Le Monde diplomatique
The monthly publication Le Monde diplomatique (nicknamed "Le Diplo" by its French readers) offers well-documented analysis and opinion on politics, culture, and current affairs. Its articles are long, well-researched, scholarly, and opinionated. In particular, the newspaper takes a critical view on the effects of economic Neoliberalism on the world and its population, and is generally seen as decidedly left-wing. Through the last fifty years during the cold war, it had also a neutralist viewpoint, often critical of US foreign policy.
The original French edition has a circulation of about 350,000; sixteen editions in other languages bring the total to about 1.4 million readers worldwide. Le Monde diplomatique's readers own 49% of the company through L'association des Amis du Monde diplomatique; the remaining 51% is owned by the French daily newspaper Le Monde. The newspaper maintains its independence by limiting its dependence advertising and through its reader-owned capital - "minorité de blocage" (control stock).
Like the French weekly Télérama, Le Diplo is criticized for the quantity and nature of the published advertisements. In November and December 2003 2-page advertisements by IBM and a car manufacturer were placed. The issues of February and March 2004 contained advertisements by Microsoft in a 'social' atmosphere with a picture of children, which led to irritation with Free software activists.
One editorial written in 1997 by Ignacio Ramonet, its editor-in-chief, led to the creation of the ATTAC NGO, which is working towards implementing the Tobin tax.