''Commentaire'' is a French quarterly magazine, created in 1978 by

Raymond Aron Raymond Claude Ferdinand Aron (; 14 March 1905 – 17 October 1983) was a French philosopher, sociologist, political scientist, historian and journalist, one of France's most prominent thinkers of the 20th century. Aron is best known for his 19 ...

and Jean-Claude Casanova. Aron's previous journal venture, started in 1970 and titled ''Contrepoint'', had been terminated in 1976 following disagreements among its founders and its owner

Patrick Devedjian Patrick Devedjian ( hy, Պատրիկ Դեւեջեան; 26 August 1944 – 28 March 2020) was a French politician of the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) party. A close adviser of Nicolas Sarkozy since the 1990s, he was Minister under the Pri ...

. In a wide-ranging 2008 interview, Casanova described the decision to create Commentaire as having been made in late 1977 and involving, besides Aron and himself, a group of common friends that included Annie Kriegel, , Alain Besançon, , and . The journal's motto, a quote from

Pericles Pericles (; grc-gre, Περικλῆς; c. 495 – 429 BC) was a Greek politician and general during the Golden Age of Athens. He was prominent and influential in Athenian politics, particularly between the Greco-Persian Wars and the Pelo ...

, was suggested by Papaioannou: ''Il n’y a pas de bonheur sans liberté, ni de liberté sans vaillance'' ("there can be neither happiness without liberty, nor liberty without courage").

Pierre Manent Pierre Manent (; born 6 May 1949, Toulouse) is a French political scientist and academic. He teaches political philosophy at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, in the Centre de recherches politiques Raymond Aron. Every autumn, he ...

was the author of a manifesto explaining the journal's purpose in the first issue. Among the journal's avowedly

liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

inspirations, Casanova cited

Montesquieu Charles Louis de Secondat, Baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu (; ; 18 January 168910 February 1755), generally referred to as simply Montesquieu, was a French judge, man of letters, historian, and political philosopher. He is the princi ...

Benjamin Constant Henri-Benjamin Constant de Rebecque (; 25 October 1767 – 8 December 1830), or simply Benjamin Constant, was a Franco-Swiss political thinker, activist and writer on political theory and religion. A committed republican from 1795, he backed t ...

Alexis de Tocqueville Alexis Charles Henri Clérel, comte de Tocqueville (; 29 July 180516 April 1859), colloquially known as Tocqueville (), was a French aristocrat, diplomat, political scientist, political philosopher and historian. He is best known for his wor ...

Élie Halévy Élie Halévy (6 September 1870 – 21 August 1937) was a French philosopher and historian who wrote studies of the British utilitarians, the book of essays '' Era of Tyrannies'', and a history of Britain from 1815 to 1914 that influenced Britis ...

, and Aron himself. The journal relies largely on volunteer work and a small administrative staff. In 2008, it printed 6,000 copies and had 3,800 subscribers, the rest beingly sold in bookstores and newsshops. A specific feature is the abundance of selected quotes in each of the journal's issues. A section titled ''sans commentaire'' ("no comment") includes involuntary comical quotes, often from political leaders or ideological commentators. In 2017, ''Commentaire'' made all its past published articles available online. Like its center-left peer ''Esprit'', it is self-published and not dependent on a large publishing house.

Affiliates

As of early 2021, Commentaire's website mentioned two circles of affiliates (including past and deceased ones): * Editorial Board (''Conseil de rédaction''): , , Guy Berger, Alain Besançon, Jean-Louis Bourlanges, Nathalie Delapalme, Gilles Étrillard,

Marc Fumaroli Marc Fumaroli (10 June 1932 – 24 June 2020) was a French historian and essayist who was widely respected as an advocate for French literature and culture. While born in Marseille, Fumaroli grew up in the Moroccan city of Fez, and served in th ...

, George de Ménil, Philippe Meyer, François Sureau, Philippe Trainar,

Michel Zink Michel Zink (born 5 May 1945) is a French writer, medievalist, philologist, and professor of French literature, particularly that of the Middle Ages. He is the Permanent Secretary of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, a title he has ...

* Editorial Committee (''Comité de rédaction''): Cédric Argenton, , Guillaume Barrera, Karol Beffa, Jacques Bille, Dominique Bocquet, Michel Bourdeau, , Christopher Caldwell, Gwendal Châton, Laurent Cohen-Tanugi, Benedetta Craveri, Jean-Marc Daniel, , , Michel Duclos, Bruno Durieux, Vincent Feré, Louis de Fouchécour, , Jean Gatty, François Gorand, Donatien Grau, Sylviane Guillaumont, Patrick Guillaumont, Michel Gurfinkiel, , Pierre Hassner, Jean-Vincent Holeindre, , , Pierre Kende, Annie Kriegel, , Armand Laferrère, Guillaume Lagane, Mathieu Laine, Vincent Laloy, Alain Lancelot, Alain Laurent, Tristan Lecoq, , Didier Maillard, Béatrice Majnoni d'Intignano, Sophie-Caroline de Margerie,

Hervé Mariton Hervé Marie David Mariton (born 5 November 1958) is French politician serving as Mayor of Crest since 1995. A member of The Republicans, he was elected to the National Assembly for the third constituency of Drôme from 1993 to 1997 and again ...

, François de Mazières, Paul Mentré, Christophe Mercier, Thierry de Montbrial, , , Benoît Pellistrandi, Rémy Prud'Homme, , Pierre Rigoulot, Hervé Robert, Giuseppe Sacco, , Maryvonne de Saint-Pulgent, , Dominique Schnapper, Antoine Schnapper, Mark Sherringham, Christine Sourgins, , , Éric Thiers, , Nicolas Véron, Jean-Philippe Vincent,

Notes

{{Reflist 1978 establishments in France Magazines established in 1978 Quarterly magazines published in France

Affiliates

See also

Notes