Agence France-Presse
AFP headquarters in Paris | |
| Company type | Private organization with special status, operating under commercial rules |
|---|---|
| Industry | News media |
| Founded | 1835 (as Havas) |
| Founder | Charles-Louis Havas (as Havas) |
| Headquarters | Paris, France |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Charles-Louis Havas, Jean Marin, Henri Pigeat, Pierre Louette, Emmanuel Hoog |
| Products | Text, photo, video, audio, and graphics |
| Revenue | €321.9 million (2022) €309.5 million (2021) |
Number of employees | 2,400 (2023) |
| Subsidiaries | Sport-Informations-Dienst |
| Website | www |
Agence France-Presse (AFP; French pronunciation: [aʒɑ̃s fʁɑ̃s pʁɛs]) is a French international news agency headquartered in Paris, France. Its origins date back to 1835, when it was founded as Havas, the world's oldest news agency. In August 1944, following the Liberation of Paris, it was reorganized as Agence France-Presse to succeed Havas.[1]
AFP's mission is to provide fast, comprehensive, impartial, and verified coverage of global events across all fields and formats, including video, photography, text, infographic, and audio.[2] It collects, verifies, cross-checks, and distributes information in a neutral, factual form, intended for direct use by all types of media (radio, television, press, websites). It also serves as a source and alert service for major companies and public administrations.
AFP operates one of the world's most extensive networks of correspondents.[3] With 2,400 employees representing 100 nationalities, it maintains an editorial presence in 260 cities across 150 countries.[4] Its main regional headquarters are located in Nicosia, Hong Kong, Washington, D.C., and Montevideo. The agency publishes stories, videos, photos, and graphics in French, English, Arabic, Portuguese, Spanish, and German. Two-thirds of its revenue is generated from commercial activities, while the remaining one-third is funded by the French government (€113.3 million in 2022) as compensation for fulfilling its mission of general interest.[5]
- ^ Bibily, Carole (22 October 2011). "22 October 1835: creation of the Havas agency, future AFP". Les Échos (in French). Retrieved 26 August 2025.
- ^ "Qui sommes-nous ? 2024". afp.com (in French). Agence France-Presse. Retrieved 26 August 2025.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
dewas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "About us – AFP". www.afp.com. 20 April 2023. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
- ^ "AFP's 2022 results: 5% growth in commercial revenues, new tensions on costs". LEFIGARO (in French). 20 April 2023. Archived from the original on 15 July 2023. Retrieved 5 July 2023.