Leboncoin: After Ten Years of Existence, the Site is Visited by Close to Half of the French

WEB: The classifieds company, Leboncoin has grown from 5 to 400 employees in ten years and is still popular with the French…

Nearly one in two French, have visited and are users of the classified site Leboncoin, which this year celebrates its tenth anniversary. Since its inception, the classifieds site owner has evolved from a start-up of five people in 2006 to a company with 400 employees today.

But numbers are not the only ones to have changed at Leboncoin, as recalled by the Director General Antoine Jouteau to Echos . The platform is not “a conventional small ads site. This is not a real estate website or a job site, “but Leboncoin has instead become” the aggregation of all this. ”

History: How it started

Leboncoin began in 2006 as a simple, local classified‑ads website inspired by Scandinavian models and quickly became France’s go‑to marketplace for second‑hand goods, property, cars and small services; founded through a partnership involving the Scandinavian media group that owned Blocket and a French partner, it grew by offering free, easy listings for private users and a strong regional focus that encouraged in‑person exchanges.

As traffic exploded in the late 2000s the company moved to monetise the platform—introducing paid options for professionals, promoted listings and value‑added services—while expanding its vertical reach through acquisitions in areas like real estate and agricultural machinery. Schibsted consolidated ownership in 2010 and the business later became part of a larger classified‑ads group as it scaled into a major national brand; throughout the 2010s Leboncoin invested in trust, moderation and tech features, positioning itself as a central player in France’s circular economy and everyday commerce.

“We spend 90% of our business to individuals”

A variety of services that is not a reason, ensures Antoine Jouteau to lose sight of the mission that has set the subsidiary of the Norwegian group Schibsted “facilitate all exchanges every day.”

Another fundamental principle which Leboncoin focuses on without exception: the type of client to which it is addressed. “We spend 90% of our business with individuals and we want to continue like this”, told Antoine Jouteau.

Leboncoin is so widespread in France that it’s regularly mentioned in the press and political debate; celebrities, business owners and ordinary users alike turn to it for hiring, furnishing homes or searching for property, highlighting how ingrained the platform is in daily French life.