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A news agency, also called a wire service. It gathers reporting and sells it to newspapers, websites and TV stations, which publish it under their own name. Because its customers sit on every side of the spectrum, left or right is the wrong question to ask about it.
Created in 1944 after the Liberation of Paris, succeeding Agence Havas, which dated to 1835. It operates under a 1957 French statute that establishes it as an independent body, neither a state enterprise nor an ordinary company.
Its coverage of Africa, the Middle East and francophone regions is deeper than most American outlets can match, and its photography is among the best in the world. Critics note that a large share of its revenue comes from subscriptions by French public bodies, which is a structural dependency even where day-to-day independence is not in question.