The daily national and regional press market in France

Yes. The circulation of the national daily press in France grew by 3.4% in 2025, to 485 million copies, according to Caractère (ACPM data). The growth comes from digital: digital editions account for 80% of paid circulation, against 76% in 2024 according to Les Clés de la presse, while print sales fall by nearly 13.9%. According to the Institut de recherches et d’études publicitaires (Irep, the French advertising research institute), digital accounts for 31% of PQN revenue.

The regional daily press in France is declining faster than the national titles. According to Caractère (ACPM data), the PQR and the 7th-day press circulated 1 billion copies in 2025, down 4.5% on average, of which 273 million in digital form, or 26% of the total. They account for 37% and 6% respectively of total paid circulation, and the PQN for 19% of total circulation.

In the first quarter of 2026, the national daily press in France took in €43m in advertising revenue (−0.6%) and the regional daily press €104m (−6.7%), according to the unified advertising market barometer cited by Les Clés de la presse in June 2026. The two families together account for half of the press’s €294m, which falls by 5.3% over the period (calculation based on the same source).

According to the ACPM ranking for 2025-2026, Ouest-France is the leading daily in France with 580,981 copies of paid circulation in France, ahead of Le Parisien (196,365), Sud Ouest (161,281) and Le Télégramme (157,432). Among the national dailies, Le Monde comes first with 564,586 copies, followed by Le Figaro (396,721), L’Équipe (254,905), Les Échos (141,414) and Libération (119,943).

The dailies’ sales network in France is shrinking along with single-copy sales. According to Le Monde diplomatique, the number of press points of sale fell from 31,678 in 2000 to 18,468 in 2025. Between 2000 and 2022, single-copy sales fell by 86% for the national daily press and by 78% for the regional daily press, a decline accentuated by discounted digital subscriptions.

A PDF report in French, 2026 edition, organised into six chapters: the market and its scope, market size and dynamics, readers and advertisers, publishers and press groups, regulation and distribution, and outlook.

It relies on circulation measurements from the Alliance pour les chiffres de la presse et des médias (ACPM), on the Irep advertising barometers and on trade press articles from the IndexPresse database. Every figure comes with its source and period.

Yes. The study is updated before it is sent, within 48 hours at most: it includes the latest published data, and every figure comes with its source and period.

Publishers and press groups, advertisers and media agencies, printers and distributors, as well as consultants, bankers and investors who need to understand the national and regional daily press in France.

By email, as a PDF, within 48 hours of payment. Our analysts use that time to add the latest available data before sending. You then find it in your My studies area.

A Google search or a general-purpose AI returns isolated figures, often with no date or precise scope, and cannot reach the professional press, largely behind paywalls. The study starts from a defined market, crosses public statistics with more than 500 trade journals from the IndexPresse database and links every figure to its original source. You get an up-to-date file you can cite and present as it is, without spending time cross-checking.

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