L'Événement was a French daily newspaper focused on politics and literature, established in 1872.

History

The idea for ''L'Événement'' was conceived in the autumn of 1870 but was delayed due to the upheavals of the

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

and the

Paris Commune The Paris Commune (, ) was a French revolutionary government that seized power in Paris on 18 March 1871 and controlled parts of the city until 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard (France), Nation ...

. The newspaper was launched on 7 April 1872.''L’Événement'', 7 April 1872, p. 1. Its founders, Edmond Magnier and Auguste Dumont, were former contributors to ''

Le Figaro () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It was named after Figaro, a character in several plays by polymath Pierre Beaumarchais, Beaumarchais (1732–1799): ''Le Barbier de Séville'', ''The Guilty Mother, La Mère coupable'', ...

''.Émile Mermet (1880), pp. 187–189.Henri Avenel (1900), pp. 681–682. Magnier initially took on the role of editor-in-chief and later also became the administrative director, a position relinquished by Dumont in December of that year. The newspaper's headquarters were located at 10

Boulevard des Italiens The Boulevard des Italiens () is a boulevard in Paris. It is one of the 'Grands Boulevards' in Paris, a chain of boulevards built through the former course of the Wall of Charles V and the Louis XIII Wall, which were destroyed by the orders of ...

. In its inaugural issue, ''L'Événement'' declared its support for the

French Third Republic The French Third Republic (, sometimes written as ) was the system of government adopted in France from 4 September 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed during the Franco-Prussian War, until 10 July 1940, after the Fall of France durin ...

, differentiating itself from its inspirations, ''Le Figaro'' and ''

Le Gaulois () was a French daily newspaper, founded in 1868 by Edmond Tarbé and Henry de Pène. After a printing stoppage, it was revived by Arthur Meyer in 1882 with notable collaborators Paul Bourget, Alfred Grévin, Abel Hermant, and Ernest Dau ...

''. Magnier described the newspaper as a "republican 'Figaro'". Initially moderate and supportive of President

Adolphe Thiers Marie Joseph Louis Adolphe Thiers ( ; ; 15 April 17973 September 1877) was a French statesman and historian who served as President of France from 1871 to 1873. He was the second elected president and the first of the Third French Republic. Thi ...

centre-left Centre-left politics is the range of left-wing political ideologies that lean closer to the political centre. Ideologies commonly associated with it include social democracy, social liberalism, progressivism, and green politics. Ideas commo ...

policies, the paper soon shifted leftward, notably endorsing

Désiré Barodet Claude-Désiré Barodet (27 July 1823 – 28 April 1906) was a French Radical Republican politician. Biography The son of a teacher, Barodet studied at a minor seminary; however he later changed his profession and trained to become a teacher. H ...

in the 1873 by-election for the Seine constituency. By the late 1870s, ''L'Événement'' reached its peak influence and served as a platform for the Union républicaine, the parliamentary group associated with

Léon Gambetta Léon Gambetta (; 2 April 1838 – 31 December 1882) was a French lawyer and republican politician who proclaimed the French Third Republic in 1870 and played a prominent role in its early government. Early life and education Born in Cahors, ...

. Financially, it was regarded as an unofficial outlet for the

Crédit Foncier de France Crédit Foncier de France (, CFF) was a major French bank, active from 1852 to 2019 when its activities were entirely subsumed into Groupe BPCE, although the brand name appears to remain active. History The Crédit Foncier (English: landed cre ...

, headed at the time by Albert Christophle. In 1895, ''L'Événement'' was purchased by Gustave Laplace, and while Magnier initially retained his positions, he was forced to resign a few months later due to his involvement in the Southern Railways scandal. After ceasing daily publication during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the newspaper eventually closed in 1966.

Contributors

Prominent contributors to ''L'Événement'' included: *

Arsène Alexandre Arsène Alexandre (16 August 1859 – 1 October 1937) was a French art critic. He was a contributor to ''L'Événement'', ''Le Paris'' and ''L'Éclair'' and in 1894 was one of the founders of the satirical journal ''Le Rire'', becoming its arti ...

Henri Avenel, ''La Presse française au vingtième siècle'', Paris, Flammarion, 1901, p. 102. *

Paul Arène Paul-Auguste Arène (26 June 1843 – 17 December 1896) was a Provençal poet and French writer. Biography Arène was born in Sisteron, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, the son of Adolphe, a clockmaker, and Reine, a cap presser. He studied in Marseille ...

Lepage, pp. 100–101. * Philibert Audebrand *

Charles Maurras Charles-Marie-Photius Maurras (; ; 20 April 1868 – 16 November 1952) was a French author, politician, poet and critic. He was an organiser and principal philosopher of ''Action Française'', a political movement that was monarchist, corporatis ...

References

{{Reflist

External links

Archived issues
on Gallicabr>Overview of the newspaper
on Retronews Newspapers established in 1872 Publications disestablished in 1966 Defunct newspapers published in France Political newspapers

History

Contributors

References

Further reading

External links