Émile de Girardin (22 June 180227 April 1881) was a French journalist, publisher and politician. He was the most successful and flamboyant French journalist of the era, presenting himself as a promoter of mass education through mass journalism. His magazines reached over a hundred thousand subscribers, and his inexpensive daily newspaper '' La Presse'' undersold the competition by half, thanks to its cheaper production and heavier advertising. Like most prominent journalists, Girardin was deeply involved in politics, and served in parliament. To his bitter disappointment, he never held high office. He was a brilliant polemicist, a master of controversy, with pungent short sentences that immediately caught the reader's attention.

Biography

Early life and career

Lille PdBA carolus duran emile de girardin

Girardin was born in Paris, the bastard son of General

Alexandre de Girardin Alexandre may refer to: * Alexandre (given name) * Alexandre (surname) * Alexandre (film) See also * Alexander Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom o ...

and of his mistress Madame Dupuy (''née'' Fagnan), wife of a Parisian advocate. His first publication was a novel, '' Émile'', dealing with his birth and early life, and appeared under the name of Girardin in 1827. He became inspector of fine arts under the

Martignac Jean-Baptiste Sylvère Gay, 1st Viscount of Martignac (20 June 1778 3 April 1832) was a moderate royalist French statesman during the Bourbon Restoration 1814–30 under King Charles X. Biography Martignac was born in Bordeaux, France. In 179 ...

ministry just before the revolution of 1830, and was an energetic and passionate journalist. Besides his work on the daily press he issued miscellaneous publications which attained an enormous circulation. His ''

Journal des connaissances utiles 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 ...

'' had 120,000 subscribers, and the initial edition of his ''

Almanach de France An almanac (also spelled ''almanack'' and ''almanach'') is an annual publication listing a set of current information about one or multiple subjects. It includes information like weather forecasts, farmers' planting dates, tide tables, and other ...

'' (1834) ran to a million copies. He founded the illustrated literary magazine ''

Musée des familles ''Musée des familles'' (''"Museum of Families"'') was an illustrated French literary magazine that was published in Paris from 1833 to 1900. It was founded by Émile de Girardin. Contributors of the magazine included Alexandre Dumas, Théophile ...

'' in 1833. In 1836 he inaugurated

penny press Penny press newspapers were cheap, Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid-style newspapers mass-produced in the United States from the 1830s onwards. Mass production of inexpensive newspapers became possible following the shift from hand-crafted t ...

journalism in a popular conservative organ, '' La Presse'', the subscription to which was only forty francs a year. It was the first newspaper anywhere to rely on paid advertising to lower its price, extend its readership and increase its profitability and the formula was soon copied by all titles. This undertaking involved him in a duel with

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� ...

, the fatal result of which made him refuse satisfaction to later opponents. In 1839 he was excluded from the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...

, to which he had been elected four times, on the plea of his foreign birth, but was admitted in 1842. He resigned early in February 1847, and on 24 February 1848 sent a note to Louis Philippe demanding his resignation and the regency of the

duchess of Orléans Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranke ...

Political career

In the Legislative Assembly he voted with the Mountain. In 1850, Girardin wrote an article called ''Le Socialisme et l'Impot''. In his article, Girardin suggested that there was a "good" socialism and a "bad" socialism. This article was reviewed by

Karl Marx Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...

and

Frederick Engels Friedrich Engels ( ,"Engels"
'' "A Review of Le Socialisme et l'Impot" contained in the ''Collected Works of Karl Marx and Frederick Engels: Volume 10'', pp. 336–337. Later, Girardin pressed eagerly in his paper for the election of Prince Louis Napoleon, of whom he afterwards became one of the most violent opponents. In 1856 he sold ''La Presse'', only to resume it in 1862, but its vogue was over, and Girardin started a new journal, '' La Liberté'', the sale of which was forbidden in the public streets. He supported Émile Ollivier and the Liberal Empire, but plunged into vehement journalism again to advocate war against

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...

Final years

Of his many subsequent enterprises the most successful was the purchase of '' Le Petit Journal'', which served to advocate the policy of

Adolphe Thiers Marie Joseph Louis Adolphe Thiers ( , ; 15 April 17973 September 1877) was a French statesman and historian. He was the second elected President of France and first President of the French Third Republic. Thiers was a key figure in the July Rev ...

, though he himself did not contribute. The crisis of 16 May 1877, when

Jules Simon Jules François Simon (; 31 December 1814 – 8 June 1896) was a French statesman and philosopher, and one of the leaders of the Moderate Republicans in the Third French Republic. Biography Simon was born at Lorient. His father was a linen-dra ...

fell from power, made him resume his pen to attack MacMahon and the party of reaction in ''La France'' and in ''Le Petit Journal''. Émile de Girardin married in 1831 Delphine Gay, and after her death in 1855 Guillemette Josephine Brunold, countess von Tieffenbach,

morganatic Morganatic marriage, sometimes called a left-handed marriage, is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which in the context of royalty or other inherited title prevents the principal's position or privileges being passed to the spous ...

granddaughter of Prince Frederick of Nassau. He was divorced from his second wife in 1872. He died in Paris. The long list of his social and political writings includes: *''De la presse périodique au XIXe siècle'' (1837) *''De l'instruction publique'' (1838) *''Études politiques'' (1838) *''De la liberté de la presse et du journalisme'' (1842) *''Le Droit au travail au Luxembourg et à l'Assemblée Nationale'' (2 vols, 1848) *''Les Cinquante-deux'' (1849, etc.), a series of articles on current parliamentary questions *''La Politique universelle, décrets de l'avenir'' (Brussels, 1852) *''Le Condamné du 6 mars'' (1867), an account of his own differences with the government in 1867 when he was fined 5000 fr. for an article in '' La Liberté'' *''Le Dossier de la guerre'' (1877), a collection of official documents *''Questions de mon temps, 1836 à 1846'', articles extracted from the daily and weekly press (12 vols., 1858).

Notes

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Girardin, Emile de 1802 births 1881 deaths Writers from Paris Businesspeople from Paris Politicians from Paris The Mountain (1849) politicians Opportunist Republicans Members of the 3rd Chamber of Deputies of the July Monarchy Members of the 4th Chamber of Deputies of the July Monarchy Members of the 5th Chamber of Deputies of the July Monarchy Members of the 6th Chamber of Deputies of the July Monarchy Members of the 7th Chamber of Deputies of the July Monarchy Members of the National Legislative Assembly of the French Second Republic Members of the 2nd Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic 19th-century French newspaper founders 19th-century French newspaper publishers (people) French magazine founders French male writers 19th-century French businesspeople Burials at Montmartre Cemetery La Liberté (French newspaper) editors