200 years of Le Figaro newspaper, French fashion, and beauty.
On 15 January 2026, the French newspaper Le Figaro will mark 200 years of continuous publication. Founded in 1826, the newspaper has survived revolutions, empires, republics, wars, occupations, technological upheavals, and the relentless churn of modern media.
To celebrate, Le Figaro has released two commemorative projects: 1) a landmark book, “Le Figaro, 200 ans de liberté” (“Le Figaro, 200 Years of Freedom”) by Étienne de Montety, and 2) a collector’s edition of the supplementary insert lifestyle magazine Madame Figaro titled “200 Years of Fashion & Beauty.
Étienne de Montety’s anniversary book reads like a literary and journalistic odyssey. Drawing on 640 archival documents and photographs, it traces how Le Figaro chronicled French society through the pens of its writers.
The collector’s Madame Figaro contains a feature called “Cinq figures libres” (“Five figures of freedom”) about five women wrote fashion and beauty articles and made history themselves.
George Sand, la débutante l (the beginner): Before she became a literary figure, George Sand was a young woman signing her first journalistic piece in Le Figaro in 1831 under a male pseudonym. Journalism, she was told, was no place for her. She proved otherwise, and then rewrote the rules entirely.
Colette, la grande reporter (the senior reporter): Colette’s guiding principle was simple and radical: “Il faut voir et non inventer” (“You have to see, not invent”). She reported on daily life, animals, women, and, almost scandalously, women’s desire.
Hélène de Turckheim, la franc-tireuse (the maverick): Turckheim began writing for Le Figaro in 1955 and refused to be confined to fashion alone. From Tehran to royal weddings, from political portraits to cultural criticism, she wrote freely across genres long before that was normalized.
Hélène Carrère d’Encausse, l’académicienne (the academic): Historian, intellectual, and later the permanent secretary of the French Academy, Hélène Carrère d’Encausse embodied authority. Writing regularly for Le Figaro, she brought historical depth into public debate until her death in 2023.
Janie Samet, la papesse de la haute couture (the high priestess of haute couture): Fashion editor, confidante of designers, and cultural observer, Janie Samet treated couture without frivolity. She wrote about power, gender, and modernity.
Together, these women illustrate something essential: the Le Figaro supplementary insert was never only about what women wore, but about what women dared to write.
During the First World War (1914-1918), writing about fashion affirmed the French identity. During the Second World War (1939-1945), when Le Figaro relocated from Paris to Lyon, the tone remained empathetic and practical.
Le Figaro’s bicentenary continues the theme that journalism is not just headlines and though the Madame Figaro’s collector’s edition celebrates two hundred years of fashion and beauty, it also celebrates women’s right to work and to write.
