Le Monde is a French daily evening newspaper. It was founded in 1944 by Hubert Beuve-Méry, and has since grown to become the world’s main source of printed French news, with 35,000 copies of the paper being distributed abroad on a weekly basis. It was founded at the request of General De Gaulle following the removal of the German army from Paris in World War Two. The German army had taken over the newspaper Le Temps, which had previously served as the most important French newspaper. Hubert Beuve-Méry’s provision upon being chosen to be Editor in Chief of the newspaper was to have complete editorial independence. The governance of the newspaper is structured collegially, with many journalists, who have tenure with the paper, also being allowed to be financial stakeholders and participate in the elections of senior executives. The paper’s editorial line has often been described as centre-left, with Le Monde backing several Socialist candidates in recent years.