French free dailies Metro and 20 Minutes will be expanding their distribution coverage in France, with new editions to be published beginning Monday, Newspaper Innovation reported yesterday.

Metro will be launching new editions in Metz, Nancy and Toulon, thereby expanding its reach in the country from nine to 12 editions, while 20 Minutes will launch an edition for Montpellier. Metro's new editions make it the country's only free daily available in these cities, with a distribution of more than 20,000 copies each day, according to a statement by the newspaper, Agence France Presse reported. The launch of Toulon edition is expected to further strengthen the newspaper's position in the south, after the successful launch of its Marseille edition in 2002.

Image of Metro: TarifMedia.com

Through these new editions, Metro boosted its presence further in France, now covering 15 cities.

Metro's launch of new editions for Metz and Nancy is intended to bring together and support the economic and cultural dynamism of the two areas in the eastern region of the country. The new edition for the east will be called, "Metro Grand East," according to TarifMedia.com. The Toulon edition of Metro uniting Marseille and Toulon will be called, 'Metro Provence'. It will carry a distribution of up to 52,000 copies.

After the successful launch of editions in Nice and Cannes Grenoble earlier this year, 20 Minutes will be publishing its 11th edition for Montpellier in France, according to AFP. Up to 30,000 copies will be published and distributed each day in the city of Languedoc-Roussillon.

At a time when the newspaper industry is reconsidering new launches and redesigning operations, the launch of new editions by free dailies in France makes the country stand out as one of the few nations witnessing expansions, according to Newspaper Innovation. With Groupe Bolloré launching three new editions last year and 20 Minutes launching a Nice edition earlier this year, the country saw an increase in total circulation of dailies to 250,000 copies, which means 25 percent of the market share.