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LE CANARD ENCHAINE
Le Canard enchaîné ("The Chained Duck" or "The Chained Paper") is a French-language satirical weekly. It was founded in 1915 and is headquartered in Paris. Having almost no online presence, the investigative paper still thrives offline thanks to its reputation for publishing exclusive revelations — not to mention its humourous cartoons.
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French Satirical Weekly Turns 100, Thriving In Print

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Le Canard enchaîné first ever and latest front pages

France's legendary satirical weekly Le Canard enchaîné is celebrating its century-long existence, and the Internet is not about to write its obituary.

"The Chained Duck" — canard is both French for "duck" and the slang for "newspaper," — was first published on July 5, 1916. On its Wednesday front page, the paper quips that it is now "on its way to its bicentenary."

Over the past 100 years, the eight-page investigative weekly has kept the same look and cultural relevance, not only for its humor but for exclusive revelations about French political and business leaders.

The weekly's front pages are famous for their cartoons and punny headlines — its subversive and humorous tone being one of the main reasons behind its counter-intuitive success.

News industry observers have noted that Le Canard enchaîné is one of the last newspapers that still runs at a profit, having chosen to remain print only, with no live website or digital versions of its articles. It also doesn't feature ads and boasts having no outside shareholders, a position it says justifies its claim of complete independence.

The newspaper's bare website, where only archives and front pages can be found, states: "Our job is to inform and entertain our readers, with newsprint paper and ink. It is a beautiful profession that is enough to occupy our team."