''L'Intelligence'' was a French political journal created by

republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or again ...

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 ...

Albert Laponneraye Albert Laponneraye (8 May 1808 – 1 September 1849) was a French republican socialist and a journalist, popular historian, educator and editor of Robespierre's writings. He was a representative of the Neo-Babouvist tendency in the 1840s, alo ...

in 1837. It is regarded by historians as the first

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a ...

periodical.

History

During its brief existence, ''L'Intelligence'' was a popular periodical among not only the working class in major French cities like

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. ...

and

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of ...

, but enjoyed substantial popularity in Switzerland as well. utopian communist

Étienne Cabet Étienne Cabet (; January 1, 1788 – November 9, 1856) was a French philosophy, French philosopher and utopian socialist who founded the Icarians, Icarian movement. Cabet became the most popular socialist advocate of his day, with a special appe ...

, with whom Laponneraye occasionally collaborated, referred to the publication as the 'standard-bearer of the egalitarian party, the communist party.'

Richard Lahautière Auguste-Richard Lahautière (May 21, 1813–June 27, 1882) (also known as Richard de la Hautière) was a French socialist, journalist, poet and lawyer. He is commonly grouped with Théodore Dézamy, Albert Laponneraye, Jean-Jacques Pillot and ot ...

, friend and closest collaborator of Laponneraye, served as editor-in-chief of L'Intelligence. Marie Pierre Gabriel Étienne Choron, a lawyer who would later be elected Mayor of

Soissons Soissons () is a commune in the northern French department of Aisne, in the region of Hauts-de-France. Located on the river Aisne, about northeast of Paris, it is one of the most ancient towns of France, and is probably the ancient capital ...

and a member of 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 ...

, also served in an editorial position and defended the publication in court.https://maitron.fr/spip.php? Article 28752. CHORON Marie, Pierre, Gabriel, Étienne, version published on February 20, 2009, last modification on February 20, 2009. Following the failed insurrection by the leaders of the

Société des Saisons Lactalis is a French multinational dairy products corporation, owned by the Besnier family and based in Laval, Mayenne, France. The company's former name was Besnier SA. Lactalis is the largest dairy products group in the world, and is the sec ...

in 1839, Laponneraye ceased publishing the periodical.

References

{{reflist Communist magazines Socialist magazines Magazines established in 1837 Magazines disestablished in 1839 Defunct political magazines published in France Neo-Babouvism