Le Monde (English: The World) is a French daily evening newspaper with a circulation in 2004 of 371,803. It is considered the French newspaper of record, and is generally well respected, often the only French newspaper easily obtainable in non-Francophone countries. The newspaper should not be confused with the monthly publication Le Monde diplomatique, of which Le Monde has 51% ownership, but which is editorially independent. Le Monde was founded by Hubert Beuve-Méry at the request of General Charles de Gaulle after the German army was driven from Paris during World War II, and took over the format of Le Temps, whose reputation had suffered during the Occupation. Beuve-Méry reportedly demanded total editorial independence as the condition for his taking on the project. Its first edition appeared on December 19, 1944. Le Monde has been available on the Internet since December 19, 1995. It is the principal publication of Groupe Le Monde. Its current board chairman and director of publication is Éric Fottorino and the current chief editor (rédacteur en chef) is Gérard Courtois. Plantu is one of several political cartoonists who contribute to the paper, and his work is often featured on the front page above the fold.
