We are a newspaper

There are plenty of good restaurants in Paris," Umberto Eco scoffed. He, too, reached into the keys to express his solidarity with the French Libération: "But good newspapers are rare. Libération is the example of a brave and free press; it would be sad if anything changed."

The brilliant Italian semiologist and author of the bestseller "The Name of the Rose" did not formulate the comparison with a restaurant from a hollow gut. In fact, Bruno Ledoux, who is the owner together with Edouard de Rothschild, wants to oust the editorial staff from the editorial building in Paris. Ledoux is its owner, and the newspaper rents from him. That's how he got his shares. He wants to open a cultural and fashion center under the brand name Liberation, with a restaurant, bar and TV studio. Ledoux talks about the "Café de Flore of the 21st century," alluding to the famous bistro where Jean-Paul Sartre wrote his books after the war.

Sartre was one of the co-founders of Libération, which celebrated its fortieth birthday last year. The hard core consisted of Maoists, with whom Sartre sympathized after May 68. In Germany, the revolt led to terrorism; in France, the insurgents tried to change society with a newspaper. Everyone got the same pay. The editor-in-chief didn't have much more to say than the proofreaders and the cleaning lady. Advertising did not exist, it was introduced by stealth. And it was handled in an original way: individual issues were sold to a single customer. Once the newspaper appeared perfumed. Another time, it was commissioned by a fashion company and made of fabric. No other newspaper has shaped and intelligently described the development of French society as much as Libération.

Several times it was on the verge of ruin. It had to cease publication for months. Shareholders who were not allowed to decide anything were brought on board. It was a counter-revolution when Edouard de Rothschild took over the reins of the anti-capitalists - who had already lost a lot of the long march. He is no longer in the mood - and his new co-owner Ledoux lacks the money. The accumulated debts amount to six million euros. In 2013, after two balanced years, there was a deficit of one million. Ledoux has imposed a radical savings program and tried - in vain for the time being - to reduce the low wages by ten percent.

The staff saw the plan for a cultural center with galleries and stores designed by Philipp Starck as a declaration of war. It published Ledoux's description of the project. Apparently, the broker tried to extract the Libé brand - on the pretext of depositing it as a bank guarantee for new loans. This would have allowed him to declare the newspaper bankrupt and carry out his plan without print. The managing director who prevented this had to go. Every day, the editorial team reports on its fight for survival and against the owner on several pages: "We are a newspaper" is the heading.

Last weekend there was an "open house Saturday". The turnout was tremendous. Readers are more critical than those of other newspapers and more left-wing than the editorial staff. Circulation has dropped to less than 100,000. France's intellectuals and cultural figures write and sign for the endangered paper. Europe is also looking to Paris: "Without Libération, France would be more petty," says Denis Macshane, a former British minister for Europe. He recalls Voltaire, Victor Hugo, Zola, Camus and Sartre, whose importance he explains with the imperative to "think differently. The newspaper remains committed to him, staging an impressive staging of topicality every day: with its own weighting and competent commentaries.

Libération is more than a newspaper; its struggle makes people aware of the importance of the press for the public.   

Jürg Altwegg is correspondent of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in Geneva.