Indigo Publications

Indigo Publications is a French company that publishes 4 news websites, mostly dedicated to specialized business sectors.

Indigo Publications

Industry	Subscription news websites
Founded	1981
Founder	Maurice Botbol
Headquarters	Paris
Products	Africa Intelligence, Intelligence Online, Glitz.paris, La Lettre A
Revenue	€6.7 million (2021)
Owner	Quentin Botbol
Number of employees	60 (2021)
Website	indigo.fr/en

This article is about the French publication company. For other uses of "Indigo", see Indigo (disambiguation).

History

Indigo Publications was established in Paris in 1981.^[1] Founder Maurice Botbol assembled a small team of investigative journalists dedicated to economic news. Botbol serves as director of Indigo Publications and was President of the Syndicat presse indépendante d' information en ligne (Union of the Independent Press Information Online).^[2] Indigo is a French media group serving a global audience, but hangs its credibility on remaining editorially independent: as Botbol explains, "We are not culturally partisan, either toward France's interests nor those of the third world.... We are very careful not to have any 'national' positioning."^[3]: 145

The Indian Ocean Newsletter was the first Indigo publication, focused on the business interests of East and southern Africa and the Indian Ocean states. Over the years, the company launched other regional titles including the economic newsletter for Francophone Africa, La Lettre du Continent (and its English equivalent, West Africa Newsletter); the North African newspaper Maghreb Confidential; and more specialized business publications like Africa Mining Intelligence and Intelligence Online. In 2007, Indigo acquired La Lettre A, a newsletter established in 1978 that specializes in news and analysis of politics and business in France. In April 2011, Indigo launched an online spinoff of La Lettre A called Entourages.^{[citation needed]}

The company functions as a SAS (sociétés par actions simplifiées), with headquarters in Paris previously in the rue Montmartre.^[1] Indigo Publications' new offices are located in Paris's Republique neighborhood.

Value-added tax audit controversy

On December 16, 2013, Indigo Publications and another French digital publisher, Mediapart, were audited by the French Inland Revenue Service over Value-added tax (VAT).^[4][5][6] The VAT rate for online news was 19.6% (20% starting in 2014), while that of traditional media was 2.1%, a disparity that had been in place since 2009.^[7][8][9] The companies contested the higher rate, and on January 31, 2015, in a ruling opposed by the European Commission, but consistent with the jurisprudence of the Court of Justice of the European Union, the French Budget Ministry issued taxing instructions, and a law was unanimously adopted by the National Assembly on February 4, and by the Senate on February 17, 2014, granting equality of tax treatment between traditional print and digital press.^[2][8][10]

Leadership and Editorial Direction

Under the ownership of Quentin Botbol, Indigo Publications maintains its focus on investigative journalism and editorial independence. However, Intelligence Online has faced scrutiny, with some observers questioning its neutrality in covering intelligence affairs and private-sector influence in international security. In some cases, its reporting has led to allegations of defamation, raising concerns about its journalistic practices.

Publications

Indigo publishes four different publications in both French and English. Since 1995, Indigo Publications has implemented a digital development strategy, and went with all digital publication of Intelligence Online and all the company's Africa publications, on the Africa Intelligence website in April 2013.^[11] As of January 2016, all publications are now 100% digital.

Intelligence Online

Intelligence Online, formerly Intelligence Newsletter, reports on and analyses secret diplomacy, parallel operations and conflicts around the world, focusing on the role of government intelligence agencies, corporate intelligence firms and lobby groups. It also investigates money-laundering, political instability, terrorism, espionage and organized crime in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Pierre Gastineau is the Editor-in-Chief.

Africa Intelligence

In 2020, "The Indian Ocean Newsletter", "Africa Mining Intelligence", "West Africa Newsletter", and "Maghreb Confidential" were regrouped into the publication Africa Intelligence.^[12] The publication's editor-in-chief is Paul Deutschmann.

La Lettre

La Lettre is dedicated to the political, economic and media news in France. Octave Bonnaud is the Editor-in-Chief of La Lettre.^[13]

Glitz

In September 2022, Indigo Publications launched Glitz,^[14] a publication dedicated to the international luxury sector. Glitz's editor-in-chief is Phillippe Vasset.^[15]