Le Monde color palette
MediaLe Monde's color identity is rooted in a classic, authoritative blue paired with elegant neutrals, reflecting its legacy as a leading French newspaper. The palette is understated, focusing on trust, clarity, and readability.
lemonde.frLe Monde colors
Click any swatch to copy its hex. Hover for RGB and HSL.
Brand colors
The colors people recognise.- Le Monde BluePrimary26, 36, 64
- Le Monde Light GraySecondary229, 231, 235
- Le Monde GoldAccent198, 166, 100
Surfaces
Page, cards and dividers.- Le Monde WhiteBackground255, 255, 255
- Le Monde Off-WhiteSurface245, 246, 247
- Le Monde Border GrayBorder209, 213, 219
Text
Three tiers of copy.- Le Monde Blue TextText26, 36, 64
- Le Monde Dark Gray TextSecondary text51, 51, 51
- Le Monde Muted GrayMuted text107, 114, 128
Semantic
Feedback and state colors.- Le Monde Success GreenSuccess60, 118, 61
- Le Monde Warning GoldWarning182, 134, 46
- Le Monde Error RedError169, 68, 66
- Le Monde Info BlueInfo49, 112, 143
Use Le Monde's colors in your project
Pick a format, copy or download. Everything below is generated from the exact hex values above.
le-monde-palette-colors.css · Paste into your global stylesheet.
:root {
--info: #31708F;
--error: #A94442;
--accent: #C6A664;
--border: #D1D5DB;
--primary: #1A2440;
--success: #3C763D;
--surface: #F5F6F7;
--warning: #B6862E;
--secondary: #E5E7EB;
--text-muted: #6B7280;
--background: #FFFFFF;
--text-primary: #1A2440;
--text-secondary: #333333;
}Contrast and accessibility
Every text tone tested against every surface, per WCAG 2.1.
Text on background
Needs 4.5:1 for body text
15.3:1
Pass
Text on surface
Needs 4.5:1 for body text
14.2:1
Pass
Secondary text on background
Needs 4.5:1 for body text
12.6:1
Pass
Secondary text on surface
Needs 4.5:1 for body text
11.7:1
Pass
Muted text on background
Needs 3:1 for large text
4.8:1
Pass
Muted text on surface
Needs 3:1 for large text
4.5:1
Pass
Le Monde background, border and text colors
The quiet part of the Le Monde palette: page background, card surfaces, dividers and the three text tones that sit on them. Click a value to copy it.
- Le Monde WhiteBackground
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- RGB
- HSL
- Le Monde Off-WhiteSurface
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- Le Monde Border GrayBorder
- HEX
- RGB
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- Le Monde Blue TextText
- HEX
- RGB
- HSL
- Le Monde Dark Gray TextSecondary text
- HEX
- RGB
- HSL
- Le Monde Muted GrayMuted text
- HEX
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About Le Monde's colors
Le Monde's palette is built around a deep blue, conveying trust and tradition, complemented by muted neutrals for readability. Accent gold is used sparingly to highlight premium content or features.
Primary blue contrasts with white and light gray backgrounds.
Gold accent draws attention to subscriptions and highlights.
Neutral grays support content hierarchy and separation.
Psychology
The deep blue projects authority and reliability, essential for a journalistic institution. Neutrals and gold add sophistication and clarity, supporting a premium reading experience.
Evolution
Le Monde's color palette has remained largely stable, maintaining its signature blue and neutral tones for decades. Minor adjustments have refined the gold accent and gray scales for digital clarity.
Where Le Monde uses each color
- Primary
Used in the masthead, navigation bar, and key headlines.
- Secondary
Backgrounds for article sections and sidebar panels.
- Accent
Subscription banners, premium tags, and call-to-action buttons.
- Backgrounds
Main page and article backgrounds are white or off-white.
- Text
Primary blue and dark gray are used for headlines and body text.
- Semantic
Success, warning, and error colors are used in notifications and alerts.
Le Monde color questions
Hex codes, RGB values, neutrals and how to use the palette.
The official Le Monde brand color is Le Monde Blue, hex code #1A2440.
Le Monde Blue (#1A2440) is RGB(26, 36, 64). For print, the closest CMYK is (59, 44, 0, 75).
Le Monde uses several grays, including Le Monde Light Gray (#E5E7EB) for backgrounds and Le Monde Muted Gray (#6B7280) for secondary text.
Use Le Monde Blue (#1A2440) for navigation and headlines, gold for highlights, and neutral grays for backgrounds and UI elements to maintain clarity and hierarchy.
The secondary color is Le Monde Light Gray, #E5E7EB, and the accent is Le Monde Gold, #C6A664. Together with the primary they make up the three brand colors at the top of this page.
6 of 6 text and background pairings meet WCAG 2.1 AA contrast. The contrast section above shows every pairing with its exact ratio.
Use the export block on this page. It gives you CSS custom properties, a Tailwind config, W3C design tokens or a shadcn/ui theme built from these exact hex values, with copy and download buttons.
Yes. Export the Claude Code skill, Cursor rules or Codex prompt from the same block. The agent then applies Le Monde's colors consistently when it generates UI.
Make something in the spirit of Le Monde
Start from this palette's mood and get an original 13-color system for your own project, contrast-checked and ready to export.