La Croix

What La Croix does

La Croix is a French national daily newspaper and digital news platform founded in 1883, headquartered in Paris/Montrouge and operating as a flagship subsidiary of the Bayard media group, a diversified Catholic-rooted French publishing conglomerate. Its core product is a daily print and digital newspaper covering France, international news, economy, religion, society, culture, and environmental topics, with a distinctive editorial lens that combines general news reporting with sustained coverage of Catholic, multi-faith, ethical, and spiritual issues. The product portfolio extends well beyond the core newspaper to include a weekly magazine sub-brand (La Croix L'Hebdo), twelve themed email newsletters (International, L'essentiel ce matin, Religion, Spiritualité, Parents & enfants, Planète, Éco & transition, Culture, Livres & idées, À vif, Éthique, La Croix L'Hebdo), native iOS and Android mobile applications, a podcast portfolio including 'Envers du récit', a digital newsstand and archive (kiosque.la-croix.com), free online puzzle games, an English-language course offering, a dedicated travel service (Voyages La Croix), and a legal-notices advertising platform.

The underlying technology stack is a standard digital publishing platform: a multi-format web delivery layer (articles, videos, podcasts, series, interactive content), self-serve subscription and digital kiosk commerce through abonnement.la-croix.com and kiosque.la-croix.com, mobile app distribution through Apple App Store and Google Play, and social distribution across Facebook, Bluesky, Flipboard, LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube. There is no disclosed AI, machine-learning, or proprietary data model infrastructure in the source material; AI appears only as an editorial topic, not as a product capability.

La Croix's business model is a hybrid media monetization with four parallel revenue streams: recurring digital and print subscriptions sold direct through abonnement.la-croix.com; one-time print and digital single-copy sales through physical newsstands and the digital kiosque; reader donations supporting a stated 'pluralistic press mission'; and display and sponsored-content advertising including legal-notices inventory. Customer segments are horizontal rather than enterprise-targeted: primary readers are French-speaking general-interest consumers, with emphasis on an educated audience seeking quality journalism and a segment drawn to ethical and religious coverage. The publication is privately held within the Bayard group, with no publicly disclosed revenue, funding rounds, or investor detail.

Name

La Croix

Legal name

Bayard

Website

https://la-croix.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1883

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

La Croix is a French national daily newspaper and digital news platform owned by the Bayard group, founded in 1883, serving French-speaking readers with general news combined with distinctive ethics, religion, and culture coverage across print, web, mobile, newsletters, and podcasts.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Montrouge

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Subscriptions: Digital and print subscriptions through abonnement.la-croix.com offering premium content access
2. Newsstand Sales: Print newspaper sales through physical kiosks and digital kiosk platform
3. Donations: Reader donations supporting pluralistic press mission
4. Advertising: Display advertising on digital platform and sponsored content

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

La Croix is a French daily newspaper and digital news media outlet covering France, International, Economy, Religion, Society, Culture, and Planet topics, published in both physical print and digital formats. Its portfolio includes a weekly magazine (La Croix L'Hebdo), twelve themed email newsletters, podcasts, mobile applications for iOS and Android, an online games section, a travel service (Voyages La Croix), English language courses, and a legal-notice publishing service, all under the Bayard media group.

Product overview

La Croix is a French Catholic daily newspaper and digital media platform owned by the Bayard group, offering a comprehensive news portfolio spanning physical and digital formats. The core offering consists of the daily La Croix newspaper and weekly La Croix L'Hebdo magazine, supplemented by twelve themed newsletters, podcasts, mobile applications (iOS/Android), an online games section, travel services (Voyages La Croix), and a digital kiosk/archive service. The product ecosystem also includes language learning courses and legal notice services. The publication covers France, International, Religion, Society, Economy, Culture, and Planet topics, with strong emphasis on ethics, spirituality, and current affairs analysis.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• La Croix L'Hebdo: Weekly magazine version of La Croix

Products and services

• La Croix Daily Newspaper Daily newspaper offering news coverage across France, International, Economy, Religion, Society, Culture, and Planet sections, available in both physical print and digital formats through the Kiosque service. Targeted at French-speaking readers seeking quality journalism with ethical and religious perspective.
• La Croix L'Hebdo Weekly magazine edition providing in-depth analysis, chronicles, and longer-form journalism on current events, culture, and society, distributed in print and digital via the Kiosque.
• La Croix Mobile Application
• La Croix Themed Email Newsletters
• La Croix Podcasts
• La Croix Online Games
• Voyages La Croix
• Kiosque Digital Newsstand and Archive
• La Croix English Language Courses
• La Croix Legal Notices Service

Quantifiable outcome

• La Croix recognized in 2025 for investigative journalism and commitment

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• BayardcoreOthersBayard is the parent company and owner of La Croix. The group also manages various media properties including magazines and digital platforms. Bayard connects various media brands under one corporate umbrella.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Le Monde: France's flagship national daily with strong digital subscription model. Directly competes with La Croix for French reader attention, advertising budgets, and digital subscription wallet across news, opinion, and culture.
• L'Humanité: French national daily with strong ideological positioning and print plus digital editions. Comparable as a values-driven French daily competing for opinion-driven, politically engaged readers.
• Libération: French national daily with opinion-led coverage and a digital subscription model. Competes for the same educated, urban French readership interested in politics, society, and culture.
• Le Figaro: Leading French national daily with broad news coverage, paid digital subscriptions and significant print legacy. Competes directly with La Croix on general news, politics, culture, and lifestyle segments.
• Les Echos: Major French daily focused on economy, finance and business news with a strong digital subscription offering. Overlaps with La Croix's economy and society coverage for an educated French readership.
• Ouest-France: Largest French regional daily with national digital reach and strong subscription ecosystem. Comparable as a French-language daily publisher with multi-format distribution including newsletters and mobile apps.
• Mediapart: Digital-native, fully subscriber-funded French news outlet known for investigative journalism. Directly comparable to La Croix in its reliance on reader-paid revenue rather than advertising, and competes for the same paying digital subscriber segment.
• Le Parisien: Major French daily with both print and digital subscription offerings focused on news, society and culture. Competes for the same broad French general-interest reader base.

Emerging players

• Courrier International: French weekly magazine publishing translated international news and opinion. Overlaps with La Croix's international news and editorial coverage of global affairs, targeting a similar educated French readership.
• La Croix L'Hebdo sister brand overlap - Le Pèlerin: Catholic-themed French magazine also published within the Bayard group, competing in the religious press niche alongside La Croix. Highly comparable as a faith-based French publication targeting similar reader segments.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/LaCroix
• YouTubeyoutube.com/lacroix
• Facebookfacebook.com/lacroix.journal
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/lacroixjournal/?originalSubdomain=fr
• Instagraminstagram.com/journal.lacroix/?hl=fr

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about La Croix