Les Échos
French business newspaper and digital financial-news publisher.
Last updated August 21, 2026
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Overview
Les Échos is a French business-news brand centered on a weekday financial and economic daily newspaper and an extensive digital publishing operation. It traces its origins to 1908, when brothers Robert and Émile Servan-Schreiber launched a small publication called Les Échos de l'Exportation. Initially issued monthly, the paper became a weekly in 1913 and adopted the shorter Les Échos name after publication was interrupted during the First World War. It became a daily newspaper in 1928 and established a strong reputation among French economic and business circles during the 1930s, although it was suspended again in 1939 and resumed publication after the Second World War in 1945. The newspaper's postwar development was strongly associated with the Servan-Schreiber family. Between 1945 and 1960, family members including Jean-Jacques, Marie-Claire and Jean-Claude Servan-Schreiber were involved in the publication. Internal family tensions eventually contributed to a sale in 1963 to Pierre and Jacqueline Beytout. The Beytout period sought to turn Les Échos into a more fully developed economic daily with an international perspective. Jacqueline Beytout served as chief executive and, from 1966 to 1989, as publishing director. Her grandson Nicolas Beytout became editor-in-chief in 1986 and remained in that role until 2004. The newspaper expanded substantially under the Beytout family. Its commercial performance improved as it approached the 1990s, and it increasingly became a newspaper of record for French economic and corporate affairs. Pearson PLC acquired a controlling stake in 1988 and completed its purchase of the remaining shares in 1989, after a politically contentious process concerning foreign ownership of a prominent French newspaper. Jacqueline Beytout left the organization after disagreements with the new shareholder. Les Échos entered the digital era with the launch of its website in 1996. It changed from a tabloid format to the Berliner format in 2003 and broadened its editorial coverage during the 2000s and 2010s. Alongside core reporting on companies, markets, finance and public policy, the brand added coverage of science and technology, innovation, environmental growth, medicine and health, marketing, management, education, strategy, leadership and law. In 2013, it introduced LesEchos360, a business-news aggregation and information platform. LVMH acquired Les Échos from Pearson in 2007. The newspaper is now part of the Les Échos-Le Parisien Group, owned by LVMH. Its editorial identity is generally described as economically liberal, with a favorable view of market mechanisms and private enterprise. The brand publishes reporting, analysis, interviews, data and expert commentary, including contributions from prominent economists. Its principal French competitor in the business-newspaper segment has traditionally been La Tribune. Les Échos operates in a media environment shaped by digital subscriptions, online advertising, mobile consumption and concerns about ownership concentration. Its ownership has generated debate about editorial independence, particularly because LVMH chairman Bernard Arnault is a major French business figure. In 2023, the dismissal of editor-in-chief Nicolas Barré led to a public protest by journalists and the appointment of François Vidal as his replacement. Despite these disputes, Les Échos remains an active French business-media brand with a daily newspaper, website and related digital information products.
History
Les Échos began in 1908 as Les Échos de l'Exportation, a four-page monthly publication founded by Robert and Émile Servan-Schreiber. The publication became a weekly in 1913, reaching a reported circulation of 5,000 copies, and was later interrupted by the First World War. It returned after the war under the shorter title Les Échos. In 1928 it became a daily, and by 1937 it was regarded as an authoritative source within French economic circles. Publication was suspended again in 1939 and resumed in 1945, when its coverage reflected the industrial and commercial priorities of postwar France, including textiles and mechanics. The years from 1945 to 1960 were closely linked to the Servan-Schreiber family. Jean-Jacques Servan-Schreiber, later associated with L'Express, and other members of the family participated in the newspaper's development. Family disagreements in the early 1960s ultimately contributed to its sale. Pierre and Jacqueline Beytout acquired the newspaper in 1963 and pursued a strategy of building a serious economic daily with international reach. Jacqueline Beytout became a central managerial figure, serving as chief executive and later as publishing director. In 1986 she appointed her grandson Nicolas Beytout editor-in-chief. The Beytout era saw the newspaper develop into an important French business publication. Its sales and turnover increased significantly as the 1990s approached, and its reporting became influential among corporate, financial and policy audiences. Pearson PLC acquired 67 percent of the Les Échos group in 1988 and bought the remaining 33 percent in 1989. The transaction caused political controversy because some French officials objected to the transfer of a prominent national newspaper to a foreign media group. Jacqueline Beytout left after a disagreement with Pearson's new ownership. The newspaper launched its website in 1996, marking the beginning of a continuing transition toward digital publishing. It adopted the Berliner print format in September 2003 and won an EPICA award in 2004. Nicolas Beytout left the editor-in-chief role in 2004 and subsequently took a comparable position at Le Figaro. During the 2000s, Les Échos continued to combine print journalism with increasingly broad digital and specialist coverage. LVMH acquired the newspaper from Pearson in 2007. Under LVMH ownership, the brand expanded its subject range in 2010 to include innovation, science, technology, environmental growth, medicine, health, marketing, advertising, management, education, strategy, leadership, law and finance. LesEchos360 was launched in 2013 as a business-news aggregation platform. The newspaper has maintained an economically liberal editorial identity, emphasizing markets and private enterprise while publishing reporting and analysis on companies, finance, public policy and the wider economy. Ownership and editorial independence have remained recurring subjects of discussion. In 2017, journalists protested the removal of an interview with François Ruffin. In 2022, Bernard Arnault appeared before a French Senate committee examining media concentration and described a fundamental distance between his ownership interests and a hypothetical Marxist editorial orientation. In 2023, Arnault dismissed editor-in-chief Nicolas Barré, prompting a journalist protest and the appointment of François Vidal. Les Échos remains an active newspaper and digital news publisher within the Les Échos-Le Parisien Group.
- 2023
Change of editor-in-chief
[1]Nicolas Barré is dismissed and François Vidal is appointed editor-in-chief following a journalist protest.
- 2013
LesEchos360 launches
[1]The brand introduces a business-news aggregation and information service.
- 2007
LVMH acquisition
[1]LVMH buys Les Échos from Pearson.
- 2003
Print redesign
[1]The newspaper changes from tabloid presentation to the Berliner format.
- 1996
Website launch
[1]Les Échos launches its online news website.
- 1989
Pearson completes the acquisition
[1]Pearson acquires the remaining shares and becomes the full owner of the group.
- 1988
Pearson acquires a controlling stake
[1]Pearson PLC purchases 67 percent of the Les Échos group after a politically contentious ownership process.
- 1963
Beytout ownership begins
[1]Pierre and Jacqueline Beytout acquire the newspaper and pursue a more developed, internationally oriented economic daily.
- 1945
Postwar relaunch
[1]The newspaper resumes publication after its wartime suspension, initially emphasizing sectors important to postwar reconstruction.
- 1928
Becomes a daily newspaper
[1]Les Échos adopts daily publication, strengthening its role in French economic journalism.
Products and positioning
A leading French business-news and financial-information brand with an economically liberal editorial orientation, combining a national weekday newspaper with digital reporting and specialist analysis.
Print newspaper · 1928
Les Échos daily newspaper
The core weekday publication covers French and international companies, markets, macroeconomics, public policy, finance and management. It developed from an export-focused periodical into a broad business newspaper and is positioned as a reference source for French economic and corporate news.
Digital news website · 1996
LesEchos.fr
The brand's online publication, launched in 1996, extends Les Échos reporting into continuous digital news. It provides business, financial, economic and policy coverage alongside analysis and specialist subject areas developed by the newspaper over time.
Business information platform · 2013
LesEchos360
Introduced in 2013, LesEchos360 is a business-news aggregation and information service intended to organize and extend access to economic and corporate content in a digital environment.
Controversies
2023
Protest following the dismissal of Nicolas Barré
Journalists protested after LVMH chairman Bernard Arnault dismissed editor-in-chief Nicolas Barré. François Vidal subsequently replaced Barré, intensifying discussion about ownership influence and editorial autonomy.
2017
Dispute over the removal of a François Ruffin interview
The society representing Les Échos journalists protested the removal of an interview with politician François Ruffin. Management defended the decision on the grounds that Ruffin's criticism of the newspaper was excessively disparaging, making the episode a public dispute over editorial judgment and independence.
Brand decisions
2013
Launch of LesEchos360Product launchBackground
Digital audiences increasingly required aggregated and continuously accessible business information.
Action taken
Les Échos created LesEchos360 as a business-news aggregation platform.
Aftermath
The service extended the brand beyond the traditional newspaper and website formats.
2010
Expansion into specialist coverageStrategyBackground
Les Échos sought to broaden its relevance beyond traditional financial and corporate reporting.
Action taken
The newspaper expanded coverage to science, technology, environmental growth, health, marketing, management, education, strategy, leadership, law and finance.
Aftermath
The brand developed a wider professional and economic information proposition.
2003
Adoption of the Berliner formatOtherBackground
The publication updated its print presentation as part of its continuing development as a modern daily newspaper.
Action taken
Les Échos changed from a tabloid format to the Berliner format.
Aftermath
The redesign gave the print edition a new physical format while preserving its business-news identity.
1996
Move into digital publishingProduct launchBackground
The newspaper faced the emerging importance of online news distribution and digital readership.
Action taken
Les Échos launched its website as a digital extension of the newspaper.
Aftermath
The website became a core part of the brand's continuing print-and-digital publishing model.
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