History of Le Soir. A Belgian daily once free for ground floor readers

source: Wikimedia Commons. public domain

Belgium, that small country in the heart of Europe, gained independence only on 4 October 1830. Through centuries of turbulent history it was the arena of tussles between the Netherlands and France for this piece of land. That is why Belgians did not have, and do not have, their own language. Half of them speak French and half Flemish.

For that reason the historic event of a new state being born was reported by the French and Dutch press. The first home grown Belgian newspaper, L’Echo, was founded only in 1881. Three years later, on 1 January 1884, the daily Le Patriote went on sale. When two more titles joined in 1887, people began to speak of the Belgian media market.

Only Het Laatste Nieuws was printed in Flemish. As the last to join two French language dailies, on Saturday 17 December 1887, came Le Soir (Evening).

Evening in French

The afternoon paper was the brainchild of Pierre-Émile Rossel. With help from two friends, Nicolas Corbelin and Edgar Roels, he created an event of those days.

• the paper was free for readers who lived on the ground floor (the whole city and suburbs)
• those on the first floor paid 0.60 franc per month
• the daily lived mainly off advertising, which was new at the time
• the title was neutral, as it did not want to take sides in fights that irritate and divide
• it presented only facts, leaving the reader’s intelligence to draw conclusions
• it did not intend to offend or slight anyone’s opinion.

At the same time as the newsroom opened, L’agence Rossel (Rossel Agency) was created, which was to manage advertising at first. Rossel became director of the paper and the agency. Roels handled editorial matters. Corbelin was the chief administrator.


The first issue of Le Soir had a print run of 60,000, five columns, and four pages. It spread its wings fast. Staff at the modest newsroom at 49 D`Isabelle Street in Brussels, besides texts by noted writers, provided meticulous:

• current affairs in a regular column, Petite Gazette (Little Gazette),
• reports from sittings of legislative assemblies,
• market and stock quotations,
• sports, cultural, and legal news.

They also promised to answer every letter and not to leave readers’ problems without help. The editors knew difficult subjects thanks to their trained professions. Corbelin was a stockbroker, and Roels a lawyer.

A self taught man from France sets the course

As so often, success has many fathers, and if money is not clear then money is likely the issue. Within a year the founding trio fell out over finances. More precisely over advertising. The newsroom shrank a lot, and Corbelin tried to launch his own Le Soir. The idea failed because of a court case. From 25 September 1888 only Rossel remained in the field. He proved to be an excellent director, supported by Lucien Solvay, the first editor in chief from January. He was also a publisher and, above all, a manager.

In January 1889 Auguste Cauvin replaced Solvay. Though self taught, he handled journalism very well. He came from Contes-Sclos, County of Nice, in France, and there he founded two newspapers over five years, 1880 to 1885. For his views he was sentenced to prison in 1886, but fled France. When he arrived in Brussels in 1888 he was 32.

In issue 388 of Le Soir, dated 8 December, his article Le coup d’état du général Boulanger (The coup d’état of General Boulanger) appeared on the front page. It caused a stir among readers and great interest in the author. Émile Rossel, the owner, immediately offered him the post of editor in chief. Cauvin accepted and led the newsroom for the next 48 years, until 1937. He signed his articles with the pen names D`Arsac or Piccolo.

The Rossel Cauvin duo worked well on every front. As the new century began, the paper looked different in both form and content. Cauvin had many contacts and friends in artistic circles, including Maurice Maeterlinck, Victor Rousseau, and Eugène Baie. The culture section grew fast. Rossel, aware of the power of the press, built and expanded the whole company.

First came the foreign section of the daily. As early as the 1890s Le Soir had its own correspondents in London, Berlin, and Paris. The daily carried pieces by Alphonse Daudet, Camille Flammarion, and François Coppée.

Articles from a royal pen

In 1893 the first supplement Soir Illustrè (Illustrated Evening) was published. After a few years of free deliveries charges for the ground floor had to be introduced. Le Soir gained such popularity and income that in 1901 the newsroom moved to a new larger site at Place de Louvain.

The first decade of the new century brought Belgium and Le Soir the referendum of Leopold II. It also brought the bloody and cruel colonisation of the Congo and the fight for women’s rights. In this area the ruler suffered a total defeat. The project concerned a revision of the constitution and did not delight his compatriots. To persuade them Leopold used the press. He argued for his idea in articles written in his own royal hand. He did so especially in Le Soir. Parliament did not adopt the project. Leopold II considered abdication.

As for women’s rights, from 1899 Cauvin demanded their realisation in his articles in Le Soir. Sadly Belgian women had to wait 20 years for this partial privilege. Full rights were granted only in 1948.

Le Soir took deep root in Belgium’s media market. In 1912 Émile Rossel handed the reins of the company to his son Victor and changed the publisher’s name to Rossel & Fils. For two more years father and son worked together. At the start of 1914 the print run reached 180,000 copies.

Four years of silence and an issue on green paper

Sadly the war broke this run. On 21 August 1914 German troops entered Brussels. As Auguste Cauvin was on their blacklist he had to flee Belgium. He left for Italy. The occupiers wrecked the paper’s facilities. Victor Rossel was forced to close the newsroom.

Le Soir fell silent for four years. To ensure the journalists were not wronged and could return to work in due time, shareholders supported them financially. The fruit of these efforts was the first post war issue of Le Soir. Printed by makeshift means on green paper, it returned to life on 18 November 1918 with the front page motto La Belgique Reconquise (Belgium regained) and poetry by Franz Ansel. There were also addresses to the Belgian nation, readers, and soldiers.

Auguste Cauvin again became editor in chief. Since Émile Rossel had died in 1915, Victor became the sole owner of Rossel & Fils. In 1920 he changed the company name to Rossel & Cie.

Although Le Soir was silent for four years, its readers did not forget their daily. After the return the paper quickly rebuilt its pre war position. The Cauvin Rossel duo worked for further success. One of several was the launch on 26 February 1919 of the column Tribune libre (Open forum), where representatives of different parties presented their views. In the 1980s this very popular section was renamed Cartes blanches (blank card) and opened to the general public.

Magazine, photos and the first comic

The daily still lived on subscriptions and advertising. Although the company grew and took new names, the original L’Agence Rossel still operated. It handled advertising and, like all departments, it expanded. In 1921 its efficient work allowed independence and the agency received its own headquarters on Rue Royale in Brussels.


Rossel achieved another spectacular success in 1928 by launching the weekly magazine Le Soir Illustrè. The first issue appeared on 23 February. It was devoted to the royal family. It featured many photos and photo reports from the life of Belgium’s most famous family, which remains the magazine’s focus to this day. It also often carried cultural, economic, and social news. In 2000 the magazine was renamed Soir Magazine and in 2015 Soir Mag.

Alongside the birth of the magazine, the main section of the daily began to feature the first photos, since graphics and cartoon humour had been present for some years. The first comic appeared on 18 July 1921. It was by Fernand Wicheler and bore the title Le Dernier Film (The Latest Film).

This comic is the oldest newspaper comic. Earlier ones were printed in journals and magazines. It was presented in the style of a film strip. It appeared weekly. Each episode of seven panels stood alone. The characters commented on current events in captions. The most frequent figure was Mr Beulemans. The comic ran until 1 May 1926.

A defiant owner and a conflict that will echo

From 1936, for 35 years, the staff cartoonist and caricaturist at Le Soir was Fernand Van Horen, known as Horn. He held half a page and the column Le Week end sportif, vu par Horn (the sports weekend seen by Horn). Over three decades he created many caricatures, illustrations for articles, graphics from daily stages of the Tour de France, and especially route maps and numerous sketches from courtrooms. He died on 25 September 2005 at the age of 95.

In the 1930s the daily grew in popularity, and the print run grew with it. Besides core tasks, the paper promoted artists such as the sculptor Marcel Debut. It sponsored prizes in sports competitions, Cross du Soir. It organised contests. In 1938 the Victor Rossel literary prize was awarded for the first time. The award in the field of national novels and short stories is given to this day.

The second half of the 1930s passed under dark clouds. In 1935 Victor Rossel died. Two years later Auguste Cauvin died. The family empire passed to the 24 year old Maria Thérèse Rossel, Victor’s daughter, supported by Lucien Fuss, who became director. Charles Breisdorff took over the newsroom. Thus a young owner directed a meritorious all male editorial team of 36, and she was far from meek.

Her character was shown by the mid 1930s conflict between the paper and Léon Degrelle, founder of the Rex movement, at first nationalist and later a fascist party. Degrelle demanded an open forum in the daily. No one at Le Soir agreed, as open forums were for party representatives. In the next elections the paper, despite its claim to be objective and neutral, openly opposed the whole of Rex. It stated that Rex was funded by Nazi Germany. The case went to court. Degrelle won. In daily editorials Cauvin explained why people should not vote for Rex and Degrelle. This conflict came back to haunt the daily a few years later, in May 1940, when German troops again entered Brussels.

A stolen Evening. The occupiers take the helm

From September 1939 war raged in Europe. Germany conquered country after country. On 10 May 1940 it attacked Belgium, breaking its neutrality. The government fled the country. Brussels surrendered on 17 May. All of Belgium surrendered on 28 May. As her father did in 1914, Thérèse Rossel halted the printing of the paper and the work of the whole publisher. The occupier had other plans for such a popular daily.

Although the owners did not give consent, Le Soir reappeared on 14 June, but it was not the same paper. Journalists friendly to the Germans took seats in the newsroom. Horace Van Offel became editor in chief. Raymond De Becker became head of the editorial department. Xavier Mauromatie became director. This new fascist daily was dubbed by Belgians Le Soir Volé (Stolen Evening).

The Germans tightly controlled what was written in Le Soir. Despite censorship, control of distribution, and control of paper, the daily had a print run of 200,000. This was mainly due to the misleading title and the closure of 12 other French language dailies. From 17 October 1940 the name Hergé also drew readers.

Tintin. A character loved the world over

Hergé, in fact Georges Prosper Remi, is Belgium’s best known comics author. He began his career in 1926 in the magazine Le Boy Scout Belge with the comic The Adventures of Totor. When he took a job at Le Soir he was already a very well known artist. His drawn tales about a boy traveller named Tintin had been known for years, also beyond the country’s borders.

In Le Soir Hergé first appeared on 31 October 1935 with an unsigned centre spread. A year later, on 27 October, the daily ran an unsigned advertisement for the department store À L`innovation by him. He joined the newsroom of the Stolen Evening at the request of De Becker in July 1940. His task was to create a satirical supplement for the young.

On 17 October 1940 the first issue of Soir Jeunesse (Evening Youth) appeared. The weekly was independent and came out on Thursdays as a supplement to Le Soir. In the first issue Hergé presented alongside Tintin a new comic Le Crabe aux pinces d`or (The Crab with the Golden Claws), the tale Naughty Johnny by the Brothers Grimm, and The Gold Bug by Edgar Allan Poe. The first text was illustrated by Jacques Van Melkebeké. The others were illustrated by Paul Jamin "Jam". Both artists were part of the Soir Jeunesse team, which published until 23 September 1941. After the youth magazine closed Hergé stayed in the Le Soir newsroom. After the war he was tried for collaboration with the Germans but was acquitted.

The fake Le Soir. An edition that mocked the Germans

In January 1941 the Department of Propaganda removed Van Offel as editor in chief and entrusted leadership to De Becker. Despite his reputation as an informant and his ties to senior officials of German censorship, Becker did not forget his roots and his royalist ideas. He often clashed with the occupation authorities. He wrote articles unfavourable to them. On 4 October 1943 he was arrested and taken to the Bavarian Alps. He returned to Belgium in 1945, where he was tried and sentenced to death. The sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. He was pardoned in 1951 but ordered to leave the country. He went to France, where on 18 April 1969 he committed suicide.


After Becker’s arrest there was slight loosening in Le Soir. The leadership of the Independence Front used it. The 25th anniversary of Germany’s 1918 defeat was near. To mark the occasion Marc Aubrion "Yvon", a former Le Soir journalist, proposed to publish a fake daily to mock the occupier and raise Belgian morale. The project was accepted. The date was set for 9 November, due to the number of pages in the original. Printers were recruited, led by Ferdinand Wellens. Funds were secured.

The secret issue was edited by Aubrion together with:

• Fernand Demany ("Charles") - former Le Soir editor,
• Adrien van den Branden de Reeth ("Fernand") - deputy public prosecutor,
• Pierre Ansiaux, lawyer.

On 9 November 1943, in the afternoon, a group of volunteers delayed delivery of the real daily. A two page Faux Soir (Fake Evening) reached kiosks in a print run of 50,000. Every text in it mocked the occupier, criticised those who cooperated with Germany, and satirised members of the Rex party. All columns were fairy tale, humour, and derision. They ranged from world news, Final capitulation, Effective strategy, through columns, The secret of the brown room, the sports column, cinema listings, to adverts and obituaries. Even the two photos on the front page.

There was also the required comic by Jacques Van Melkebeké, The adventures of Baron de Crac.

Readers were delighted. The event echoed across Europe and found imitators. The Germans thought otherwise. They conducted an investigation and arrested the perpetrators. Some vanished without trace, the printers. Others went to prison, Aubrion. Still others fell to bullets, the artist Guy Mottard.

Rebuilding credibility

On Sunday 3 September 1944 after 8:00 pm British troops entered Brussels. On 4 September at 8:00 am Lucien Fuss and a group of journalists reported for work at the Le Soir newsroom. On 6 September the paper appeared freed from collaborators, the truest Le Soir. Later that year the daily and the entire publishing house were returned to the owners. Maria Thérèse Rossel began forming a press group that would become a leader in the French language press market.

Le Soir began to rebuild its brand and credibility from the first post war days. At first the paper had a modest two pages, eight columns, with popular sections such as Petite Gazette and the obligatory comics restored. Collaborating journalists were held to account and new staff were hired.

In 1946 Lucien Fuss died and Mrs Rossel took on all the duties of running the paper. Only in 1965 did she hand the newsroom to Désiré Denuit. On 3 March 1969 she passed the entire publishing house to Lucien Fuss’s son in law Jean Corvilain.

The press empire of Maria Thérèse Rossel

The 1950s and 1960s were years of prosperity for Le Soir. The paper covered more and more topics. From the return to the country of Leopold III, through his abdication, the independence of the Congo, economic development, to space flights, strikes, and the language law.

In the daily’s 16 pages there were regular sections such as Dernierés Nouvelles (Latest news) and Les Sports. More departments were added to the culture section, including classical music. Radio programmes appeared, then television listings. The paper still took no political side, striving to be independent and opinion forming. The newsroom itself also grew. Journalists sought to work for the daily, like Marcel Bauwens from 1959. Cartoonists like Guy Bara hoped their work would be on the front page.

Mrs Rossel, though housebound from 1959 by illness, kept watch over all departments. People said she was the only person who read every issue of Le Soir each week cover to cover. She also secured premises for the entire publishing house, which from 1957 was at 120 rue Royale.

One of her last moves was in 1966 to take over the press group Le Meuse and two years later Le Gazette de Charleroi. She achieved her goal. She created a family press empire and stepped down from work. She died on 18 June 1987 when Le Soir was celebrating its centenary.

The new generation dusts off Le Soir

The new generation of owners saw the paper’s work differently, but not worse. Jean Corvilain was a lawyer and legal adviser to the publisher. He knew nothing of journalism, though at times he wrote legal columns under the pen name Nicolas. When he took the post at 48, he started from scratch. He managed.

Known as the gentleman director, he led the paper until December 1986, then remained only the owner. During this time the newsroom was steered by:

• Désiré Denuit, until 1972
• Charles Rebuffat, 1972-1979
• Yvon Toussaint, 1975-1990

When Corvilain took over and Denuit was editor in chief, Le Soir had a print run of 270,000. The new director proposed to bring some freshness to the dusty daily. Denuit, though a veteran journalist, agreed:

• the editorial line was improved
• new sections were introduced and old ones modified
• opinion columns for readers were launched
• neutrality was replaced by independence
• the paper’s look was modernised

In 1970 the Rossel Group took over the VLAN brand and began building a network of free weekly adverts, which also influenced the daily’s operations. Le Monde of 9 December 1971 hailed Corvilain as a great press chief, showing true adaptability, a taste for bold moves, and modernity.

A lively paper and a clash with the "press eater"

When Désiré Denuit retired and Charles Rebuffat, a childhood friend, became editor in chief, the two continued to work on a new vision for the paper, introducing innovations. One major change was turning the Le Soir editorial team into the General Assembly of Professional Journalists of Le Soir (l’Assemblée générale des journalistes professionnels du Soir, AGJPS). The assembly was formed on 22 February 1975 with its own statutes and programme.


Four years later, after Rebuffat’s death, Yvon Toussaint became editor in chief. He was a journalist and novelist, a lover of crime stories. He knew Le Soir well, having worked there since 1956. At first he covered culture and sport, then became a reporter, covering among other things the Vietnam War. He was also Paris correspondent.

From the moment he took the helm, he shaped its image. He said: Le Soir is not a paper of opinion, but a paper with opinions. He introduced rules of independence, expanded the investigative column, and aimed for a quality paper that was also full of verve.

In 1983 he faced the first major newsroom crisis. Two camps had long clashed over how to run the paper. The majority were descendants of Émile Rossel, including Maria Thérèse. The minority were descendants of Victor Rossel’s sister, Jacques and André Declercq. They brought in as paper director Robert Hersant, the French press magnate and owner of Le Figaro.

Hersant had a poor reputation as a newspaper owner, called le papivore (press eater). He held right wing views and influenced his papers sharply and unconventionally. Belgian journalists were deeply worried. Though Jean Corvilain tried to calm them, it did not help. On 3 June they formed the non profit Société des Journalistes professionnels du Soir (Professional Association of Evening Journalists, SJPS), aimed at protecting and promoting the professional, moral, intellectual, and material interests of its members as journalists. The chair was Colette Braeckman, international desk journalist, Africa expert, especially on the Congo.

Can a physicist and engineer succeed in the media? Yes

Though the crisis passed, journalists stayed alert, and with reason. In 1985 Jean Corvilain stepped down as director and retired, ensuring his post went to André de Béthune. Two years later, in 1987, Robert Hersant became shareholder and co owner of the Rossel Group, taking 40% from the Declercq family.

That year was Le Soir’s centenary. Despite unwelcome changes, journalists celebrated. There were flowers, exhibitions, and jubilee editions. Yet inside, tensions simmered. Unable to find common ground with the new director, in 1989 Yvon Toussaint resigned, though he kept writing columns until 2012. His successor on 4 January 1990 was Guy Duplat.

Duplat was a physicist and civil engineer by training, but soon left the profession for Le Soir. He became a political journalist and later head of Politics. In his ten years as editor the paper underwent several changes:

• in 1990 the daily moved to a new modern printing house
• colour began appearing in the paper
• in 1993 the paper changed its look, with a new layout, fonts, and sections
• the science section was expanded
• the daily was hailed as leader among French language papers
• in 1996 Le Soir went online

In 1995-1996 the paper had a print run of 182,798 copies. This was a good result, especially as print papers were in crisis.

Guy Duplat boldly entered the digital world, drawing in new readers, especially young ones. He promoted culture, encouraging people to visit exhibitions and read books. He made the paper high quality, setting the bar high for himself and his staff. He brought it into the new century as a modern, top quality title. In April 2000 he stepped down for personal reasons.

A century old paper seeks to reach youth

The new year brought changes at top posts in the paper and the whole company. After Duplat left, in October 2000 Pierre Lefèvre took over the newsroom. His task was clear: leave the crisis behind, revive the teams, and win back readers. Unfavourable circumstances kept him from spreading his wings.

In January 2001 Robert Hurbain, president and CEO of the Rossel group, died. He had guarded the family’s interests. His role was split between his son Patrick, who became chairman of the board, and his son in law Bernard Marchant, appointed CEO of the group.

Patrick, a businessman, and Bernard, a lawyer, needed a bold, resourceful editor in chief for Le Soir. The head of the political economic desk, Béatrice Delvaux, put herself forward. Backed by the newsroom, she took the helm in December 2001. Daniel Van Wylick became paper director. The pair set themselves the hard task of creating a world class paper in form and content, and raising circulation. The last goal was hardest, as print papers were in retreat worldwide and digital ones were booming. The same was true for Le Soir.

Like her predecessor, Delvaux targeted young readers. For them, in November 2001, the weekly Le Soir Junior was launched for ages 10-14. In 2004 the magazine celebrated Tintin’s 75th birthday, the reporter and globe trotter known worldwide as a Belgian comic hero.

In 2005 a supplement for young journalists from secondary schools, Swarado, was launched. It gave advice, printed young writers’ work, and taught how to run a paper. Each year one class could run an edition from editor in chief to printer.

That year also saw the decision to change the daily’s format and look. Public relations experts and graphic designers were hired. A new printing house, Rossel Printing Company (RPC), was built. In November 2005 readers received the new Le Soir, full of colour, with new fonts and page layout, in the Berliner format.

Victory against Google. The internet deals the cards

In 2006 Belgian newspapers, including Le Soir, confronted Google Inc., accusing it of copyright infringement. Eighteen French language papers accused Google of allowing free access to archived articles that papers usually sell by subscription. The case went to court. In February 2007 the publishers won, and the internet giant was also fined.


Delvaux ran the newsroom with a firm hand. She resisted pressure and safeguarded the paper’s independence. Knowing the realities of the market, she often repeated Albert Londres’s words: Our job is not to follow processions with baskets of flowers, not to please or harm, but to press a finger into the wound. She added: We are defenders of ethics, political deontology, and practice, whatever the side involved.

She led the Le Soir newsroom for 10 years. She could not keep circulation steady. The internet had greater possibilities, and this competition was and is unbeatable. When she took charge, the daily sold 130,000 copies. In 2010 it was a little over 80,000. However, in readership terms, at the turn of 2008-2009 the paper had 566,700 daily readers.

Despite many successes and the promotion of the paper, not everyone liked her approach. After a conflict with a group of journalists, Delvaux resigned in June 2011. The board appointed Didier Hamann, who officially took the chair on 11 September. He inherited a team of 108 journalists, including a ten person online newsroom for Soir.be. At this time the Rossel Group acquired the Grupalitan website (2011), a package of French newspapers, and the Champagne FM radio station (2013), which also affected Le Soir, especially its delivery format and journalists.

In January 2013 a paid online news project was launched. Every day at 5:00 pm readers could access the best articles from the current issue. The idea came from Philippe Laloux, a journalist and expert in modern technologies and digital transformation.

Hamann was editor in chief until June 2013. As he also served as CEO and could not hold both posts for more than two years, the main newsroom chair, with team support, went to Christophe Berti. He began his career as a sports journalist, later becoming head of the department. From 2011 he was deputy editor in chief. As leader he aimed to consolidate the brand’s editorial line, develop paid and free debates, and grow online and digital media.

Targeted by terrorists and hackers

The year 2015 began badly for the European press. On 7 January in Paris there was a terrorist attack on the offices of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, killing 12 people. The same day many papers, including Le Soir, ran articles supporting the French weekly. Signs saying Je suis Charlie (I am Charlie) appeared in newsroom windows. In the following days, besides articles, caricatures of Muhammad published in the Paris weekly were also printed.

On 11 January 2015 terrorists carried out mass attacks on newspaper offices across Europe. In many cases, such as Hamburger Morgenpost, there was major damage. That day, in the early afternoon, a man’s voice called Le Soir warning of a bomb. All newsrooms (Le Soir, La Capitale, and Soir Magazine) were evacuated. Bomb disposal experts and trained dogs were deployed. This time it was a false alarm. The perpetrator, Thierry Carreyn, a 53 year old former printer, was quickly arrested.

Three months later, on 13 April, the paper suffered a cyber attack. Newsroom computers crashed, and the website was down for several hours. The attack was repeated 24 hours later. The culprits were never found. Hackers who had claimed an attack on TV5 Monde days earlier had nothing to do with it.

That month also brought success. The Le Soir+ information platform was launched. It was available on smartphones and tablets as well as in print. In 2016 the cultural supplement Le Mad began, covering the latest films, records, concerts, and celebrity gossip.

Newspaper alliance, investigative community, and podcasts

In 2015 Le Soir and six other European papers founded the Leading European Newspaper Alliance, LENA (Wiodący Europejski Sojusz Gazet). A section in the daily, Lena, carried articles from partner foreign papers. The following year the European Investigative Collaborations, EIC (Europejska Wspólnota Śledcza), was founded, a network of investigative journalism by nine European papers, including Le Soir.

Christophe Berti led nearly 100 journalists across many fields for almost 12 years. In that time several thematic supplements were created:

• the weekly Le Soir Immo, all about property,
• So Soir, a men’s magazine,
• Le Soir Le Routes, a motoring magazine.

The paper’s digital archive went live, and on 3 September 2019 the first podcast was available. Not only journalists bring glory to the paper. Satire and comics have long reigned. Many cartoons in the daily are known worldwide, including Tintin. In February 2017 Pierre Kroll received the Grand Prix du Press Cartoon Belgium for a cartoon in Le Soir on 17 August 2016 about the Muslim swimsuit, the burkini.


Although the paper had long run its own investigations, in March 2019 the Les Enquêtes investigative department was created. Commerce also thrives, as the paper runs the SoSoir online shop and stimulates readers’ grey matter with the Jeux section (sudoku, crosswords, logic games).

Le Soir is a leading paper in the Belgian market. Research by the Media Information Centre (CIM) in 2024 showed that the 138 year old title is read by 800,000 Belgians, a 7.7% rise year on year. Moreover, 25% of readers are under 35. There is reason to celebrate.

Le Soir timeline

• 1887, 1 January - first issue of the daily Le Soir and publisher L’agence Rossel
• 1893 - first supplement, Soir Illustré
• 1901 - new newsroom headquarters (Place de Louvain)
• 1912 - publisher renamed Rossel & Fils
• 1914, 21 August - Germans wreck the Le Soir newsroom
• 1914-1918 - Le Soir not printed
• 1918, 18 November - paper returns to market
• 1919, 26 February - Tribune libre column starts
• 1920 - company renamed Rossel & Cie
• 1921, 18 July - first comic
• 1928 - first photographs
• 1928, 23 February - first issue of magazine Le Soir Illustré
• 1938 - first Victor Rossel literary prize awarded
• 1940, 17 May - owners close newsroom
• 1940, 14 June - German authorities launch first edition under their control (Le Soir Volé)
• 1940, 17 October - satirical youth supplement Soir Jeunesse
• 1943, 9 November - fake Le Soir, Faux Soir, hits market
• 1944, 4 September - work resumes in newsroom
• 1944, 6 September - first post war true Le Soir
• 1957 - new newsroom and publisher HQ (rue Royale 120)
• 1969 - changes from new look to editorial line
• 1975, 22 February - newsroom becomes l’Assemblée générale des journalistes professionnels du Soir (AGJPS)
• 1983 - first newsroom crisis
• 1983, 3 June - Société des Journalistes professionnels du Soir (JSPS) founded
• 1987 - paper’s centenary
• 1990 - first colour in the paper
• 1993 - paper’s image changed
• 1996 - Le Soir online
• 2000 - Le Soir Illustré becomes Soir Magazine
• 2001 - weekly for young readers, Le Soir Junior, launched
• 2005 - school magazine Swarado launched
• 2005, November - complete redesign of Le Soir
• 2006-2007 - conflict with Google
• 2013, January - paid news platform Le Soir launches
• 2015 - Soir Magazine becomes Soir Mag
• 2015 - digital archive launches
• 2015, 11 January - newsroom evacuated
• 2015, April - Le Soir+ information platform launches
• 2015, 13 April - cyber attack on newsroom
• 2016 - first edition of cultural supplement Le Mad
• 2019, March - investigative department Les Enquêtes created
• 2019, 3 September - first podcast
• 2020 - new section "Year through the eyes of journalists"
• 2021 - news delivery programme to email inboxes

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• https://kronobase.org/chronologie-categorie-Raymond+De+Becker.html
• https://www.belgiumwwii.be/belgique-en-guerre/articles/le-faux-soir.html
• https://www.bedetheque.com/revue-Soir-Junior.html
• https://www.lalibre.be/culture/medias-tele/2013/12/07/yvon-toussaint-mort-dun-grand-journaliste-UCAKF75NMBH3NKWRZA45OPAHWA/
• https://www.lesoir.be/art/il-etait-en-fonction-depuis-dix-ans-guy-duplat-quitte-s_t-20000422-Z0J4H3.html
• https://www.lecho.be/tech-media/media-marketing/bernard-marchant-le-van-thillo-francophone/10316647.html
• https://magazine-appel.be/IMG/pdf/16-20-2.pdf
• https://www.lalibre.be/culture/medias-tele/2001/12/11/beatrice-delvaux-reine-du-soir-4RIHFVJFIZCXLJYN3KEYT5HVFI/
• https://www.cnews.fr/media/2013-02-16/le-journal-le-soir-pionnier-du-numerique-payant-388348
• https://www.rtbf.be/article/christophe-berti-est-le-nouveau-redacteur-en-chef-du-journal-le-soir-8015709
• https://www.thestar.com/news/belgian-newspapers-win-google-lawsuit/article_1d07baba-e3e9-5c25-b9b8-11d34b2caf94.html