Agence France-Presseis 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.
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. 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. With 2,400 employees representing 100 nationalities, it maintains an editorial presence in 260 cities across 150 countries. 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.
