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| Leap year: French readers enjoy world’s only four-year newspaper | Leap year: French readers enjoy world’s only four-year newspaper |
| (25 days later) | |
| La Bougie du Sapeur gives a satirical take on topics ranging from politics to sport and international affairs | La Bougie du Sapeur gives a satirical take on topics ranging from politics to sport and international affairs |
| The world's only quadrennial, or four-yearly newspaper, has hit the kiosks again in France with the release of a new issue of the satirical La Bougie du Sapeur. | The world's only quadrennial, or four-yearly newspaper, has hit the kiosks again in France with the release of a new issue of the satirical La Bougie du Sapeur. |
| The singularity of the 20-page tabloid is that it comes out only on 29 February - so once every leap-year. | The singularity of the 20-page tabloid is that it comes out only on 29 February - so once every leap-year. |
| The first edition was in 1980, and this is issue 12. | The first edition was in 1980, and this is issue 12. |
| Conceived by a group of friends who "wanted to have a laugh", La Bougie du Sapeur (The Sapper's Candle) has a print run of 200,000. | Conceived by a group of friends who "wanted to have a laugh", La Bougie du Sapeur (The Sapper's Candle) has a print run of 200,000. |
| It is priced at €4.90 (£4.20), and more than meets its costs. | It is priced at €4.90 (£4.20), and more than meets its costs. |
| "After the first issue sold out in two days, the newsagents were clamouring for more copies - so we said fine, but only in four years' time!", says editor Jean d'Indy, whose main job is running the French equivalent of the Jockey Club. | "After the first issue sold out in two days, the newsagents were clamouring for more copies - so we said fine, but only in four years' time!", says editor Jean d'Indy, whose main job is running the French equivalent of the Jockey Club. |
| "The paper's still put out by a few pals. We meet in a bar and toss around ideas over drinks. We have a lot of fun, and if the reader does too, that's the icing on the cake," Mr d'Indy says. | "The paper's still put out by a few pals. We meet in a bar and toss around ideas over drinks. We have a lot of fun, and if the reader does too, that's the icing on the cake," Mr d'Indy says. |
| Styling itself as anti-politically correct, La Bougie is organised like a regular newspaper, with sections on politics, sport, international affairs, arts, puzzles and celebrity gossip. | Styling itself as anti-politically correct, La Bougie is organised like a regular newspaper, with sections on politics, sport, international affairs, arts, puzzles and celebrity gossip. |
| Jean d'Indy edits La Bougie du Sapeur... but only every four years | Jean d'Indy edits La Bougie du Sapeur... but only every four years |
| But the articles are designed as humorous commentaries. This edition's headline - We will all be intelligent - is above a story about how exams and intellectual attainment are being made redundant by AI. | But the articles are designed as humorous commentaries. This edition's headline - We will all be intelligent - is above a story about how exams and intellectual attainment are being made redundant by AI. |
| The second lead story - titled "What men need to know before becoming women" - explains what it describes as "challenges" facing men wanting to transition. | The second lead story - titled "What men need to know before becoming women" - explains what it describes as "challenges" facing men wanting to transition. |
| "It is French humour, and it does not translate into other languages," says d'Indy. "We try to be silly but not nasty. To poke fun without being cruel." | "It is French humour, and it does not translate into other languages," says d'Indy. "We try to be silly but not nasty. To poke fun without being cruel." |
| On the international pages, there is a short piece reminding the French who was the most "forgettable" of modern British prime ministers - Liz Truss. | On the international pages, there is a short piece reminding the French who was the most "forgettable" of modern British prime ministers - Liz Truss. |
| And in sport, the editors recommend the creation of a Winston Churchill award for the first person to be eliminated in the Olympic Games. This on the basis that Churchill's motto - according to the paper - was "No Sport." | And in sport, the editors recommend the creation of a Winston Churchill award for the first person to be eliminated in the Olympic Games. This on the basis that Churchill's motto - according to the paper - was "No Sport." |
| There is also a serialised story - The Drowning in the Pool - whose next instalment will be in 2028. | There is also a serialised story - The Drowning in the Pool - whose next instalment will be in 2028. |
| La Bougie du Sapeur is named after one of France's earliest cartoon figures, Le Sapeur Camembert. He was a soldier simpleton who appeared in comic drawings about life in the army in the 1890s. | La Bougie du Sapeur is named after one of France's earliest cartoon figures, Le Sapeur Camembert. He was a soldier simpleton who appeared in comic drawings about life in the army in the 1890s. |
| The paper does not appear online and can be bought only at newsagents and newspaper kiosks. | The paper does not appear online and can be bought only at newsagents and newspaper kiosks. |
| "I hope we are a bit of fresh air every four years," says d'Indy. "These days people need to be able to laugh." | "I hope we are a bit of fresh air every four years," says d'Indy. "These days people need to be able to laugh." |