Rue89 was created by former leftist publication Libération staff, offering a combination of professional and amateur content, with an emphasis on images, video and reader participation. The site was created as a result of the economic slump of the French daily press and the increasing gap between journalists and readers.

Rue89 currently has over 600,000 pageviews per month, which may give it the status as one of the most frequented sites in France.

The investment deal was finalised last Tuesday, raising €1.1 million euros for the independent media company. Rue89 said that the money would be used to build the site and to give it a position in the media landscape, as it still remains a “work in progress.”

The investors include:

• the Halmahera family (€ 100,000)
• Khedaoudj Zemmouri, a journalist (€100,000)
• Midi-Minuit, a production company run by Georges Bermann (€200,000)
• Hi-Media, an internet company run by Cyril Zimmermann (€300,000)
• Verdoso Media, Frank Ullmann’s personal funds (€300,000)
• “Amis de Rue89”, individual investors (€100,000)

The capital of Rue89 is divided as follows:

• The four founders (Arnaud Aubron, Pierre Haski, Laurent Mauriac and Pascal Riché) possess 51.3 percent
• “Amis de Rue89” possesses 17.6 percent
• “Habitants de Rue89”, the initial web team possesses 6.1 percent
• The five new investors possess 24.9 percent

Last week, Marseille.Rue89.com, a site focusing on events around Marseille, was launched, helping to expand Rue89’s reporting radius.

Rue89 mentioned that it is trying to increase coverage on topics like sports, lifestyles and technologies as well as to improve the social networking aspect of the site.

Rue89 pointed out that an independent media outlet is vital to democracy, referring back to the worrisome and restricted situation of the current daily French press.