Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

The newspaper that only publishes on February 29

Satirical French newspaper La Bougie du Sapeur only comes out on Feb. 29, once every four years

Via AP news wire
Thursday 29 February 2024 17:08 GMT
France Leap Year Newspaper
France Leap Year Newspaper (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Read all about it, right now — or you'll have to wait another four years. Satirical French newspaper La Bougie du Sapeur only comes out on February 29.

It's a leap year-only publication, filled with cringe-worthy puns and commentary on events of the past four years.

The 2024 edition includes an article suggesting France doesn’t need schools anymore thanks to artificial intelligence. Another floats the idea of dismantling the Eiffel Tower during the Paris Olympics to reduce security risks -- and having IKEA produce a manual for rebuilding it.

Some friends started the newspaper as a joke in 1980, naming it after a comic book figure who was born on Feb. 29. The last edition — in 2020, as the world went into COVID-19 lockdowns — sold 120,000 copies. Revenue from newsstand sales goes mainly to a charity for people with developmental disorders including autism.

Its editors are proudly politically incorrect, and some articles seem rather, well, dated. But that's the point. That, and lifting the mood a bit.

When the world goes out of whack, reads its once-in-four-years editorial, ‘’Sometimes you have to laugh about it.’’

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in