French news site Rue89 plans Canadian expansion

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Independent French news website Rue89.com will launch a Canadian version of the site next month. Quebec89.com will go live on October 1 and is the result of an agreement with Quebec-based internet company Branchez-vous.com , Pierre Haski, Rue89 founder, told Journalism.co.uk.

The forthcoming site will feature content from Rue89, which was this week shortlisted for a Online News Association's general excellence award , and employ a three-person team to produce some local content.

Revenue from the site will be shared between Rue89 and Branchez-vous, Haski confirmed.

"We've already got a good number of connections from Quebec, so they'll be building on an existing base," Haski said.

"We're very happy about this development and hope it can be replicated elsewhere in the french-speaking world - and why not beyond?"

Haski said a group of Belgian journalists had approached the site with a similar proposal, but had not found sufficient initial investment.

The site previously spawned a local French news site covering Marseille, Marseille89 .

The original Rue89 site, which was set up by a team of former Liberation journalists in 2007 , passed the 1.5 million unique users mark in June. Earlier this year it set up an 'advertising wall' for advertisers to buy 'bricks' of space and display their logos. The wall generated half its predicted annual revenue within 10 days of launch.

The site is also developing additional revenue streams away from advertising, including website building for clients, training and e-commerce, Haski said.