde, another member of Le Monde's pilot committee. "They'd rather read news magazines or other specialized weeklies, or listen to the news on the radio."

Acknowledging how critical the problem has become, the French government has lowered phone and postal rates, sales taxes and the cost of rail transportation for the nation's print press.

Recent circulation figures illustrate Le Monde's problem. Readership has fallen by nearly 25 percent in 10 years, from some 440,000 during the early 1980s to a little more than 350,000 at the end of 1993. Advertising revenues have dropped even more sharply, by 40 percent since the end of the Persian Gulf War, according to Le Monde Editor Jean-Jacques Bozonnet.

What exactly is the problem at Le Monde? Reporters and editors talk of "sclerosis" and "rigidity" and "not matching the needs of society."

Then there were problems with the look – Gothic nameplate and severe Times Roman typeface; headlines in full sentences; no photographs; only a small editorial cartoon pushed into a corner of the front page lightened the mood.

And now? "Of course it'll still be Le Monde," says Bozonnet hurriedly. "No color, no naked women, no graphic delirium." No photos, either, but there is a daily sports page now, in addition to an opinion page and a science section. The paper is also bolder visually and much clearer and more logical in its organization.

Reporters at the paper react with a certain reserve in the face of the redesign. Many of them agree with Lyon correspondent Robert Belleret, who says, "I know Le Monde had to change, but I hate to see it change."

"It's always hard to renovate a Romanesque cathedral, especially when the faithful are inside," says Labarde. "When we first began explaining the project, a majority of the reporters and editors accepted it. The problems began later, when they understood they'd have to change their way of working, of thinking, of seeing the paper."

Ironically, it is the printers' union, roundly cursed in France as a reactionary, obstructionist force, that has greeted Le Monde's new formula most enthusiastically. "Sales simply have to go up," says union delegate Jean-Marc Moreau. "And for that, the really important change is that the paper's coming out an hour earlier." He explains: "The French like to take a long lunch. It's vital that they be able to pick up the paper when they leave the office.

"We love the press, so whenever there's a birth, if it's at Le Monde, or if it's a whole new daily being founded, it's a happy day," adds Moreau. "But Le Monde will always be Le Monde..."