Le Monde’s English language edition will consist of translated versions of a diverse selection of articles produced by the editorial team, say the publishers.
The articles will be primarily translations of its French articles done “by international agencies, with the help of an artificial intelligence tool”, though editing would be in the hands of English-speaking journalists.
“The challenge is an ambitious one: to carve out a place for Le Monde in an English-speaking world where there is no shortage of quality media,” the paper said in a statement.
A selection of the articles will be free, but most will be behind a paywall, in keeping with the French edition’s model.
The paper had considered launching an English edition several years ago, it said, but instead opted to deepen its reach in the French-speaking world, launching Le Monde Afrique in 2015.
Le Monde's Gilles van Kote wrote about the rationale for the launch on Le Monde's website last week.
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