L'Aurore (1944 newspaper)
Encyclopedia
L'Aurore was a French
newspaper
first sold on 11 September 1944, soon after the Liberation of Paris
. Its name refers to the previous, unrelated publication, L'Aurore
(1897–1914). Publication ended in 1985.
During 1943, several issues of L'Aurore were published in secret by Robert Lazurick (a former member of the Front Populaire
). After the Liberation of Paris
, in 1944, Lazurick, Jean Piot
, and Paul Bastid obtained official authority to publish their paper under the title L'Aurore (the dawn), in reference to Clemenceau
, and also to J'accuse
by Emile Zola
, published in the previous L'Aurore in 1898. L'Aurore hit newsstands on September 11, 1944. The paper's offices were located in Paris, at 9 rue Louis-le-Grand, which were previously occupied by the news daily L'Oeuvre, which had been denied authority to resume publication. In 1954, L'Aurore moved to 100 rue de Richelieu in the 2nd Arrondissement, in the former offices of the historic Le Journal. Circulation exceeded 90,000 by January 1945. Within short time, the daily had become among the four most significant news publications in the after-war period. By 1953, the company had purchased several other publications, including L'Epoque, France Libre, and Ce Matin-Le Pays.
, a powerful textile industrialist in the capital, owned a 74.3% controlling stake in the paper. Under his guidance, the paper's political slant leaned towards the causes of the middle, working, and artisan classes, and during the Algerian Independence Movement, the paper preferred the rights of the Pieds-Noirs. In the 1960's, in a Gaullist political climate, the paper served as a voice of opposition for centrism
, taking up causes like the plight of Jean Lecanuet
. After the accidental death of Robert Lazurick in April 1968, his widow Francine Lazurick (nee Bonitzer), succeeded him in his role at the paper. She worked integrally with the chief editors, including Roland Faure (foreign politics), Gilbert Guilleminault (society, culture, general news), Dominique Pado (domestic politics), Andre Guerin (editorial
), Jose Van den Esch (economy, society), and Georges Merchier (science, education, religion). Roger Alexandre was the last managing director of L'Aurore.
in total daily circulation.
Renowned among news teams of the era, Andre Frossard
, Jules Romains
, and Jean Mistler
, were all members of the Academie Francaise
. Pierre Desproges
collaborated with his childhood friend, the judicial journalist and author Annette Kahn. Other journalists who collaborated on L'Aurore: Phillipe Bernet, Gilbert Ganne, Gérald Schurr, Anne Manson, Évelyne Le Garrec, Jean-Claude Goudeau, Jean Laborde
, André Sirvin, Alain Riou, Jacques Bouzerand, Bernard Morrot, Francis Schull, Jacques Lesinge, Jacques Malherbes, Jacques Chambaz, André Bloch, Andrée Nordon, Jacques-Marie Bourget, Jean-Michel Saint-Ouen.
), the paper was sold again to Robert Hersant
. Francine Lazurick vacated her position as managing director in response, as did the editor at the time, Dominique Pado. Pierre Janrot, a member of the Groupe Hersant publishing conglomerate, replaced Lazurick as managing director of L'Aurore on November 3rd of that year.
Robert Hersant
gradually pulled support for the paper, which had previously been a direct competitor to Le Figaro
, another Hersant publication. In doing so, he incrementally merged L'Aurore with other publications in the conglomerate. As a result, within several years, L'Aurore had lost its identity as an independent content publication, with the exception of the editorial page, which until 1982 was written by Jacques Guilleme-Brulon (foreign politics) or, more frequently, by Guy Baret (domestic politics). Under their influence, L'Aurore leaned politically rightward in its last days as an independent paper.
In 1985, L'Aurore was integrated fully into Le Figaro
, though it survived in title, in the Saturday supplement, Le Figaro-L'Aurore.
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
first sold on 11 September 1944, soon after the Liberation of Paris
Liberation of Paris
The Liberation of Paris took place during World War II from 19 August 1944 until the surrender of the occupying German garrison on August 25th. It could be regarded by some as the last battle in the Battle for Normandy, though that really ended with the crushing of the Wehrmacht forces between the...
. Its name refers to the previous, unrelated publication, L'Aurore
L'Aurore
L’Aurore was a literary, liberal, and socialist newspaper published in Paris, France, from 1897 to 1914. Its most famous headline was Émile Zola’s “J'Accuse”, concerning the Dreyfus Affair. It was published by eventual Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau.- External links:* Digitized issues of...
(1897–1914). Publication ended in 1985.
During 1943, several issues of L'Aurore were published in secret by Robert Lazurick (a former member of the Front Populaire
Front Populaire
Front Populaire can refer to:* Popular Front * People's Front...
). After the Liberation of Paris
Liberation of Paris
The Liberation of Paris took place during World War II from 19 August 1944 until the surrender of the occupying German garrison on August 25th. It could be regarded by some as the last battle in the Battle for Normandy, though that really ended with the crushing of the Wehrmacht forces between the...
, in 1944, Lazurick, Jean Piot
Jean Piot
Jean Piot was a French Olympic fencer. He won two gold medals at the 1932 Summer Olympics.-References:...
, and Paul Bastid obtained official authority to publish their paper under the title L'Aurore (the dawn), in reference to Clemenceau
Clemenceau
Clemenceau may refer to:* Georges Clemenceau , French physician, journalist and statesman* Clemenceau , a French aircraft carrier* Mount Clemenceau, a mountain in the Canadian Rockies...
, and also to J'accuse
J'Accuse
is an open letter by Émile Zola concerning the Dreyfus affair. may also refer to:* J'accuse , a 1919 French silent film, set during World War I, directed by Abel Gance...
by Emile Zola
Émile Zola
Émile François Zola was a French writer, the most important exemplar of the literary school of naturalism and an important contributor to the development of theatrical naturalism...
, published in the previous L'Aurore in 1898. L'Aurore hit newsstands on September 11, 1944. The paper's offices were located in Paris, at 9 rue Louis-le-Grand, which were previously occupied by the news daily L'Oeuvre, which had been denied authority to resume publication. In 1954, L'Aurore moved to 100 rue de Richelieu in the 2nd Arrondissement, in the former offices of the historic Le Journal. Circulation exceeded 90,000 by January 1945. Within short time, the daily had become among the four most significant news publications in the after-war period. By 1953, the company had purchased several other publications, including L'Epoque, France Libre, and Ce Matin-Le Pays.
The Boussac Period
In 1951, Marcel BoussacMarcel Boussac
Marcel Boussac was a French entrepreneur best known for his ownership of the Maison Dior and one of the most successful thoroughbred race horse breeding farms in European history....
, a powerful textile industrialist in the capital, owned a 74.3% controlling stake in the paper. Under his guidance, the paper's political slant leaned towards the causes of the middle, working, and artisan classes, and during the Algerian Independence Movement, the paper preferred the rights of the Pieds-Noirs. In the 1960's, in a Gaullist political climate, the paper served as a voice of opposition for centrism
Centrism
In politics, centrism is the ideal or the practice of promoting policies that lie different from the standard political left and political right. Most commonly, this is visualized as part of the one-dimensional political spectrum of left-right politics, with centrism landing in the middle between...
, taking up causes like the plight of Jean Lecanuet
Jean Lecanuet
Jean Adrien François Lecanuet was a French centrist politician. He was born to a family of modest means, and gravitated towards literature during his studies. He received his diploma at the age of 22, becoming the youngest agrégé in France...
. After the accidental death of Robert Lazurick in April 1968, his widow Francine Lazurick (nee Bonitzer), succeeded him in his role at the paper. She worked integrally with the chief editors, including Roland Faure (foreign politics), Gilbert Guilleminault (society, culture, general news), Dominique Pado (domestic politics), Andre Guerin (editorial
Editorial
An opinion piece is an article, published in a newspaper or magazine, that mainly reflects the author's opinion about the subject. Opinion pieces are featured in many periodicals.-Editorials:...
), Jose Van den Esch (economy, society), and Georges Merchier (science, education, religion). Roger Alexandre was the last managing director of L'Aurore.
From Jules romains to Pierre Desproges
In July 1956, L'Aurore was the premier daily featuring color illustrations on the front and back pages. Circulation, which in 1952 had numbered 400,000, increased to more than 500,000 daily subscriptions between 1956 and 1962, which in some years in the period surpassed Le FigaroLe Figaro
Le Figaro is a French daily newspaper founded in 1826 and published in Paris. It is one of three French newspapers of record, with Le Monde and Libération, and is the oldest newspaper in France. It is also the second-largest national newspaper in France after Le Parisien and before Le Monde, but...
in total daily circulation.
Renowned among news teams of the era, Andre Frossard
André Frossard
-Biography:Frossard was born in Saint-Maurice-Colombier, Doubs to Louis-Oscar Frossard, one of the historic founders of the Parti communiste français, who was leader of the party for 31 years. His parents raised him an atheist, but when he was 20 years old he converted to Roman Catholicism. He was...
, Jules Romains
Jules Romains
Jules Romains, born Louis Henri Jean Farigoule , was a French poet and writer and the founder of the Unanimism literary movement...
, and Jean Mistler
Jean Mistler
Jean Mistler was a French writer born in Sorèze, Tarn. In 1966 he was elected to the Académie Française.Mistler, whose father's family had left Alsace in 1871, did his schooling in Sorèze, before preparing for the entrance examination of the Ecole Nationale Supérieure at the Lycée Henri IV, where...
, were all members of the Academie Francaise
Académie française
L'Académie française , also called the French Academy, is the pre-eminent French learned body on matters pertaining to the French language. The Académie was officially established in 1635 by Cardinal Richelieu, the chief minister to King Louis XIII. Suppressed in 1793 during the French Revolution,...
. Pierre Desproges
Pierre Desproges
Pierre Desproges was a French humorist. He was famous for his elaborate, eloquent and above all, virulent diatribes criticizing anything and everything....
collaborated with his childhood friend, the judicial journalist and author Annette Kahn. Other journalists who collaborated on L'Aurore: Phillipe Bernet, Gilbert Ganne, Gérald Schurr, Anne Manson, Évelyne Le Garrec, Jean-Claude Goudeau, Jean Laborde
Jean Laborde
Jean Laborde was an adventurer and early industrialist in Madagascar. He became the chief engineer of the Merina monarchy, supervising the creation of a modern manufacturing center under Queen Ranavalona I...
, André Sirvin, Alain Riou, Jacques Bouzerand, Bernard Morrot, Francis Schull, Jacques Lesinge, Jacques Malherbes, Jacques Chambaz, André Bloch, Andrée Nordon, Jacques-Marie Bourget, Jean-Michel Saint-Ouen.
The Hersant Period
In 1978, after Boussac sold the paper to Marcel Fournier (president of supermarket chain CarrefourCarrefour
Carrefour S.A. is an international hypermarket chain headquartered in Levallois-Perret, France. It is one of the largest hypermarket chains in the world...
), the paper was sold again to Robert Hersant
Robert Hersant
Robert Hersant was a French newspaper magnate with right-wing political views.- Biography :Hersant was born in Vertou, Loire-Atlantique....
. Francine Lazurick vacated her position as managing director in response, as did the editor at the time, Dominique Pado. Pierre Janrot, a member of the Groupe Hersant publishing conglomerate, replaced Lazurick as managing director of L'Aurore on November 3rd of that year.
Robert Hersant
Robert Hersant
Robert Hersant was a French newspaper magnate with right-wing political views.- Biography :Hersant was born in Vertou, Loire-Atlantique....
gradually pulled support for the paper, which had previously been a direct competitor to Le Figaro
Le Figaro
Le Figaro is a French daily newspaper founded in 1826 and published in Paris. It is one of three French newspapers of record, with Le Monde and Libération, and is the oldest newspaper in France. It is also the second-largest national newspaper in France after Le Parisien and before Le Monde, but...
, another Hersant publication. In doing so, he incrementally merged L'Aurore with other publications in the conglomerate. As a result, within several years, L'Aurore had lost its identity as an independent content publication, with the exception of the editorial page, which until 1982 was written by Jacques Guilleme-Brulon (foreign politics) or, more frequently, by Guy Baret (domestic politics). Under their influence, L'Aurore leaned politically rightward in its last days as an independent paper.
In 1985, L'Aurore was integrated fully into Le Figaro
Le Figaro
Le Figaro is a French daily newspaper founded in 1826 and published in Paris. It is one of three French newspapers of record, with Le Monde and Libération, and is the oldest newspaper in France. It is also the second-largest national newspaper in France after Le Parisien and before Le Monde, but...
, though it survived in title, in the Saturday supplement, Le Figaro-L'Aurore.