Having launched the second phase of its "Mon Journal Offert" (My Free Newspaper) project last week as part of a €600 million government bailout programme, the French Ministry for Culture and Communication is offering readers between the ages of 18 and 24 a free copy of the daily paper of their choice once a week for a year, according to a report by our sister publication, Editors Weblog last week.

The French government is furthering this initiative to encourage its citizens to become loyal newspaper readers by giving away an additional 210,000 free newspaper subscriptions as a part of the state intervention to save the country's news industry, MediaGuardian reported today. In the next three years, the programme is expected to cost more than £13 million (€14.47 million). The scheme had already given away 300,000 subscriptions, according to Editors Weblog.
"Culture minister Frederic Mitterrand, hailing the programme a success, last week said the scheme had expanded to include 62 titles for its second year and had set a target of giving out 210,000 subs," paidContent reported. "Publishers and the taxpayer split the cost of the free subs 50/50; subscribers receive only one copy per week of their chosen title."

The news industry in France is among the least profitable in Europe, MediaGuardian pointed out. Having kicked-off this initiative in October last year, it has exceeded its target of giving 200,000 subscriptions to 59 enlisted titles within seven months, and received 300,000 applications.

While such interventions are not limited to news content, the recipients can sign up for the scheme on a website by providing their address and a selection of three preferred titles, according to paidContent.

A French government-commissioned report by author, Aldo Cardoso, proposed 15 measures to reduce state aid to newspapers and concluded that "the huge amount of financial aid it receives has kept the country's press in a state of 'permanent artificial respiration,'" according to the report by Editors Weblog.