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The Paris edition has already faced strong opposition from French trade unions and papers, which have come out against Metro.

Leaders slating the launch have appeared in papers ranging from Le Monde to the Catholic daily La Croix, which ran an editorial with the headline "Press in peril".

Last week, unions managed to stop it being printed after it was revealed that Metro planned to hand out the free daily in the streets after failing to secure a distribution deal with press distributor NMPP.

The 24-page daily got around this problem by printing 200,000 copies in Luxembourg and distributed them as a hand-out to morning rush-hour commuters in Paris.

The unions struck back, however, and ruined yesterday's Marseilles edition when 50 union workers entered a printing plant in Chateaurenard, 80 miles outside the city, and destroyed 50,000 copies of the Marseilles daily by leaving it out in the rain.

Unions are also said to be concerned that the free newspaper will erode the paid-for newspaper market in France.

Metro says it attracts a young audience -- which would otherwise avoid buying newspapers -- because of its bright and breezy style and short articles, which means it does not affect the circulation of the other dailies.

Pelle Tornberge, president and CEO of Metro International, said: "As one of Europe's largest cities and major commercial centres, Paris is an ideal location for Metro, while Marseilles has a similarly concentrated urban population and thriving commercial environment.

"As a result, we expect to be able to attract the same profile of young, professional and educated newspaper readers that pick up our editions in other cities around the world. This audience in France has not typically read daily newspapers up until now, despite the fact that the country is one of Europe's largest media markets," he said.

The Paris edition has a circulation target of 300,000, while the Marseilles version has a target of 100,000 copies.

Metro International was pipped to the post to publish the London free daily of the same name by Evening Standard publisher Associated Newspapers, and in Manchester by Associated and Guardian Newspapers.

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