Le Soir (meaning
The Evening) is a
Berliner Format Belgian newspaper.
Le Soir was founded in 1887 by
Emile Rossel. It is the most popular
Francophone newspaper in Belgium, and considered a
newspaper of record.
[citation needed]Compared to its centre-right Catholic competitor, La Libre Belgique, Le Soir is seen as liberal with politically federalist leanings.
The paper gained some notoriety on the internet after it successfully sued Google for copyright infringement. The case was built on the fact that Google made parts of the newspaper's website available through its search engine and through its Google News service, even after the articles in question had been removed from the newspaper's website. A Belgian judge ruled that this did not conform to Belgian regulations and ordered Google to remove all "copyright violations" from its websites. Google responded as requested, by removing all links to the Belgian newspaper from its search index.
