''Le National'' was a French daily founded in 1830 by Adolphe Thiers,

Armand Carrel Armand Carrel (8 May 1800 – 25 July 1836) was a French journalist and political writer. Early life Jean-Baptiste Nicolas Armand Carrel was born at Rouen. His father was a wealthy merchant, and he received a liberal education at the '' Lyc ...

, François-Auguste Mignet and the librarian-editor Auguste Sautelet, as the mouthpiece of the

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 ...

opposition to the

Second Restoration The Bourbon Restoration was the period of French history during which the House of Bourbon returned to power after the first fall of Napoleon on 3 May 1814. Briefly interrupted by the Hundred Days War in 1815, the Restoration lasted until the J ...

Background

The first issue was published on 3 January 1830, whilst the

Ultra-royalist The Ultra-royalists (french: ultraroyalistes, collectively Ultras) were a French political faction from 1815 to 1830 under the Bourbon Restoration. An Ultra was usually a member of the nobility of high society who strongly supported Roman Catho ...

prince de Polignac governed France in the name of

Charles X Charles X (born Charles Philippe, Count of Artois; 9 October 1757 – 6 November 1836) was King of France from 16 September 1824 until 2 August 1830. An uncle of the uncrowned Louis XVII and younger brother to reigning kings Louis XVI and Lou ...

. ''Le National'' was subsidised by the banker

Jacques Laffitte Jacques Laffitte (24 October 1767 – 26 May 1844) was a leading French banker, governor of the Bank of France (1814–1820) and liberal member of the Chamber of Deputies during the Bourbon Restoration and July Monarchy. He was an important fi ...

and also supported by Talleyrand and the

duc de Broglie The House of Broglie (, also ; french: Maison de Broglie, or ) is a French noble family, originally Piedmontese, who migrated to France in the year 1643. History () was the name of an old Piedmontese noble family, from which were descended t ...

, one of the leader of the liberal ''

Doctrinaires During the Bourbon Restoration (1814–1830) and the July Monarchy (1830–1848), the Doctrinals (french: doctrinaires) were a group of French royalists who hoped to reconcile the monarchy with the French Revolution and power with liberty. Hea ...

'' group. Its title alluded to one of the motto used in 1789 during the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

, ''la Nation, la Loi, le Roi'' (Nation, Law and King). The daily advocated a constitutional monarchy and opposed Charles X's interpretation of the 1814 Charter, popularizing in particular the saying "''Le roi règne mais ne gouverne pas''" (The King reigns but does not rule). Journalists gathered at the offices of ''Le National'' to sign a petition in protest against the

July Ordinances The July Ordinances, also known as the Four Ordinances of Saint-Cloud, were a series of decrees set forth by Charles X and Jules Armand de Polignac, the chief minister, in July 1830. Compelled by what he felt to be a growing, manipulative radi ...

restricting freedom of the press, one of the events that led to the

July Revolution The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution (french: révolution de Juillet), Second French Revolution, or ("Three Glorious ays), was a second French Revolution after the first in 1789. It led to the overthrow of King ...

of 1830. During the

July Monarchy The July Monarchy (french: Monarchie de Juillet), officially the Kingdom of France (french: Royaume de France), was a liberal constitutional monarchy in France under , starting on 26 July 1830, with the July Revolution of 1830, and ending 23 F ...

, ''Le National'' published

Armand Marrast Armand Marrast (June 5, 1801, Saint-Gaudens–April 12, 1852, Paris) was a French politician and mayor of Paris. See also * List of presidents of the National Assembly of France * List of mayors of Paris The Mayor of Paris (french: Maire de ...

's call to Parisians to demonstrate on 22 February 1848, following the outlawing of a public meeting by the Paris prefect. Hundreds of students gathered on the place of the

Panthéon The Panthéon (, from the Classical Greek word , , ' empleto all the gods') is a monument in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, France. It stands in the Latin Quarter, atop the , in the centre of the , which was named after it. The edifice was b ...

, before joining workers at the Madeleine. This was the beginning of the 1848 Revolution. During the Second Republic, ''Le National'' became the mouthpiece of the moderate Republican majority (the "bourgeois Republicans") which formed the

Constituent Assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...

. The new government was headed by General

Louis-Eugène Cavaignac Louis-Eugène Cavaignac (; 15 October 1802 – 28 October 1857) was a French general and politician who served as head of the executive power of France between June and December 1848, during the French Second Republic. Born in Paris to a promi ...

, while the moderate Republican parliamentaries were called members of the ''Parti du National'' (Party of the National) in reference to the daily. The ''National'' then shifted toward a more

Socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

position. It was outlawed following

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...

's 2 December 1851 coup, and disappeared on 31 December 1851.

References

* ''Visages de la Presse — La présentation des journaux des origines à nos jours'' ; Louis Guéry, avec le concours du Musée de la presse ; CFPJ éditions, Paris, 1997. {{DEFAULTSORT:National, Le Defunct newspapers published in France Bourbon Restoration July Monarchy French Second Republic Publications established in 1830 Publications disestablished in 1851 1830 establishments in France