Advertising, partnerships and sponsored content

The rule

All advertising is identifiable as such and identifies the advertiser on whose behalf it is placed. That is article 20 of the French law on confidence in the digital economy. Blurring the line between paid and editorial content is also a misleading commercial practice under article L121-2 of the French consumer code.

How paid content is flagged

Paid content carries, above its headline, a banner the reader cannot hide, stating its exact nature and the advertiser's name. Four labels are used, and no others: Sponsored content, Partnership, Advertorial, Branded content.

The same label appears everywhere the item is shown:

• on the article page;
• in its card, on the home page, a section, a municipality page or search results;
• in the feeds the site publishes;
• in the mobile application.

Paid content cannot be published without an advertiser name: the site refuses to save it. It is excluded from editors' picks, from the most-read list and from the news feed submitted to search engines.

Editorial and commercial separation

No advertiser, partner or funder has any say over editorial content or over the timing of its publication. An advertiser cannot have an article taken down, obtain a change to it, or make an order conditional on a subject being covered. An advertiser accounting for more than 10 % of advertising revenue in a financial year is named on the Masthead page.

What we refuse

• Any third-party ad network or automated exchange, and any tracking pixel: the site loads no advertising tracker.
• Behavioural advertising based on browsing history.
• Advertising for tobacco, vaping products, and gambling aimed at minors.
• Alcohol advertisements that do not carry the wording required by article L3323-4 of the French public health code.
• Promotional content disguised as articles, paid links embedded in editorial text, and articles sold in exchange for a backlink.
• Political advertising, and any advertisement from a candidate, a list, a party or a local authority of the Aube during the window covered by article L52-1 of the French electoral code — the six months preceding the first day of the month of an election.

Paid partnerships with creators

Where a paid partnership is entered into with a content creator, it is disclosed in the manner required by French law no. 2023-451 of 9 June 2023 on commercial influence, with an explicit statement of its commercial nature.

Rates and formats

Available formats, their dimensions and their rates are provided on request at contact@aubeactu.fr, and published in the current rate card. No rate is hard-coded into the site: it is maintained and dated by the advertising desk.

Tax and accounting treatment

Advertising revenue is kept in separate accounts from the first euro, in line with the rules applying to the commercial activities of a non-profit association.