97150: a thousand numbers and a few detours

Originally, *Le 97150* wasn’t quite a newspaper. A nod to French publications that used their departmental code to carry classified adverts, the first issue, published on 17 September 2015, was more of a practical guide: 100% classified adverts. People used it to look for jobs, accommodation, cars… in short, it mainly offered everything needed to get by day to day.
Then, almost imperceptibly, the paper began to change its format. On 5 November 2015, four central editorial pages appeared, two in English and two in French, every Thursday. Local news began to make a tentative appearance, squeezed in between the adverts. We experimented, we tweaked, we gauged the response.
A year later, the shift was more pronounced. On 8 November 2016, the classifieds disappeared, and Le 97150 officially became a local news paper. News took centre stage, topics diversified, and the tone became more assertive. And as is often the case in Saint Martin, things don’t stay the same for long, and soon after, the paper switched to two issues a week, on Tuesdays and Fridays. The pace quickens, as do current events… and green boxes start appearing all over the island. People help themselves, stay informed, and it remains free!
December 2017 marks a small revolution in the pages of the newspaper: the arrival of Mimi — or more precisely, her famous ‘round’. A feature that very quickly found its audience… and transformed the mornings after a night out into an unmissable reading moment in broad daylight!
The latest development to date: opening up to an even wider audience, with the launch of the 100% English edition on 3 March 2026. A fairly natural way of reflecting the reality of a bilingual region, and of speaking to everyone who lives there, passes through or identifies with it.
In the meantime, the newspaper has found its niche. Neither quite institutional nor entirely offbeat, Le 97150 navigates in its own way, between local news, in-depth features, daily current affairs and little nods to island life.
A thousand issues later, Le 97150 has, above all, accumulated… stories. Some significant, others lighter in tone, but all rooted in the island’s daily life.
For these thousand issues tell of far more than just the history of a newspaper. They also tell the story of its readers. Those from the very beginning, as well as those we’ve met along the way. Those who open an issue out of habit, out of curiosity, or simply because it was there, within reach.
Without you, Le 97150 would have remained just a single issue. It is you who have made it a regular fixture, a reflex, sometimes even a small part of daily life.
So for these thousand issues — and for all those to come: thank you.
Deep down, perhaps that is what Le 97150 is: a newspaper that informs, of course, but which also often ends up becoming part of the scenery. And judging by what becomes of it once read, it seems the story is far from over…

A thousand and one uses

Le 97150 doesn’t just inform. Repurposed, recycled, reinvented, the newspaper finds its way into places where you least expect it — blending creativity, humour and an unexpected second life. ‬It just goes to show that, with Le 97150, the story never really ends: it continues to live on, in step with those who create and transform it.‬

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