Amis du Monde diplomatique

The Amis du Monde diplomatique (AMD) is a French non-profit association (association loi de 1901) founded in 1996 to bring together readers of the monthly newspaper Le Monde diplomatique who had become shareholders in the company that publishes it. The association was created as part of the 1996 restructuring of the monthly's capital, which gave the editorial team and readers a stake in the publication and institutionalized its editorial autonomy from its parent company, the SA Le Monde, which owned 51% of the subsidiary's shares. With 25% of the capital, the Amis du Monde diplomatique became the second-largest shareholder of Le Monde diplomatique, ahead of the editorial team (24%), which is grouped in the Günter Holzmann association. The AMD represents reader shareholders on the supervisory board of Le Monde diplomatique and takes an active part in the process of appointing the publication's director. The association is organized into local reader groups based on geography, both in France and abroad. In France, groups are present in cities such as Angoulême, Rennes, Lille, Carcassonne, Nancy and Châlons-en-Champagne. Each group is led by a local correspondent approved by the association's board of directors. As of 2020, the association had nearly four thousand members with up-to-date subscriptions. Governance is provided by a board of directors whose members are elected every five years: two-thirds by a college of founders and one-third by the members. The AMD's mission is to promote the analyses of the newspaper and to develop its circulation through activist activity, notably by organizing conferences and being present in intellectual debate venues and social movement events such as the World Social Forum, the European Social Forum, the International Geography Festival, the Rendez-vous de l'histoire, the Fête de l'Humanité and the Rencontres déconnomiques in Aix-en-Provence. It also promotes documentary films expressing anti-oligarchic thinking similar to that of the monthly, such as Les Nouveaux Chiens de garde and Merci Patron !. The association benefits from a monthly column in Le Monde diplomatique reporting on the activity of its local groups. In May 2015, the AMD promoted a free, open social network without advertising, called Zinc (Zone Internet Non Commerciale), intended to facilitate the exchange of critical and alter-globalist information. The network was eventually abandoned due to low traffic. The association also supports the circulation of Le Monde diplomatique in countries of the Global South by providing subscriptions through a "lecteurs solidaires" (supportive readers) fund. In 2016, it invited members and readers to celebrate the newspaper's twenty years of independence at the Centquatre venue in Paris, and produced a video presenting its activity and membership. To ensure the renewal of the newspaper's readership, the AMD prioritizes circulation of Le Monde diplomatique in student circles, participating in the organization of the newspaper's student competition and, since 2017, creating specific reader groups around "cafés-diplo" held in universities and grandes écoles.

The Amis du Monde diplomatique (AMD) was created in 1996 as an association loi de 1901 to bring together readers of Le Monde diplomatique who had become shareholders in the société anonyme that publishes the monthly. Its creation institutionalized the editorial autonomy of the Le Monde diplomatique subsidiary from its parent company, the SA Le Monde, which owned 51% of the subsidiary's shares. With 25% of the capital, the AMD became the second-largest shareholder of Le Monde diplomatique, ahead of the editorial team (24%), which is grouped in the Günter Holzmann association. The AMD represents reader shareholders on the supervisory board of Le Monde diplomatique and takes an active part in the process of appointing the director of the publication. The association is made up of reader groups organized on a geographical basis in France and abroad. In France, groups are present in cities such as Angoulême, Rennes, Lille, Carcassonne, Nancy and Châlons-en-Champagne. Each group is led by a local correspondent approved by the association's board of directors. As of 2020, the association had nearly four thousand members with up-to-date subscriptions. Governance is provided by a board of directors composed of administrators elected every five years: two-thirds by a college of founders and one-third by the members. The association has been successively presided over by Claude Julien, Riccardo Petrella, José Vidal-Beneyto, Françoise Calvez, Dominique Franceschetti and Marc Le Glatin. The president in office (2020-2025) is Antony Burlaud. The association of readers seeks to promote the analyses of the newspaper and to develop its circulation through activist activity, notably marked by the organization of conferences and presence in intellectual debate venues and social movement events (for example: World Social Forum, European Social Forum, International Geography Festival, Les Rendez-vous de l'histoire, Fête de l'Humanité, Les Rencontres déconnomiques d'Aix-en-Provence, etc.). It also participates in the promotion of documentary films expressing anti-oligarchic thinking similar to that of the monthly (for example Les Nouveaux Chiens de garde or Merci Patron !). It benefits from a monthly column in the newspaper Le Monde diplomatique reporting on the activity of its local groups. In May 2015, the AMD, sensitive to the omnipresence of commercial operators on the web, promoted a free, open social network, devoid of advertising messages, where critical and alter-globalist information is exchanged, called Zinc, an acronym for "Zone Internet Non Commerciale". This initiative also illustrates the constant commitment to the use of free software by Le Monde diplomatique. This network was intended to facilitate the recommendation of links between peers by making it easy to reference texts, sounds, images or videos as well as to follow authors and participate in debates, but it was decided to abandon it given the low traffic. The association also supports the circulation of the newspaper Le Monde diplomatique in countries of the South by providing subscriptions through a "lecteurs solidaires" fund. The association invited its members and readers of Le Monde diplomatique to celebrate the twenty years of independence of the newspaper on Saturday, October 8, 2016 at the Centquatre performance hall in Paris. On the occasion of this anniversary, the association produced a video presenting its activity and the composition of its members. In order to assume the renewal of the newspaper's readership, the Amis du Monde diplomatique strive to prioritize the circulation of Le Monde diplomatique within student circles. This objective is reflected in the association's participation in the organization of the "concours étudiant" of Le Monde diplomatique as well as the creation, since 2017, of specific groups of readers around "cafés-diplo" organized within universities and grandes écoles.

• 2020

  Had nearly 4,000 members with up-to-date subscriptions; Antony Burlaud became president (2020-2025).

• 2017

  Creation of student cafés-diplo groups in universities and grandes écoles.

• 2016

  Celebrated 20 years of Le Monde diplomatique's independence at Centquatre, Paris.

• 2015

  Promoted the free social network Zinc (Zone Internet Non Commerciale), later abandoned.

• 1996

  Association founded to bring together reader-shareholders of Le Monde diplomatique.

Activist reader association promoting the analyses and circulation of Le Monde diplomatique, and a shareholder representing readers on the monthly's supervisory board.

• Rencontres-débats

  Hundreds of debate meetings organized each year to promote the newspaper and its ideas.

• Cafés-Diplo étudiants

  Student reader groups organized in universities and grandes écoles since 2017.

• Concours étudiants

  Student competition organized with Le Monde diplomatique to engage young readers.

• Lecteurs solidaires

  Fund providing subscriptions to Le Monde diplomatique in countries of the Global South.

1. 1Les Amis du Monde diplomatique - Official websiteamis.monde-diplomatique.fr
2. 2Amis du Monde diplomatique - Wikidatawikidata.org
3. 3Amis du Monde diplomatique - Wikipédiafr.wikipedia.org