1954–1989 was founded in 1954 by
Hubert Beuve-Méry, founder and director of , the French
newspaper of record. Subtitled the "organ of diplomatic circles and of large international organisations," 5,000 copies were distributed, comprising eight pages, dedicated to
foreign policy and
geopolitics. Its first
editor-in-chief, , developed the newspaper as a scholarly reference journal. Honti attentively followed the birth of the
Non-Aligned Movement, created out of the 1955
Bandung Conference, and the issues of the "
Third World".
Claude Julien became the newspaper's second editor in January 1973. At this point, the circulation of had increased from 5,000 to 50,000 copies; under Julien, and with the help of Micheline Paunet, the paper's circulation would grow to 120,000 in the next 20 years. Around this time, as
Le Monde shifted its editorial line towards favoring
neoliberal ideology,
Le Monde diplomatique shifted its focus toward a radical critique of
Reagan policy, and criticism of imperialistic liberal policy. Without renouncing its "
Third-worldism" position, it extended the treatment of its subjects, concentrating on international
economic and
monetary problems, strategic relations, the
Middle-East conflict, etc. One of the contributors was
Samir Frangieh, a leftist Lebanese journalist. Both Ramonet and his successor, Serge Halimi, published books that critiqued the media from outside academic circles. The newspaper established financial and editorial independence from in 1996, forming its own company. owns 51%; the Friends of Le Monde diplomatique and Günter Holzmann Association, comprising the paper's staff, together own 49%. The newspaper supported the November–December
1995 general strike in France against Prime minister
Alain Juppé's (
RPR) plan to cut
pensions. Three years later, after a proposal in a 1997 editorial by Ramonet, took a founding role in the creation of
ATTAC, an
alter-globalisation NGO. It was founded to advocate the
Tobin tax, and chapters have been started throughout the world. It now supports a variety of left-wing causes. The newspaper also took an important role in the organisation of the 2001
Porto Alegre World Social Forum. Ramonet devoted considerable space to reporting on
Hugo Chávez, with whom he was said to have developed a close relationship, and his
Bolivarian Revolution. The August 2017 issue of the monthly was not marketed in
Algeria. According to sources close to the distributor, the newspaper did not get permission to do so.
Algerian authorities did not explain. The heads of the newspaper claim that it was "banned" from sale in the country because of a report by journalist Pierre Daum. He is best known for writing a book about the
Harkis who stayed in Algeria after
Independence, and about the difficult social and economic situation of some
young Algerians. ==
Le Monde diplomatique SA==