''Le Temps'' (, ''The Times'') was one of

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

's most important

daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, spor ...

s from 25 April 1861 to 30 November 1942. It was a serious paper of record. Founded in 1861 by

Edmund Chojecki Edmund Franciszek Maurycy Chojecki (; Wiski, Podlasie, 15 October 1822 – 1 December 1899, Paris) was a Polish journalist, playwright, novelist, poet and translator.''Encyklopedia Polski'' (Encyclopedia of Poland): "Chojecki, Edmund"; p. 98, ib ...

(writing under the

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

"Charles Edmond") and Auguste Nefftzer, ''Le Temps'' was under Nefftzer's direction for ten years, when took his place, and for nearly 45 years directed the newspaper with an iron hand until his death in 1914. He was succeeded by his sons Émile (1914), and Adrien Jr. (1925) and by Louis Mills (1929). Soon after Mills' death in 1931, ''Le Temps'' became a public limited company. Adrien Hébrard and his successors left substantial freedom to the editorial room and the newspaper had the reputation of keeping its journalists for a long time. ''Le Temps'' always remained moderate politically. The early issues of the newspaper reflected Nefftzer's liberal philosophy and had considerable trouble achieving readership. He frequently had to turn to friends in

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

who were able to help support ''Le Temps'' financially. Eventually, circulation began to grow, from scarcely 3,000 in 1861, to 11,000 in 1869, 22,000 in 1880, 30,000 in 1884, 35,000 in 1904. During the interwar period, it varied between 50,000 and 80,000. Publication of the Paris edition of ''Le Temps'' was suspended by the

Paris Commune The Paris Commune (french: Commune de Paris, ) was a revolutionary government that seized power in Paris, the capital of France, from 18 March to 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard had defende ...

, and so there were no issues from 7 May to 19 May 1871. The St. Germain edition, however, ran continuously for 81 years. Despite its comparatively modest circulation, ''Le Temps'' soon became the most important newspaper of the

French Republic France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, particularly among the French political and economic elite. The political and diplomatic information and commentaries of the paper, "serious to the point of boredom", also carried considerable clout elsewhere in Europe. Journalists and correspondents included , and Adolphe Cohn in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. On 28 November 1942, following the German invasion of the ''

Zone libre The ''zone libre'' (, ''free zone'') was a partition of the French metropolitan territory during World War II, established at the Second Armistice at Compiègne on 22 June 1940. It lay to the south of the demarcation line and was administered b ...

'',

Jacques Chastenet Jacques Chastenet de Castaing (; 20 April 1893, in Paris – 7 February 1978, in Paris) was a French journalist, historian and diplomat. ''Le Temps'', which first appeared on 25 April 1861, was a major moderate and liberal newspaper. After World ...

and

Émile Mireaux Émile Mireaux (21 August 1885 – 27 December 1969) was a French economist, journalist, politician and literary historian. In the 1930s he edited ''Le Temps'' and contributed to other right-leaning journals. He became a senator in 1936, and briefl ...

, the co-directors of ''Le Temps'' at the time, jettisoned the newspaper. At

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Governm ...

's request, ''

Le Monde ''Le Monde'' (; ) is a French daily afternoon newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average circulation of 323,039 copies per issue in 2009, about 40,000 of which were sold abroad. It has had its own website si ...

'' was founded on 19 December 1944 to replace ''Le Temps'' as the

newspaper of record A newspaper of record is a major national newspaper with large circulation whose editorial and news-gathering functions are considered authoritative and independent; they are thus "newspapers of record by reputation" and include some of the ...

, with the new newspaper borrowing the layout and typeface of ''Le Temps''.

References

External links

''Le Temps'' digital archives from 1861 to 1940
in Gallica, the digital library of the BnF 1861 establishments in France 1942 disestablishments in France Newspapers established in 1861 Publications disestablished in 1942 Defunct newspapers published in France Second French Empire French Third Republic Contemporary French history Paris Commune Newspapers published in Paris Daily newspapers published in France {{france-newspaper-stub

See also

References

External links