Héloïse Goy, with Alexis Patri
The free daily newspaper “20 Minutes” announces the establishment of a social plan. Thirty posts, half of which are journalists from its editorial staff, are concerned. The newspaper has been in difficulty since the start of the health crisis, which has seen the advertising market, an important source of financing for the newspaper, collapse.
20 minutes just celebrated its 20th anniversary. But the atmosphere is no longer festive. The free newspaper announced a social plan on Wednesday. It concerns about thirty positions, half of which are journalist positions. This social plan, which will be implemented in June, follows the very heavy financial losses of the newspaper since the health crisis in 2020, which notably led to the collapse of the advertising market.
The end of local editions of 20 minutes
The newspaper also announced a suspension of its distribution in several regions. 20 minutes will no longer be distributed in Rennes, Nantes, Strasbourg and Nice. The social plan mainly concerns the journalists of these cities. 20 Minutes is ending its local editions and only the national edition will now be distributed. It will be available in six cities in France.
The editorial staff of the newspaper had experienced a quasi-general strike last April. In June 2021, the newspaper had already changed its publication schedule, going from four days of circulation to three days a week. A change that also accompanied the launch of a new formula.