was a French newspaper founded in
Paris on November 24, 1789 under the title by
Charles-Joseph Panckoucke, and which ceased publication on December 31, 1868. It was the main French newspaper during the
French Revolution and was for a long time the
official journal of the French government and at times a propaganda publication, especially under the
Napoleonic
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
regime. had a large circulation in France and Europe, and also in America during the French Revolution.
[David I. Kulstein, "The Ideas of Charles-Joseph Panckoucke, Publisher of the Moniteur Universel, on the French Revolution.," ''French Historical Studies'' (1966) 4#3 pp 304-19 ]
History
The interest aroused by the debates of the first
National Assembly suggested to
Hugues-Bernard Maret the idea of publishing them in the ''Bulletin de l'Assemblée''. Charles-Joseph Panckoucke (1736-1798), owner of the
Mercure de France and publisher of the famous
Encyclopédie of 1785, persuaded him to merge this into a larger paper, the ''Gazette Nationale ou Le Moniteur Universel''.
On December 2, 1799 ''Le Moniteur'' was declared an official newspaper. Napoleon controlled it via
Hugues-Bernard Maret and
Jean Jacques Régis de Cambacérès, who were responsible for its content. Due to Napoleon's strict controls of the press, the ''Moniteur's'' reports of legislative debates were replaced by bulletins of the
Grand Army and polemical articles directed against England.
The words ''Gazette Nationale'' were dropped from the newspaper's name on January 1, 1811, when it became ''Le Moniteur Universel''. The newspaper also became less exclusively political, articles on literature, science, and art occupying a considerable portion of its columns.
Napoleon's return from exile on Elba on March 20, 1815 confirmed ''Le Moniteur'' in its position as official journal; ''Le Moniteur'' announced in the same edition both the departure of
King Louis XVIII
Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824), known as the Desired (), was King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a brief interruption during the Hundred Days in 1815. He spent twenty-three years in e ...
and the arrival of the Emperor in the
Tuileries.
Immediately after the
July Revolution of 1830, one of the first steps of the provisional government was to seize control of ''Le Moniteur'' and the government of
Louis Philippe put it under the control of the ministerial departments.
''Le Moniteur'' ceased publication on December 31, 1868, being superseded as the official journal of the French Empire (and later the French Republic) by what is known now as the ''
Journal Officiel de la République Française
A journal, from the Old French ''journal'' (meaning "daily"), may refer to:
*Bullet journal, a method of personal organization
*Diary, a record of what happened over the course of a day or other period
*Daybook, also known as a general journal, a ...
''.
See also
*
History of French newspapers
Notes
External links
Archive1789-1901 at
gallica.bnf.fr
References
* Kulstein, David I. "The Ideas of Charles-Joseph Panckoucke, Publisher of the Moniteur Universel, on the French Revolution.," ''French Historical Studies'' (1966) 4#3 pp 304–19
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moniteur Universel, Le
1789 establishments in France
Defunct newspapers published in France
Government gazettes
Moniteur Universel, Le
Moniteur Universel, Le
Moniteur Universel, Le
1868 disestablishments in France
Daily newspapers published in France