journalist Carine Fouteau replaces Edwy Plenel at the head of the investigative site

The 49-year-old journalist becomes president and publishing director of Mediapart in place of her co-founder, aged 71.

Sixteen years of existence and a change of mind. Journalist Carine Fouteau succeeds Edwy Plenel at the head of Mediapart, the investigative site announced Thursday March 14. “This step, prepared for a long time, is written in accordance with our values, which have always placed collective intelligence above personal adventures”estimates the 49-year-old journalist in a text posted online on the site.

Editorial Director of World from 1996 to 2004 and emblematic face of investigative journalism in France, Edwy Plenel co-founded Mediapart in 2008 with François Bonnet, Laurent Mauduit and Marie-Hélène Smiejan. He announced in mid-February that he was going to leave the presidency, but that he would continue to write there. He was the last of the co-founders still on the management team.

The four main management positions at Mediapart are now occupied by women: Carine Fouteau, Cécile Sourd (general director since 2023), Lenaïg Bredoux and Valentine Oberti (co-editorial directors since 2023).

Mediapart has 220,000 subscribers

Carine Fouteau has worked at Mediapart since its creation, after leaving the daily The echoes after its acquisition by the luxury group LVMH. Before taking the helm of the investigative site, she covered migration issues and was co-editorial director from 2018 to 2023. “Our project is to make Mediapart a major popular newspaper, which both disturbs and unites, through the strength and quality of its information”she explains.

Like every year, Mediapart has also published its figures for the past year. In 2023, it had nearly 220,000 subscribers (210,500 in 2022), with a turnover of 22.45 million euros (21.23 in 2022) and a net profit of nearly 2.3 million euros. euros (2.6 in 2022). Mediapart is made up of 137 employees, including 65 journalists.

In 16 years, the site marked on the left “established itself as an essential counter-power” thanks to its investigations into political scandals, police violence or sexual violence, also underlined Carine Fouteau.