''Libération'' was a French newspaper published between 1941 and 1964. Beginning as the clandestine newspaper of the

resistance movement A resistance movement is an organized effort by some portion of the civil population of a country to withstand the legally established government or an occupying power and to disrupt civil order and stability. It may seek to achieve its objective ...

Libération-sud, the newspaper continued after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Its editor belonged to the fellow traveller movement of the

French Communist Party The French Communist Party (french: Parti communiste français, ''PCF'' ; ) is a political party in France which advocates the principles of communism. The PCF is a member of the Party of the European Left, and its MEPs sit in the European Unit ...

. In 1973, the title was of the newspaper was reused by

Jean-Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was one of the key figures in the philosophy of existentialism (and phenomenology), a French playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and litera ...

and

Serge July Serge July (born 27 December 1942) is a French journalist, founder of the daily ''Libération'', and a prominent figure in French politics from the 1970s through the 1990s. In recent times, he has been active in French organizations working in su ...

for their newspaper ''

Libération ''Libération'' (), popularly known as ''Libé'' (), is a daily newspaper in France, founded in Paris by Jean-Paul Sartre and Serge July in 1973 in the wake of the protest movements of May 1968. Initially positioned on the far-left of France's ...

''.

Secret beginnings

In July 1941,

Jean Cavaillès Jean Cavaillès (; ; 15 May 1903 – 4 April 1944) was a French philosopher and logician who specialized in philosophy of mathematics and philosophy of science. He took part in the French Resistance within the ''Libération'' movement and was ar ...

and Emmanuel d'Astier de la Vigerie launched ''Libération,'' the clandestine newspaper for the Libération-Sud

French Resistance The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...

. The editorial venture started with printing 10,000 copies for the first issue, cosigned by

André Lassagne André Lassagne (23 April 1911 – 3 April 1953) was a member of the French Resistance during World War II. The secretary general of "L'Armée Secrète" (AS), he was arrested (along with Jean Moulin) on June 21, 1943, in Caluire-et-Cuire (Rhône). ...

, Raymond Aubrac and

. Eventually reaching 200,000 copies printed per issue, it became one of the most important and most distributed Resistance newspapers, along with ''Combat''. During the first six months of its existence, the writing was managed by

John Rochon John Rochon is a Canadian shooter. He won 3 bronze and 2 silver for Canada in the 1998 Commonwealth Games. He is the oldest person to represent Canada in the Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Gam ...

, who worked as an editor for '' La Montagne'' a daily in

Clermont-Ferrand Clermont-Ferrand (, ; ; oc, label=Auvergnat (dialect), Auvergnat, Clarmont-Ferrand or Clharmou ; la, Augustonemetum) is a city and Communes of France, commune of France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regions of France, region, with a population ...

. From 1942 to April 1944, when he was arrested, the editor in chief was journalist

Louis Martin-Chauffier Louis Martin-Chauffier, real name Louis Martin, (24 August 1894, Vannes – 6 October 1980, Puteaux) was a 20th-century French journalist and writer and a member of the French Resistance. Biography Education Louis Martin-Chauffier started m ...

. Just like the liberation movement itself, the writing came from a mix of men with diverse political views and backgrounds: socialists, communists, CGT syndicates and militant Christians. Amongst the first contributors were writers such as Anna Bellini, Lionel Brahic, David Wettel ou Pierre Savornin. {{DEFAULTSORT:Liberation (newspaper, 1941-1964) 1941 establishments in France 1964 disestablishments in France Publications established in 1941 Publications disestablished in 1964 French Resistance Defunct newspapers published in France