Terms and conditions for subscriptions to the mediapart website

Terms and conditions for subscribing to the Mediapart website

The following terms and conditions for online subscriptions are provided by the Mediapart Publishing Company (hereinafter referred to as ‘Mediapart’) a simplified joint stock company with capital of €24,864.88, registered under number 500 631 932 RCS PARIS, whose registered office is located at 127 avenue Ledru Rollin, 75011 Paris – contact@mediapart.fr - fax + 33 1 44 68 01 90.

I. Definitions and scope of application

Mediapart is an online journal consisting of two parts:

the ‘Journal’ section, edited by the editorial team, and
the ‘Club’ section, which is participatory, where each subscriber and/or user can freely contribute, publish comments, express themselves, react to each article, and create a space for dialogue or a ‘blog’.

These terms and conditions govern our relationship with subscribers and/or users, subscriptions, access to the Journal, use of online participatory information services, and all related services that we offer via the website ‘www.mediapart.fr’ (hereinafter ‘the website’).

These terms and conditions are supplemented by two additional documents, which together form our ‘contractual framework’:

the Participation Charter (Appendix 1),
the terms and conditions of use of our website (Appendix 2)

All Mediapart contracts, details of the various subscription offers, the corresponding prices and, where applicable, the technical and usage characteristics of the services offered are permanently available on the home page of our website, except in cases as defined in point VI below. Contracts are presented to each subscriber prior to the subscription of the first subscription or access offered.

The present ‘contractual framework’ is binding on all subscribers and users and ties them mutually to Mediapart, without condition or reservation, thereby enabling the uniform use of Mediapart’s services, regardless of the type of subscription chosen.

Mediapart's tolerance of a breach of contract does not constitute a waiver of its right to invoke it. If any clause of the contract is found to be invalid, the other provisions shall remain in full force and effect.

II. Access and subscription terms and conditions

Full access to the website (the ‘Journal’ and ‘Le Club’ sections) and services requires completing a subscription form and creating a user account, which allows subscribers to log in. If you only wish to subscribe to newsletters, you do not need to create an account.

A Mediapart account consists of a username and password, both of which are unique and strictly personal to the subscriber. They allow subscribers to access their subscription via a dedicated interface, where they can subscribe to/renew/modify current contracts and services and view their subscription history.

Once the account has been created, Mediapart will send a confirmation email to the address provided in the subscription form, confirming acceptance of the subscription request.

In the case of a group or licence subscription, it is the primary subscriber who makes the choice and completes the subscription process described below.

Our current subscription offers are available on our website and are divided into four categories:

individual subscriptions,
group subscriptions,
licence subscriptions,
specific and one-off promotional offers.

The offers in place are those displayed on the day the order is placed, including promotional offers.

Individual subscription

Individual subscription offers give each user personal access to the service for the duration chosen at the time of subscription (monthly, annual, multi-year, promotional offer), renewable by tacit agreement, unless terminated before the end of the current period in accordance with the terms set out in point VIII, or fixed-term subscription packages.

Licence subscriptions, group subscriptions, individual subscriptions for professional use

Licence subscriptions and group subscriptions are two types of subscription reserved for professionals, companies, associations, administrations, local authorities or any other legal entity.

A licence subscription provides read-only access to the journal through recognition of public (or outgoing) IP addresses, which must be declared at the time of subscription. This type of subscription allows unlimited and simultaneous reading of the journal on computers connected behind these public IP addresses.

Group subscription offers allow any company, association, local authority or other legal entity, known as the ‘main subscriber’, to take out a specified number of subscriptions, payable on the day of subscription and for a minimum period of one year, in order to provide the selected individuals, known as ‘beneficiary users’, access and use the subscribed services for their own purposes. In this regard, a person responsible for the professional subscription, the ‘subscription manager’, must be named at the time of subscription.

The main subscriber has:

a specific account opened in the name of the subscription manager
a dedicated interface, allowing the manager to designate, by name and individually, the beneficiary users to whom they intend to assign the said access rights and services. To this end, the subscription manager must provide a unique and valid professional email address for each beneficiary user.

Only the main subscriber's subscription manager may, at their sole discretion and responsibility, grant/suspend/terminate/modify the said access rights of each beneficiary user during the subscription period, for the duration they determine.

Each beneficiary user will be directly informed by email of the rights that the main subscriber's subscription manager intends to grant them and may confirm their acceptance and use the service, in accordance with the applicable conditions, which they will be required to read in order to accept them, or, failing that, to refuse these rights. Mediapart cannot be held liable for the granting or suspension of access decided solely by the subscription manager.

Licence and group subscription offers can be taken out together or separately, depending on the entity's preferred reading mode. All information relating to these professional offers can be requested by email at abo-collectif@mediapart.fr

Promotional offers

Mediapart occasionally provides promotional offers, some of which require the entry of a ‘promotional’ code. This code must be entered by the user when subscribing to the offer in order to benefit from it.

Information regarding the duration and conditions of these promotional offers is available on the Mediapart website. Due to the unique nature of each promotional offer, if Mediapart finds that a user is benefiting from an offer that they have already used before, the user may have their access suspended or even terminated without notice and without being entitled to any refund or compensation, or may be invited by Mediapart to subscribe to an offer, which they may choose to accept or decline.

Mediapart reserves the right to modify its offers at any time, or to offer other temporary promotional offers, under the conditions detailed on our website.

Notes regarding subscriptions via the iTunes store

The terms and conditions of sale for any subscription taken out via the Apple store are determined by and subject to the conditions defined by Apple. All other conditions of access to content and use of our services are those set out in these terms and conditions. Each subscriber acknowledges and agrees that by creating an account or subscribing to the subscription on Apple's iTunes Store website, they agree to comply with these terms and conditions of access to content and services.

III. Pricing and payment terms

Subscription fees are payable in accordance with the rates and terms and conditions set out on the Mediapart website. Subscription fees are payable upon subscription or, where applicable, upon renewal, whether for an individual or group subscription.

The subscriber is solely responsible for paying all sums due in respect of the subscription. However, a third party may pay for the subscription on behalf of the subscriber, without this conferring any special rights on the third party, except in the case of group and licence subscriptions.

Mediapart offers several payment methods:

direct debit from a bank account
bank card
e-card
bank transfer
bank or postal cheque, PayPal

Prices are available on the Mediapart website, quoted in euros and inclusive of all taxes. They do not include the costs of equipment and electronic communications necessary for subscribing to and using the services, which remain the responsibility of the subscriber.

For group and licensed subscriptions, subscriptions linked to the main subscription are prepaid and payable in all circumstances, whether or not they are assigned to a beneficiary user and whether or not they are used by the beneficiary user of the main subscription, without the subscriber being entitled to any refund.

The main subscriber of a group or licensed subscription must allocate the prepaid subscriptions to the beneficiary users of their choice at the time of subscription. Subscriptions not allocated by the main subscriber or not used by the beneficiary users shall not be subject to any refund due to non-allocation or non-use of the service.

In the event of unsuccessful payment by credit card, PayPal or E-Card, and except in cases of theft or dispute, our secure payment provider may be required to resubmit the payment until it is settled.

However, in the event of repeated payment defaults, regardless of the payment method chosen and after unsuccessful reminders from our services, Mediapart reserves the right to terminate the current subscription and even to remove any possibility of subsequent re-subscription for a period of one year from the date of notification of termination.

IV. Our services

The subscription allows you to view all articles published by the editorial team directly online. Information published by Mediapart is available three times per working day and at least once per non-working day.

The content of the ‘Le Club’ section is freely accessible and consists of contributions from the editorial team, Mediapart subscribers and external contributors. Mediapart only exercises retrospective control over publications in the ‘Le Club’ section, in accordance with the participation charter (Appendix 1).

Mediapart may offer new services, either free or paid, for which subscription and/or use may be subject to certain criteria or technical limitations, which will then be specified to the subscriber and/or user.

V. Changes to the terms and conditions

Mediapart reserves the right to adapt or modify these Terms and Conditions at any time. Where applicable, the new terms and conditions will be brought to the User's attention via an online modification.

VI. Rules of use and limitation of liability

The creation of a user account does not in itself create any rights. It is a declarative procedure allowing you to enter your contact details (title, surname, first name, email address, etc.). It is the responsibility of the subscriber and/or user to provide accurate contact details and to keep them up to date in the event of any changes.

Based on the information provided, the account is associated with a ‘Username’ and ‘Password’ chosen by the subscriber, which are strictly personal. Each username and password entitles the holder to a maximum of three simultaneous connections.

Each subscriber and/or user acknowledges and agrees that any use made of Mediapart's services via their account shall be deemed to have been made under their responsibility, with their consent, and is strictly personal. The transmission of these access codes to a third party and their use by a third party are strictly prohibited. Failure to comply with this rule may result in the temporary suspension of the subscription after a first warning, or even its cancellation in the event of a repeat offence.

If the subscriber forgets their password, they can request a new one using the ‘Forgotten your password?’ function. In the event of accidental disclosure or theft of the password, the subscriber must replace it as soon as possible and inform Mediapart's subscriber service by email at serviceabonnes@mediapart.fr.

Mediapart's subscriber service will, at the subscriber's request only, deactivate any stolen access codes. The subscriber will then have to choose a new password and, if necessary, a new username.

Failing prompt or immediate action, the account holder will be held responsible for any loss, theft, misappropriation or unauthorised use of their access codes and the consequences thereof.

The use of the ‘offer the article to a friend’ feature is reserved for individual and personal use. Unless you have subscribed to a specific offer and have obtained express, written and prior authorisation from Mediapart, the subscription does not allow you to distribute or reproduce articles for professional purposes.

The Club

Mediapart has a strong participatory dimension and, to this end, the website contains participatory sections (‘The Club’, blog platform, etc.), allowing all subscribers to publish their own content and exchange information in these dedicated spaces. These parts of the site are separate from the Journal.

The website's graphic charter allows users to check at any time whether they are in the ‘Journal’ section or in one of the participatory sections, where the information available does not come from Mediapart's editorial staff but from subscribers.

Mediapart cannot under any circumstances be held liable for publications in the ‘Club’ section and/or comments. These are the responsibility of the respective authors of the contributions, without Mediapart exercising any control or moderation over said contributions from subscribers and/or users.

Publications are associated with the username that each subscriber and/or user chooses when opening an account. Other subscribers, as well as third parties, can then identify them as authors and interact with them via Mediapart's IT platforms. This is an ancillary service included in the subscription, which will end when the subscription expires.

However, subscribers and/or users are not required to publish contributions and may simply view the content made available by Mediapart or by other subscribers in the participatory sections.

The expiry of the subscription does not result in the deletion of the subscriber's and/or user's contributions, but no additional content may be added, except in the event of renewal, for which full payment must have been received and validated within the required time frame.

During the subscription period, the subscriber may, at any time, delete and/or modify their posts, under their own responsibility and via their personal space. The username may be changed via the ‘My Account’ interface or upon request to contact@mediapart.fr if the user and/or subscriber is unable to change it. This username change will apply to all published content.

Without Mediapart being obliged to systematically delete content, Mediapart cannot undertake to store published content indefinitely. Therefore, six months after the end of a subscription, Mediapart reserves the right to delete contributions, either partially or in full.

Mediapart therefore recommends that its subscribers save published content themselves to avoid the risk of data loss. Mediapart does not undertake to save data stored temporarily on the contributory parts of the website. It is the subscriber's responsibility to ensure that their own contributions are saved.

In the event of a breach of this contractual framework, Mediapart shall be entitled to delete all or part of the contributions, without the subscriber being entitled to claim any compensation from Mediapart, as this constitutes a serious breach of its obligations.

The subscriber and/or user undertakes to indemnify Mediapart against any consequences of any action or conviction, and any costs associated with processing requests made to Mediapart, if Mediapart should be implicated or concerned in any way as a result of any content that the user/subscriber has made available to the public via its services.

Respecting copyright and intellectual property

The subscriber and/or user declares and guarantees that they have all the rights and authorizations required to use any content in each of their contributions in such a way as not to infringe the rights of third parties (copyright applied to photographs, images, texts; image rights, etc.).

For all intents and purposes, the subscriber and/or user notes that if a person who has authorized them to use their image or one of their creations withdraws this authorization, they must take all necessary measures to respect their rights in accordance with the laws and regulations in force.

Subscribers and/or users are free to initiate, moderate, and contribute to discussions through their content and contributions. It is understood that subscribers and/or users publish their contributions and/or comments free of charge and that posting them online does not entitle them to any remuneration, which they expressly accept.

The contribution and/or comment that the subscriber and/or user posts on Mediapart remains their sole and entire property. Without prejudice to the foregoing, and in order for their contribution and/or comment to be posted on the site, the subscriber and/or user grants the Mediapart Publishing Company the necessary authorizations allowing the following uses:

The reproduction of the subscriber's and/or user's contribution and/or comment, in whole or in part, its integration and communication to the public on the site, accompanied or not by other texts and/or content, as well as its communication to the public by any means or communication medium known or unknown to date.

This transfer is granted free of charge, worldwide and for the entire duration of legal protection from the date the content is posted on the website.

Contributions and/or comments may be published by Mediapart Publishing Company on any page of the Website.

It is specified that if Mediapart has any doubt that the subscriber and/or user does not necessarily have all the necessary authorizations to publish their contribution and/or comment, Mediapart may ask them for proof and suspend this contribution and/or comment pending their response. Similarly, Mediapart may remove any content from the site at its discretion and at any time in order to ensure the proper functioning of the site and compliance with the Editorial Charter and the Terms and Conditions of Sale.

Mediapart may reference all or part of the subscriber's and/or user's contribution and/or comment in order to facilitate the management of its storage and access. Furthermore, given the interactive nature of the Internet, the subscriber and/or user is informed that their contribution and/or comment may be presented in different contexts, associated with other works, or used in part, and that they declare their acceptance of this.

Subscribers and/or users are nevertheless informed that the storage of contributions and/or comments involves the automatic compression and encoding of all or part of the elements of their contribution and/or comment, including certain content (particularly videos), and that these operations may sometimes inherently result in a loss of quality. Consequently, the subscriber and/or user accepts and assumes full responsibility for this, in particular with regard to any third parties. Mediapart will nevertheless make every effort to ensure the optimal quality of the dissemination of the subscriber's and/or user's contributions and/or comments.

Mediapart reserves the right to republish the subscriber's and/or user's contribution and/or comment on any other service or medium operated by Mediapart, whether printed or digital. It is understood that this new publication does not give rise to any right to remuneration, which the subscriber and/or user expressly accepts.

Limitations specific to the use of the Internet

Mediapart undertakes to make every effort to secure access to, consultation and use of information in accordance with Internet usage rules. The site is accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, except in cases of force majeure or the occurrence of an event beyond Mediapart's control and subject to any breakdowns and maintenance operations necessary for the proper functioning of the site. Maintenance work may be carried out without prior notice to subscribers.

Subscribers use the Mediapart website services as is. Subscribers also declare that they accept the characteristics and limitations of the Internet, and in particular acknowledge that:

use of the site is at the subscriber's own risk;
the site is accessible to the subscriber “as is” and subject to availability;
any downloads by the subscriber are made under their own responsibility;
the subscriber is solely responsible for any damage to their computer or any loss of data resulting from downloading this material or consulting the site;
it is the subscriber's responsibility to take all appropriate measures to protect their own data and/or software from contamination by any viruses circulating through the site and/or the information and content;
No advice or information, whether oral or written, obtained by Mediapart subscribers or when using the site shall create any guarantees not expressly provided for in these terms and conditions.
Subscribers are solely responsible for the use made of the information on the site and, consequently, Mediapart cannot be held liable for any direct or indirect damage resulting from the use of this information;
they are solely responsible for the use of the content of sites with a hypertext link to the site, Mediapart declining all responsibility for such content;
they are aware of the nature of the Internet, in particular its technical performance and response times for consulting, querying, or transferring information;
The disclosure of access codes or, more generally, any information deemed confidential is done under the user's own responsibility.
It is the user's responsibility to take all necessary measures to ensure that the technical characteristics of their equipment allow them to consult the information.

The services offered by Mediapart comply with current French legislation. All information and data published in Mediapart's publications is provided for informational purposes only. Mediapart cannot be held liable for any direct or indirect damage that may result from errors, omissions, or delays in the transmission or publication of said information.

Hypertext links on the site may refer to other sites. Mediapart does not exercise any prior control over these contents and assumes no responsibility for the sites and contents to which these links refer.

However, Mediapart will remove such links or content published on its site after the fact, if notified that these links or content are illegal or harmful. Mediapart cannot, however, remove content published on sites other than its own.

Each subscriber and/or user acknowledges and accepts that, in accordance with current legislation, Mediapart or its hosting provider may be required to remove or block access to all or part of the content of the participatory sections of the website. Mediapart cannot be held liable for this.

Force majeure

Mediapart declines all responsibility for any failure to fulfill any of its contractual obligations in the event of force majeure or unforeseeable circumstances such as, but not limited to: disasters, fires, internal or external strikes, internal or external failures or breakdowns, and in general any event that prevents the proper transmission and/or execution of data.

VII. Personal data and privacy protection

Mediapart undertakes to respect the privacy of its subscribers and users, as well as their personal data, in accordance with the French Data Protection Act of January 6, 1978 (CNIL).

Thus, the personal data collected by Mediapart is intended solely for the purposes necessary to provide the services offered on its website. Mediapart does not disclose this data to third parties, except to and only at the request of the competent authorities and/or authorized third parties.

Each subscriber and/or user has the right to access, rectify, and oppose their personal data, which they can exercise directly with Mediapart, via their account, by email, or by post, using the contact details provided on the website.

All subscribers and/or users acknowledge that they have been informed and accept that the username they choose will be made public, so that their contributions can be attributed to them, along with the date on which the comments were published.

When consulting or using its website, Mediapart is required to store certain data concerning subscribers and/or users for the purposes of ensuring the proper functioning of the services offered and for statistical purposes, as set out in the website's terms of use.

Each user and/or subscriber agrees that Mediapart's system records, which enable it to determine, in particular, the use made of the account, shall be deemed authentic in relations between the subscriber and/or user and Mediapart.

Most Internet browsers have a feature called “cookies,” which saves a small text file on the computer used when visiting the Mediapart website.

A cookie alone does not provide any information about the user; it is a record of information relating to the computer's browsing activity on the website (such as the pages viewed, the date and time of the visit, etc.).

This information is stored on the computer for the duration of the visit to the website.

Consulting the public sections of the website does not require the acceptance of cookies.

However, consulting information and using features reserved for subscribers may require the activation of identification and tracking cookies on the computer.

The User may refuse all or some cookies via their browser settings.

However, if the User selects the function to block all cookies, they may no longer be able to access certain parts of the Site.

Unless the User has adjusted their browser settings to refuse cookies, the Mediapart system will issue cookies when the User connects to the Site.

To learn more about our privacy policy, respect for privacy, and your rights regarding the use of cookies, please visit the Privacy page.

By creating an account, users agree to receive promotional messages and information from Mediapart by email at the email address they have provided. Users may opt out of receiving such messages at any time by logging into our website, sending an email to contact@mediapart.fr, or using the unsubscribe page in the “My newsletters” and “My personal information” sections (on the Mediapart website).

All emails sent by Mediapart include a link allowing recipients to unsubscribe.

VIII. Miscellaneous provisions

By subscribing, the person declares that they have the legal capacity and powers or authorizations required to validly enter into these general terms and conditions of sale, as well as any other special conditions applicable to the service subscribed to. Pursuant to Article 1124 of the Civil Code, minors who are not emancipated are incapable of entering into contracts.

Right of withdrawal

The subscriber, who may be classified as a consumer within the meaning of the applicable laws, agrees that the service is provided and accessible upon confirmation of their order and their first connection to the service, which marks the start of their subscription for the selected term. The subscriber therefore expressly acknowledges that the service begins, with their agreement, before the expiry of the seven-day period provided for in the Consumer Code for exercising the right of withdrawal, and that they cannot claim to benefit from it.

The subscriber acknowledges that, in any event, these provisions do not apply between professionals.

Suspension/termination of subscription

In accordance with the Participation Charter (Appendix 1), Mediapart reserves the right to suspend and/or terminate the subscriber's subscription, without compensation or refund, in the event of a breach of these terms and conditions by the subscriber, within 15 days of sending a formal notice by registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt (if a valid address has been provided by the subscriber) or by email with acknowledgment of receipt to the email address provided when subscribing, without prejudice to Mediapart's right to seek legal redress for damages and interest in compensation for its entire loss.

Subscribers may only transfer all or part of the rights and obligations arising from their subscription with the prior written consent of Mediapart and subject to strict compliance with the terms and conditions set out in these terms and conditions.

Termination does not entail any penalty, but will not give rise to a refund for the current period, whether monthly or annual, depending on the choice made at the time of subscription.

However, with regard to annual subscriptions, on an exceptional and restrictive basis, a refund during the period will be acceptable for the remaining months, provided that the subscriber concerned meets all of the following criteria:

be a private subscriber (a natural person who subscribes on a non-professional basis);
provide a legitimate reason preventing access to the service, duly proven, such as: unemployment, long-term hospitalization, excessive debt, death, blindness, and personal bankruptcy;

In this case, a pro-rata refund will be made for the amount received by Mediapart for the remaining period. Refunds will be made within a maximum of thirty (30) clear days from receipt of the request. The method of refund will be at Mediapart's discretion, either by credit to a bank account or by check.

To cancel an individual subscription

To cancel an individual subscription, once you have logged in, simply click on your username in the top right-hand corner of the website and select [Subscription] from the drop-down menu.

Then click on the [Cancel my subscription] button at the bottom of the page, below your invoices.

Your request will be processed within a maximum of two days. The cancellation will take effect on the first renewal date after this period.

You can use the same username and password to resubscribe later and regain access to your Mediapart account.

Specific features of group subscriptions

The primary subscriber is responsible for ensuring that each beneficiary user accepts and complies with this contractual framework, under their full and complete responsibility.

Any change of beneficiary user by the primary subscriber during the subscription period shall not automatically extend the terms of use beyond the subscription period as originally agreed by the primary subscriber.

Intellectual Property

All content on our website that is freely accessible or available by subscription, including, but not limited to: the graphic charter, title, form, site map, texts, logos, trademarks, images, and databases accessible or made available in the “Journal” section, whether freely accessible or by subscription, as well as all programs and/or technologies provided in connection with the site and, more generally, all or part of the site itself, are protected by the provisions of the Intellectual Property Code. The same applies to the archives.

The “Mediapart” brand and the domain names “www.mediapart.fr” and “www.mediapart.com” are protected names belonging to our Company, which subscribers and/or users may not use under any circumstances without the express prior written consent of Mediapart.

Subscribers agree to use the content made available on the website only in accordance with the personal viewing rights granted to them under the terms of their subscription.

The contractual framework of our website does not entail any transfer of intellectual property rights to users of our website, for any reason whatsoever, whether this content is published in the “Journal” section or in one of the participatory sections of our website.

Subscribers must make lawful and reasonable use of their personal access to the information made available to them as part of their subscription. Any use of the content other than that provided for in the subscription is strictly prohibited and may constitute an infringement, giving Mediapart the right to take legal action against the offender(s).

The information and content consulted and used in connection with the use of Mediapart's services and strictly intended for subscribers must not under any circumstances be disclosed or used for other purposes. The offender will be held liable for any unauthorized use of this information, whether committed by them or from their account.

Mediapart may, without this being considered a new publication or giving rise to any remuneration, reference content published by a subscriber in a participatory section of the site on the front page of one of the sections in order to give it greater visibility. The subscriber remains solely responsible for the published contribution thus referenced, both to Mediapart and to third parties.

IX. Applicable laws and jurisdictions

These terms and conditions are governed by French law.

The parties agree, prior to any legal action, to settle any dispute relating to the validity, execution, interpretation, or termination of the terms and conditions amicably.

In the event of failure, subscribers may resort to the consumer mediation service of the Paris Mediation and Arbitration Center (CMAP), to which Mediapart belongs, accessible at https://www.cmap.fr or by mail at: CMAP – Consumer Mediation Service - 39, avenue Franklin D. Roosevelt – 75008 Paris.

If no amicable agreement can be reached, the dispute will be brought before the competent courts.

Appendices

Mediapart Participation Charter