The end has finally come for the Paris-based daily, France Soir. The city's commercial court ordered its liquidation, ruling that its assets must be auctioned off.
The paper's proprietor, Alexander Pugachyov - son of Russian billionaire Sergei Pugachyov - abandoned France Soir in June after having invested about £60m in the paper (plus £8m in state aid) since acquiring it in March 2010.
He shut down the print operation last December in favour of a web-only version, dismissing 180 employees. The bankruptcy means that a further 49 people, including 42 journalists, will lose their jobs.
The only genuine offer to buy the assets has been made by Robert Lafont, CEO of the Lafont Presse. But huge debts meant bankruptcy was inevitable.
France Soir was launched in 1944, before the end of the second world war as Défense de la France. In the 1950s, its daily circulation reached 1.5m, which fell to less than 100,000 by 2000.
Sources: FollowTheMedia/Moscow Times/Wikipedia
