[2] The paper was established as Le Parisien libéré (pronounced [lə paʁizjɛ̃ libeʁe]; lit.

'The Freed Parisian') by Émilien Amaury in 1944,[3][4] and was published for the first time on 22 August 1944.

The paper was originally launched as the organ of the French underground during the German occupation of France in World War II.

[3] A national edition exists, called Aujourd'hui en France (pronounced [oʒuʁdɥi ɑ̃ fʁɑ̃s]; lit.

[6] The paper reached a circulation of 659,200 copies on 24 April 1995, the day after the first round of the presidential election.