Complex sentence: André Fontaine, the director of "Le Monde", had already signed a 1989 convention with Claude Julien which guaranteed the monthly's autonomy, but it gained complete statutory, economic and financial independence in 1996 with the creation of "Le Monde diplomatique SA".
Split into simpler sentences: André Fontaine, the director of "Le Monde", signed a 1989 convention with Claude Julien which guaranteed the monthly's autonomy. But it gained complete statutory, economic and financial independence in 1996 with the creation of "Le Monde diplomatique SA".