French media group Figaro experienced a 10 percent growth in audiences, attaining 5 million individuals and is now the third most popular media outlet in the country, Le Figaro announced Monday.

Figaro owns daily newspaper Le Figaro, supplements Madame Figaro and Le Figaro Magazine and lefigaro.fr. The group's properties attract one out of 10 people in France, ages from 15 and up, Le Figaro reported.

The paper's audience surged by 7.4 percent to 1.3 million readers and could be a result of the coverage of local events, particularly municipal elections. A 12 percent increase was seen among readers between ages 35 and 49, Le Figaro reported.

Daily French newspapers have gained a million readers since last year, according to research by Audipresse for the time period July 2007-June 2008. Nearly 24 million people read a daily paper on a regular basis, which is a 4.4 percent increase since last year.

The augmentation may be due to a returning interest in news focusing on municipal elections, U.S. elections and the “peopleisation” promoted by the dailies, according to Audipresse general director Xavier Dordor, Le Figaro reported.

Since last year, national and regional titles saw a rise of 7.4 percent and 3.4 percent in their readership, respectively. Meanwhile, free dailies had a 12.5 percent increase, according to Le Figaro.

Click here for a previous article on French readership.