collectively with receiving bribes, both from the government of
Prussia and from that of Italy—upon the faith, as it afterwards
appeared, of statements made by another newspaper, not of France
but of Belgium, La Finance. An elaborate inquiry, presided over
by M Berryer, pronounced the accusation to be absolutely groundless.
Yet it was soon revived by Le Pays, in the shape of a specific
charge against an individual editor of Le Siècle—La Varenne.
All that was eventually proved, in due course of law, was merely
the agency in Paris of La Varenne for the Italian government, at
a time prior to the events of 1866.
In 1874 an elaborate return showed that in thirty-five principal towns of France, comprising a population of 2,566,000, their respective journals had an aggregate weekly issue of 2,800,000 copies.
In 1878 the total number of journals of all kinds published in France was 2200. Of these 150 were political, strictly speaking, of which Paris published 49. Of Parisian journals other than political there were 1141 (including 71 religious, 104 legal, 153 commercial, 134 technological, 98 scientific and medical, 59 artistic). At that date Le Figaro had a circulation of about 70,000, Le Petit Journal (at a halfpenny) one of about 650,000.
The principal Parisian newspapers in 1883 may be classified thus—
(a) Organs of the Legitimists and of the Church of France: Gazette de France, Le Monde, L’Union, La Défense, La Civilisation, L’Univers.
(b) Orleanist organs: Le Moniteur Universel, Le Constitutionnel, Le Français (under the auspices of the Duc de Broglie), Le Soleil.
(c) Bonapartist organ: Le Pays (edited at one time by Lamartine).
(d) Republican organs: Journal des Débats, Le Temps (founded 1861, with the title of the earlier Temps of 1829–1842, Le Siècle, Le XIX. Siècle, Le Paix, La Justice, Paris, La République Française (founded in 1871 by Gambetta), Le Parlement (founded by Dufaure), the Socialist La Petite République (1875).
The law concerning the liberty of the press, of July 29, 1881, abolished suretyship for newspapers, and transferred their registration from the ministry of justice at Paris to the local representative of the attorney-general (le parquet) in each town respectively. It made the establishment of a newspaper virtually free, upon legal deposit of two copies, and upon due registration of each newspaper under the simple guarantee of a registered director, French by birth, responsible in case of libel. And it took away the former discretionary power, lodged in the home office, of interdicting the circulation in France of foreign journals. The home minister might still prohibit a single number of a newspaper; only the whole council of ministers, duly convened, could prohibit the circulation of a foreign newspaper absolutely.[1]
The newspapers of Paris, and similarly of France, practically doubled in number between 1880 and 1900. In 1880 there were about 120 Paris newspapers, in 1890 about 160, and in 1900 about 240. The total number of newspapers, as distinguished from periodicals, published in France during 1900 was in round numbers Later developments. 2400. Of these, about 2160 appeared in 540 provincial towns.
The history of the French press during the last twenty years of the 19th century followed very closely that of the country itself, Boulangist and anti-Boulangist, Dreyfusist or anti-Dreyfusist, Republican or Nationalist; finally it became either Moderate Republican or Radical-Socialist with a sprinkling of Nationalist organs and a small minority of Royalist and Bonapartist sheets.
At the head of the Moderate Republican organs were Le Temps and Le Journal des Débats among the evening papers, and Le Figaro, Le Journal, Le Siècle, Le Petit Parisien and Le Petit Journal among the morning dailies. Le Figaro was until 1901 under the editorship of M. F. de Rodays, and the brilliant articles of M. J. Cornély were one of the features of the paper; but a dispute among the proprietors in 1901 resulted in the dismissal of M. Cornély and the retirement of M. de Rodays. M. Jean Dupuy (a member of the Waldeck-Rousseau government) was the proprietor and editor of Le Petit Parisien, a popular organ almost rivalling Le Petit Journal; the circulation of the latter had, however, reached over one million and a quarter copies daily.
Le Matin and L’Éclair, among the Moderate Republican organs, gave less attention to the discussion of political questions from the party point of view than to the collection of news, and they were followed by the Écho de Paris (1884). Le Matin, which also dates from 1884, was from its origin essentially what is called in France a journal d’informations, publishing every morning a mass of telegraphic news from all countries. By an arrangement with the London Times, it gave every day a translation of most of the telegrams published in that newspaper.
In April 1901 the proprietorship of Le Siècle was changed, in consequence of the lack of support given by Parisian readers to that journal as edited by M. Yves Guyot (formerly minister of public works). The latter was a staunch free-trader, a courageous defender of Captain Dreyfus, and an eloquent advocate of a good understanding between France and England; he emphatically endorsed the British policy in South Africa, and tried to explain it to his countrymen. The paper was, however, bought in by a number of friends of M. Yves Guyot, who remained as editor. The greatest opponent of Yves Guyot, from the economic point of view was Jules Méline, also a former minister, whose paper, La République, was the recognized organ of Protectionism.
The Radical and Socialist ideas which in latter years made such progress in France were very ably advocated by several newspapers whose influence steadily grew, such as L’Aurore, La Lanterne and L’Humanité (the organ of Jean Jaurès). Such individual organs of opinion must also be mentioned as L’Intransigéant, the organ of Henri Rochefort, and M. Clemenceau’s organ, Le Bloc, in which he advocated the practical application of all of the revolutionary republican principles, pure and unadulterated, forming a whole (bloc), no part of which could or ought to be sacrificed to temporary political necessities.
As an intermediate link between the Republican organs of all shades and the various Monarchist newspapers, came the so-called Nationalist press, an offshoot of or successor to the Boulangist press of the preceding decade. As were the Boulangists, so were the Nationalists, a sort of syndicat des mécontents, their chief organs being La Patrie, edited by M. Millevoye, and La Cocarde; these papers represented the views of those who had vague hankerings after a different régime and a decided hostility towards the republican form of government.
There was a considerable diminution of influence in the Monarchist press. Le Soleil, however, had a large circle of readers among the Conservative bourgeoisie with Orleanist leanings. Le Gaulois remained a Royalist paper of somewhat doubtful tendencies, the editor, M. Arthur Meyer, having incurred the displeasure of the Pretender whose cause he defended. Of the old Legitimist press there remained the old Gazette de France, which was founded in 1631 and had still a diminishing band of faithful readers. The organ of the religious (Roman Catholic) associations in France, La Croix, founded in 1880, represented the views of the French religious associations, and discussed all questions from the point of view of Catholic interests. La Croix was published in Paris, but had in the provinces one hundred and four local weekly supplements to the Paris edition, each one taking its name from the parent journal and adding to it the name of the department or locality in which it was printed, such as La Croix de l’Allier, La Croix de Lyon.
The French papers, of whatever party, took an increased interest during this period in foreign matters, and much improved
- ↑ The history of French journals published abroad is interesting.
The Annales politiques of Linguet—for a time of Linguet and Mallet
du Pan jointly—was, from about 1770 to about 1785, almost a
power in Europe, in its way. Mallet du Pan’s own Mercure Britannique,
during the eventful years 1798–1800, was brilliant, sagacious
and honest. When the pen literally fell from his dying hand—a
hand that had kept its integrity under the pains of exile and of bitter
poverty—that pen was taken up (for a short interval) by Malouet.
When Napoleon forcibly suppressed, a little later, the Courrier de
l’Europe of the count of Montlosier, he offered the deprived editor a
pension, which was refused, until accompanied by the offer of a post
in which the able minister of Louis XVI. could still work for his
country.
English journalism in France was for long associated with Galignani’s Messenger, started by Giovanni Antonio Galignani (1757–1822) in 1814, an turned into a daily just before his death. Its palmy days were between 1814 and 1848. In 1895 it was turned into the Daily Messenger, but proved a failure and was dropped in 1904; it was really killed by the competition of the Paris edition of the New York Herald. It had been preceded by Sampson Perry’s Argus (1809), a Napoleonic organ. In May 1905 a new era of English journalism on the continent began by the institution of the Paris edition of the London Daily Mail.
