Pierre Giffard
Encyclopedia
Pierre Giffard was a French journalist, a pioneer of modern political reporting, a newspaper publisher and a prolific sports organiser. In 1892, he was appointed Chevalier (Knight) of the Légion d'Honneur
and in 1900 he was appointed an Officier (Officer) of the Légion d'Honneur.
Parisian newspapers used sporting events as circulation aids, and Giffard created the Paris–Brest–Paris cycle race in 1891, the 380 kilometre Paris–Belfort running race in 1892, the world's first car race from Paris to Rouen in 1894, the Paris marathon
in 1896, and a foot-race from Bordeaux to Paris in 1903.
Giffard served as the editor of Le Petit Journal
and then the sports daily Le Vélo
, where his passionate support for Alfred Dreyfus
and thus his opposition to the car-maker Comte Jules-Albert de Dion over the whole Dreyfus affair
led de Dion to create a rival daily, L'Auto, which in turn created the Tour de France
cycle race.
. Pierre was taught from the age of six by Father Biville at Saint-Laurent-en-Caux
and from eight at the Lycée Pierre Corneille
in Rouen
. He completed his schooling in Paris
, at the Lycée Charlemagne in the Marais district. It was there that he developed his republican ideas.
The Franco-Prussian War
started in 1870 and Giffard enrolled in the army, with his parents' reluctant permission, at Fontaine-le-Dun
in Haute-Normandie
. He joined the reserve army in November at Le Havre
. There, following the custom of the time, he was made an officer. He became a lieutenant on 10 December 1870. At the end of the war he resumed his studies at Douai
, where he gained a university degree in August 1871.
Giffard's father died on 1 August 1872, and Giffard moved to Paris to work as a journalist.
, Le Gaulois
, Le Petit Parisien
, La Lanterne and finally Le Figaro
. He then assumed editorship of Le Petit Journal
in 1887 and of the sports daily Le Vélo
in 1896.
After an abortive election attempt in 1900 Giffard returned to full-time journalism at Le Vélo until its demise in 1904. He then joined Matin, which sent him to the Far East to cover the Russia-Japan war. He returned to Paris in July 1904, weakened by illness, and proceeded to work for several papers, including Dépêche Coloniale and Petit Marseillais. In June 1906, now one of the senior journalists of France, he went back to Le Figaro and reported the first meeting of the Russian parliament. In 1910 Giffard was employed by his arch-rival Henri Desgrange
writing for L'Auto until retirement.
on the strength of his reports of the World Exhibition in Paris and of conferences he organised there concerning the invention of the telephone and telegraph. He reported from Switzerland, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Greece, Austria, Scotland, Algeria, Tunisia, Malta, Cyprus, Spain, Holland and Denmark. He reported on the attack by French troops on Cheikh Bouamama :fr:Cheikh Bouamama in Algeria
and the taking of Sfax
in Tunisia
, and the arrival of the British fleet at Alexandria
and the departure of the French navy.
In June 1906, he went back to Le Figaro and reported the first meeting of the Russian parliament, the Douma.
. He began work on 1 October 1887. There he started a diary which, in the tradition of the paper, he signed with a pseudonym: Jean-sans-Terre. He stayed at the paper for 10 years. In 1891 he organised the Paris–Brest–Paris bicycle race for the newspaper, followed by the Paris–Belfort running race. In 1892, he was appointed a member of the Légion d'Honneur
, and in 1900 he was appointed as an officer.
, where he wrote under the name Arator. There on 19 July 1896 he organised the first Paris marathon and helped found the Automobile Club de France.
In 1900 he threw the paper in support of Alfred Dreyfus
in the Dreyfus affair
. France was divided over the justice of his trial for selling military secrets to the Germans. The paper's largest advertisers, anti-Dreyfusards such as Count Jules-Albert de Dion, Adolphe Clément
and Édouard Michelin
believed Dreyfus guilty and removed their advertising from the paper. They then launched a rival paper, at first called L'Auto-Vélo and then simply L'Auto.
A circulation war broke out between the two papers. Le Vélo's biggest publicity stunts included staging a second edition of the Paris–Brest–Paris cycle-race in 1901, that he had created in 1891. L'Auto's response came on 19 December 1902, when Géo Lefèvre
suggested a Tour de France
which was an overwhelming circulation success in 1903. Le Vélos response in 1903 was a running-race from Bordeaux to Paris, but it was too late. Le Vélo disappeared in 1904 and Giffard eventually joined Desgrange's staff.
s, and 1 Penny-farthing
.
Participation was restricted to Frenchmen and 99 of the 207 (or 280) participants finished. Michelin
's Charles Terront
won in 71 hours 22 minutes after passing Dunlop
's Jiel-Laval as he slept during the third night. Both had suffered punctures in their pneumatic tyres, but still enjoyed an advantage over riders on solid tires.
The first race was a coup for Le Petit Journal and the organisers decided to run it every ten years. The second race in 1901 was again organised by Giffard but on behalf of Le Vélo.
. This had also been the start point for the inaugural Paris–Brest–Paris cycle-race the previous year. Newspaper circulation dramatically increased as the French public followed the progress of race participants, 380 of whom completed the course in under 10 days. In Le Petit Journal on 18 June 1892, Giffard praised the event as a model for the physical training of a nation faced by hostile neighbours. The event was won by Constant Ramoge in 100 hours 5 minutes.
, he organised what is considered to be the world's first car race from Paris to Rouen, sporting events were a tried and tested form of publicity stunt and circulation booster. The paper promoted it as a Competition for Horeseless Carriages (Concours des Voitures sans Chevaux) that were not dangerous, easy to drive, and cheap during the journey. Thus it blurred the distinctions between a reliability trial, a general event and a race, but the main prize was for the first across the finish line in Rouen. 102 people paid the 10 franc entrance fee.
On 22 July 1894, 69 cars started the 50 km selection event that would show which entrants would be allowed to start the main event, the 127 km race from Paris to Rouen. The entrants ranged from serious manufacturers like Peugeot
, Panhard
or De Dion
to amateur owners, and only 25 were selected for the main race.
The race started from Porte Maillot and went through the Bois de Boulogne
. Count Jules-Albert de Dion was first into Rouen after 6 hours and 48 minutes at an average speed of 19km/h. He finished 3’30” ahead of Georges Lemaître (Peugeot
), followed by Doriot (Peugeot
) at 16’30”, René Panhard
(Panhard
) at 33’30’’ and Émile Levassor
(Panhard) at 55’30”. The official winners were Peugeot and Panhard as cars were judged on their speed, handling and safety characteristics, and De Dion's steam car needed a stoker which was forbidden.
on behalf of Le Petit Journal, although he was editor of Le Vélo, suggesting a cooperative commercial relationship. The event followed on from the success of the marathon in the 1896 inaugural Olympics. Gifford started the race before a large crowd at the Porte Maillot, and it followed a course to Versailles
and finished in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine
. The race and the 200-franc prize were won by Len Hurst, a 24-year-old brick maker from England.
.
by the Germans and war between Japan
and the United States
. It was subsequently republished as a book.
Giffard stood in the national election of March 1900, a candidate in the 2nd constituency of Seine-Inférieure (Yvetot
). A passionate left wing Dreyfussard
, he failed due to the general Dreyfusine rift in French politics, and he was a victim of de Dion's sometimes violent anti-Dreyfussard stance. De Dion had distributed free copies of Giffard's humorous book La Fin du Cheval, claiming it to be Giffard's political program.
and in 1900 he was appointed an 'Officier' (Officer) of the Légion d'Honneur.
He died on 21 January 1922 at his home in Maisons-Laffitte
where he had lived since 1883.
The rue de Pierre Giffard in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis
is named in his honour.
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
and in 1900 he was appointed an Officier (Officer) of the Légion d'Honneur.
Parisian newspapers used sporting events as circulation aids, and Giffard created the Paris–Brest–Paris cycle race in 1891, the 380 kilometre Paris–Belfort running race in 1892, the world's first car race from Paris to Rouen in 1894, the Paris marathon
Paris Marathon
The Paris International Marathon is an annual marathon which takes place from the Champs-Élysées heading towards the Place de la Concorde and continuing through the city to finish at Foch Avenue....
in 1896, and a foot-race from Bordeaux to Paris in 1903.
Giffard served as the editor of Le Petit Journal
Le Petit Journal
Le Petit Journal was a daily Parisian newspaper published from 1863 to 1944. It was founded by Moïse Polydore Millaud. In its columns were published several serial novels of Émile Gaboriau and of Ponson du Terrail.- Publishing :...
and then the sports daily Le Vélo
Le Vélo
-External links:*...
, where his passionate support for Alfred Dreyfus
Alfred Dreyfus
Alfred Dreyfus was a French artillery officer of Jewish background whose trial and conviction in 1894 on charges of treason became one of the most tense political dramas in modern French and European history...
and thus his opposition to the car-maker Comte Jules-Albert de Dion over the whole Dreyfus affair
Dreyfus Affair
The Dreyfus affair was a political scandal that divided France in the 1890s and the early 1900s. It involved the conviction for treason in November 1894 of Captain Alfred Dreyfus, a young French artillery officer of Alsatian Jewish descent...
led de Dion to create a rival daily, L'Auto, which in turn created the Tour de France
Tour de France
The Tour de France is an annual bicycle race held in France and nearby countries. First staged in 1903, the race covers more than and lasts three weeks. As the best known and most prestigious of cycling's three "Grand Tours", the Tour de France attracts riders and teams from around the world. The...
cycle race.
Early life
Pierre Giffard's father was a lawyer and mayor in Fontaine-le-DunFontaine-le-Dun
Fontaine-le-Dun is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Haute-Normandie region in northern France.-Geography:A small farming town, with associated light industry, situated by the banks of the river Dun in the Pays de Caux, some southwest of Dieppe, at the junction of the D142 and the...
. Pierre was taught from the age of six by Father Biville at Saint-Laurent-en-Caux
Saint-Laurent-en-Caux
Saint-Laurent-en-Caux is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Haute-Normandie region in northern France.-Geography:A farming village situated in the Pays de Caux, some southwest of Dieppe at the junction of the D142, D149 and the D50 roads....
and from eight at the Lycée Pierre Corneille
Lycée Pierre Corneille (Rouen)
The Lycée Pierre-Corneille is a school in Rouen, France. It was founded by the Archbishop of Rouen, Charles, Cardinal de Bourbon and run by the Jesuits to educate the children of the aristocracy and bourgeoisie in accordance with the purest doctrinal principles of Roman Catholicism...
in Rouen
Rouen
Rouen , in northern France on the River Seine, is the capital of the Haute-Normandie region and the historic capital city of Normandy. Once one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe , it was the seat of the Exchequer of Normandy in the Middle Ages...
. He completed his schooling in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, at the Lycée Charlemagne in the Marais district. It was there that he developed his republican ideas.
The Franco-Prussian War
Franco-Prussian War
The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. Prussia was aided by the North German Confederation, of which it was a member, and the South German states of Baden, Württemberg and...
started in 1870 and Giffard enrolled in the army, with his parents' reluctant permission, at Fontaine-le-Dun
Fontaine-le-Dun
Fontaine-le-Dun is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Haute-Normandie region in northern France.-Geography:A small farming town, with associated light industry, situated by the banks of the river Dun in the Pays de Caux, some southwest of Dieppe, at the junction of the D142 and the...
in Haute-Normandie
Haute-Normandie
Upper Normandy is one of the 27 regions of France. It was created in 1984 from two départements: Seine-Maritime and Eure, when Normandy was divided into Lower Normandy and Upper Normandy. This division continues to provoke controversy, and some continue to call for reuniting the two regions...
. He joined the reserve army in November at Le Havre
Le Havre
Le Havre is a city in the Seine-Maritime department of the Haute-Normandie region in France. It is situated in north-western France, on the right bank of the mouth of the river Seine on the English Channel. Le Havre is the most populous commune in the Haute-Normandie region, although the total...
. There, following the custom of the time, he was made an officer. He became a lieutenant on 10 December 1870. At the end of the war he resumed his studies at Douai
Douai
-Main sights:Douai's ornate Gothic style belfry was begun in 1380, on the site of an earlier tower. The 80 m high structure includes an impressive carillon, consisting of 62 bells spanning 5 octaves. The originals, some dating from 1391 were removed in 1917 during World War I by the occupying...
, where he gained a university degree in August 1871.
Giffard's father died on 1 August 1872, and Giffard moved to Paris to work as a journalist.
Journalism
Giffard had a long and successful career in journalism. Between 1873 and 1878 he worked for Le Corsaire, L'Evénement, La FranceLa France
La France was a single that was released by Dutch popgroup BZN in 1986....
, Le Gaulois
Le Gaulois
Le Gaulois was a French daily newspaper, founded in 1868 by Edmond Tarbe and Henri de Pene. After a printing stoppage, it was revived by Arthur Meyer in 1882 with notable collaborators Paul Bourget, Alfred Grévin, Abel Hermant, and Ernest Daudet...
, Le Petit Parisien
Le Petit Parisien
Le Petit Parisien was a prominent French newspaper during the French Third Republic. It was published between 1876 and 1944, and its circulation was over 2 million after the First World War.-Publishing:...
, La Lanterne and finally 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...
. He then assumed editorship of Le Petit Journal
Le Petit Journal
Le Petit Journal was a daily Parisian newspaper published from 1863 to 1944. It was founded by Moïse Polydore Millaud. In its columns were published several serial novels of Émile Gaboriau and of Ponson du Terrail.- Publishing :...
in 1887 and of the sports daily Le Vélo
Le Vélo
-External links:*...
in 1896.
After an abortive election attempt in 1900 Giffard returned to full-time journalism at Le Vélo until its demise in 1904. He then joined Matin, which sent him to the Far East to cover the Russia-Japan war. He returned to Paris in July 1904, weakened by illness, and proceeded to work for several papers, including Dépêche Coloniale and Petit Marseillais. In June 1906, now one of the senior journalists of France, he went back to Le Figaro and reported the first meeting of the Russian parliament. In 1910 Giffard was employed by his arch-rival Henri Desgrange
Henri Desgrange
Henri Desgrange was a French bicycle racer and sports journalist. He set 12 world track cycling records, including the hour record of 35.325 kilometres on 11 May 1893. He was the first organiser of the Tour de France.-Origins:Henri Desgrange was one of two brothers, twins...
writing for L'Auto until retirement.
Le Figaro
Giffard joined 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...
on the strength of his reports of the World Exhibition in Paris and of conferences he organised there concerning the invention of the telephone and telegraph. He reported from Switzerland, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Greece, Austria, Scotland, Algeria, Tunisia, Malta, Cyprus, Spain, Holland and Denmark. He reported on the attack by French troops on Cheikh Bouamama :fr:Cheikh Bouamama in Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
and the taking of Sfax
Sfax
Sfax is a city in Tunisia, located southeast of Tunis. The city, founded in AD 849 on the ruins of Taparura and Thaenae, is the capital of the Sfax Governorate , and a Mediterranean port. Sfax has population of 340,000...
in Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
, and the arrival of the British fleet at Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
and the departure of the French navy.
In June 1906, he went back to Le Figaro and reported the first meeting of the Russian parliament, the Douma.
Le Petit Journal
Hippolyte Auguste Marinoni asked Giffard to reorganise the newsroom of the daily paper, Le Petit JournalLe Petit Journal
Le Petit Journal was a daily Parisian newspaper published from 1863 to 1944. It was founded by Moïse Polydore Millaud. In its columns were published several serial novels of Émile Gaboriau and of Ponson du Terrail.- Publishing :...
. He began work on 1 October 1887. There he started a diary which, in the tradition of the paper, he signed with a pseudonym: Jean-sans-Terre. He stayed at the paper for 10 years. In 1891 he organised the Paris–Brest–Paris bicycle race for the newspaper, followed by the Paris–Belfort running race. In 1892, he was appointed a member of the Légion d'Honneur
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
, and in 1900 he was appointed as an officer.
Le Vélo
In 1896, he joined his colleague Paul Rousseau at the head of the newspaper, Le VéloLe Vélo
-External links:*...
, where he wrote under the name Arator. There on 19 July 1896 he organised the first Paris marathon and helped found the Automobile Club de France.
In 1900 he threw the paper in support of Alfred Dreyfus
Alfred Dreyfus
Alfred Dreyfus was a French artillery officer of Jewish background whose trial and conviction in 1894 on charges of treason became one of the most tense political dramas in modern French and European history...
in the Dreyfus affair
Dreyfus Affair
The Dreyfus affair was a political scandal that divided France in the 1890s and the early 1900s. It involved the conviction for treason in November 1894 of Captain Alfred Dreyfus, a young French artillery officer of Alsatian Jewish descent...
. France was divided over the justice of his trial for selling military secrets to the Germans. The paper's largest advertisers, anti-Dreyfusards such as Count Jules-Albert de Dion, Adolphe Clément
Adolphe Clément
Gustave Adolphe Clément-Bayard was a French entrepreneur...
and Édouard Michelin
Edouard Michelin
Édouard Michelin was a French industrialist. He was born in Clermont-Ferrand, France. Édouard and his elder brother André served as co-directors of the Michelin company....
believed Dreyfus guilty and removed their advertising from the paper. They then launched a rival paper, at first called L'Auto-Vélo and then simply L'Auto.
A circulation war broke out between the two papers. Le Vélo's biggest publicity stunts included staging a second edition of the Paris–Brest–Paris cycle-race in 1901, that he had created in 1891. L'Auto's response came on 19 December 1902, when Géo Lefèvre
Géo Lefèvre
Géo Lefèvre was a French sports journalist and the originator of the idea for the Tour de France.He suggested the idea for the Tour at a meeting with Henri Desgrange, editor of the daily newspaper L'Auto as a way to boost circulation. Desgrange recruited Lefèvre from the rival daily sports paper,...
suggested a Tour de France
Tour de France
The Tour de France is an annual bicycle race held in France and nearby countries. First staged in 1903, the race covers more than and lasts three weeks. As the best known and most prestigious of cycling's three "Grand Tours", the Tour de France attracts riders and teams from around the world. The...
which was an overwhelming circulation success in 1903. Le Vélos response in 1903 was a running-race from Bordeaux to Paris, but it was too late. Le Vélo disappeared in 1904 and Giffard eventually joined Desgrange's staff.
Events organiser
Paris–Brest–Paris cycle race
Giffard created the Paris–Brest–Paris cycle race in 1891, although it was promoted as Paris–Brest et retour in his editorials which he signed "Jean-sans-Terre". It is now established as the oldest long-distance cycling road event. Le Petit Journal described it as an "épreuve," a test of the bicycle's reliability and the rider's endurance. Riders were fully self-sufficient, carrying their own food and clothing and riding the same bicycle for the duration. The public response to his articles was so phenomenal that he had to change the rules and start charging 5 francs entrance, as 300 riders including 7 women signed up, although the women were later refused entrance. Each bicycle was given an 'official seal' at a 2 day ceremony in front of the offices of Le Petit Journal. The 280 sealed machines included 10 tricycles, 2 Tandem bicycleTandem bicycle
The tandem bicycle or twin is a form of bicycle designed to be ridden by more than one person. The term tandem refers to the seating arrangement , not the number of riders. A bike with two riders side-by-side is called a sociable.-History:Patents related to tandem bicycles date from the late 19th...
s, and 1 Penny-farthing
Penny-farthing
Penny-farthing, high wheel, high wheeler, and ordinary are all terms used to describe a type of bicycle with a large front wheel and a much smaller rear wheel that was popular after the boneshaker, until the development of the safety bicycle, in the 1880s...
.
Participation was restricted to Frenchmen and 99 of the 207 (or 280) participants finished. Michelin
Michelin
Michelin is a tyre manufacturer based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne région of France. It is one of the two largest tyre manufacturers in the world along with Bridgestone. In addition to the Michelin brand, it also owns the BFGoodrich, Kleber, Riken, Kormoran and Uniroyal tyre brands...
's Charles Terront
Charles Terront
Charles Terront was the first major French cycling star. He won sprint, middle distance and endurance events in Europe and the United States. In September 1891 he won the first Paris–Brest–Paris cycle race, which at was more than double the length of any previous event...
won in 71 hours 22 minutes after passing Dunlop
Dunlop Rubber
Dunlop Rubber was a company based in the United Kingdom which manufactured tyres and other rubber products for most of the 20th century. It was acquired by BTR plc in 1985. Since then, ownership of the Dunlop trade-names has been fragmented.-Early history:...
's Jiel-Laval as he slept during the third night. Both had suffered punctures in their pneumatic tyres, but still enjoyed an advantage over riders on solid tires.
The first race was a coup for Le Petit Journal and the organisers decided to run it every ten years. The second race in 1901 was again organised by Giffard but on behalf of Le Vélo.
Paris–Belfort running race
On 5 June 1892, Giffard organised a foot-race from Paris to Belfort, a course of over 380 kilometers, the first large scale long distance running race on record. Over 1,100 competitors registered for the event and over 800 started from the offices of Le Petit Journal, at Paris OperaPlace de l'Opéra
The Place de l'Opéra is a square in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, at the junction of boulevard des Italiens, boulevard des Capucines, avenue de l'Opéra, rue Auber, rue Halévy, rue de la Paix and rue du Quatre-Septembre. It was built at the same time as the operahouse , which is sited on it and...
. This had also been the start point for the inaugural Paris–Brest–Paris cycle-race the previous year. Newspaper circulation dramatically increased as the French public followed the progress of race participants, 380 of whom completed the course in under 10 days. In Le Petit Journal on 18 June 1892, Giffard praised the event as a model for the physical training of a nation faced by hostile neighbours. The event was won by Constant Ramoge in 100 hours 5 minutes.
Paris–Rouen, world's first motorcar race
In 1894, when Giffard was editor in chief of newspaper Le Petit JournalLe Petit Journal
Le Petit Journal was a daily Parisian newspaper published from 1863 to 1944. It was founded by Moïse Polydore Millaud. In its columns were published several serial novels of Émile Gaboriau and of Ponson du Terrail.- Publishing :...
, he organised what is considered to be the world's first car race from Paris to Rouen, sporting events were a tried and tested form of publicity stunt and circulation booster. The paper promoted it as a Competition for Horeseless Carriages (Concours des Voitures sans Chevaux) that were not dangerous, easy to drive, and cheap during the journey. Thus it blurred the distinctions between a reliability trial, a general event and a race, but the main prize was for the first across the finish line in Rouen. 102 people paid the 10 franc entrance fee.
On 22 July 1894, 69 cars started the 50 km selection event that would show which entrants would be allowed to start the main event, the 127 km race from Paris to Rouen. The entrants ranged from serious manufacturers like Peugeot
Peugeot
Peugeot is a major French car brand, part of PSA Peugeot Citroën, the second largest carmaker based in Europe.The family business that precedes the current Peugeot company was founded in 1810, and manufactured coffee mills and bicycles. On 20 November 1858, Emile Peugeot applied for the lion...
, Panhard
Panhard
Panhard is currently a French manufacturer of light tactical and military vehicles. Its current incarnation was formed by the acquisition of Panhard by Auverland in 2005. Panhard had been under Citroën ownership, then PSA , for 40 years...
or De Dion
De Dion
De Dion may refer to:* Jules-Albert de Dion , automobile pioneer* de Dion-Bouton, automobile manufacturer* de Dion tube, automobile suspension...
to amateur owners, and only 25 were selected for the main race.
The race started from Porte Maillot and went through the Bois de Boulogne
Bois de Boulogne
The Bois de Boulogne is a park located along the western edge of the 16th arrondissement of Paris, near the suburb of Boulogne-Billancourt and Neuilly-sur-Seine...
. Count Jules-Albert de Dion was first into Rouen after 6 hours and 48 minutes at an average speed of 19km/h. He finished 3’30” ahead of Georges Lemaître (Peugeot
Peugeot
Peugeot is a major French car brand, part of PSA Peugeot Citroën, the second largest carmaker based in Europe.The family business that precedes the current Peugeot company was founded in 1810, and manufactured coffee mills and bicycles. On 20 November 1858, Emile Peugeot applied for the lion...
), followed by Doriot (Peugeot
Peugeot
Peugeot is a major French car brand, part of PSA Peugeot Citroën, the second largest carmaker based in Europe.The family business that precedes the current Peugeot company was founded in 1810, and manufactured coffee mills and bicycles. On 20 November 1858, Emile Peugeot applied for the lion...
) at 16’30”, René Panhard
René Panhard
Louis François René Panhard was a French engineer, merchant and a pioneer of the automobile industry in France....
(Panhard
Panhard
Panhard is currently a French manufacturer of light tactical and military vehicles. Its current incarnation was formed by the acquisition of Panhard by Auverland in 2005. Panhard had been under Citroën ownership, then PSA , for 40 years...
) at 33’30’’ and Émile Levassor
Emile Levassor
Émile Levassor was a French engineer and a pioneer of the automobile industry and car racing in France.- Biography :...
(Panhard) at 55’30”. The official winners were Peugeot and Panhard as cars were judged on their speed, handling and safety characteristics, and De Dion's steam car needed a stoker which was forbidden.
Paris Marathon
On 18 July 1896 Giffard organised the inaugural Paris MarathonParis Marathon
The Paris International Marathon is an annual marathon which takes place from the Champs-Élysées heading towards the Place de la Concorde and continuing through the city to finish at Foch Avenue....
on behalf of Le Petit Journal, although he was editor of Le Vélo, suggesting a cooperative commercial relationship. The event followed on from the success of the marathon in the 1896 inaugural Olympics. Gifford started the race before a large crowd at the Porte Maillot, and it followed a course to Versailles
Versailles
Versailles , a city renowned for its château, the Palace of Versailles, was the de facto capital of the kingdom of France for over a century, from 1682 to 1789. It is now a wealthy suburb of Paris and remains an important administrative and judicial centre...
and finished in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine
Conflans-Sainte-Honorine
Conflans-Sainte-Honorine is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is located in the north-western suburbs of Paris from the center....
. The race and the 200-franc prize were won by Len Hurst, a 24-year-old brick maker from England.
Bordeaux–Paris foot race
Giffard organised the first foot-race from Bordeaux to Paris in 1903, which was won by Francois Peguet in 114 hours 22 minutes 20 seconds with Emil Anthoine in second place.Books
La Reine Bicyclette
The phrase "la petite reine" has passed into the French language as a term for a bicycle. The origins are in 1891, when Giffard wrote a history of bicycle development, La Reine Bicyclette. The expression was made more emblematic by the picture on the cover, of a young woman wearing a modern bicycle as a crown. The title was intended to describe the spirit that the bicycle had brought to her life. Cycling enthusiasts adopted the name, calling their machine "la petite reine".Le Sieur de Va-Partout
Le Sieur de Va-Partout was the first French book in a new style, the literature of reporting, and therefore of a new type of author: the writer-reporter.La Fin du Cheval
La Fin du Cheval was Giffard's 1899 humorous thesis on the inevitable replacement of the horse by the bicycle, then by the car. It was illustrated by Albert RobidaAlbert Robida
Albert Robida was an illustrator, etcher, lithographer, caricaturist, and novelist. He edited and published La Caricature magazine for 12 years. Through the 1880s he wrote an acclaimed trilogy of futuristic novels...
.
La Guerre Infernale
La Guerre Infernale was an adventure novel for children, published as a serial, an edition appearing every Saturday. The 520 illustrations were created by Albert Robida. It described the second world war, years before it happened, describing an attack on LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
by the Germans and war between Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It was subsequently republished as a book.
Politics
Yvetot
Yvetot is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Haute-Normandie region in northern France.-History:The name is of Scandinavian origin . The town is most likely of Scandinavian origin too. There is also a locality in Bromölla municipality in southern Sweden bearing the same name...
). A passionate left wing Dreyfussard
Dreyfus Affair
The Dreyfus affair was a political scandal that divided France in the 1890s and the early 1900s. It involved the conviction for treason in November 1894 of Captain Alfred Dreyfus, a young French artillery officer of Alsatian Jewish descent...
, he failed due to the general Dreyfusine rift in French politics, and he was a victim of de Dion's sometimes violent anti-Dreyfussard stance. De Dion had distributed free copies of Giffard's humorous book La Fin du Cheval, claiming it to be Giffard's political program.
Death, honours and commemoration
In 1892, Giffard was appointed 'Chevalier' (Knight) of the Légion d'HonneurLégion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
and in 1900 he was appointed an 'Officier' (Officer) of the Légion d'Honneur.
He died on 21 January 1922 at his home in Maisons-Laffitte
Maisons-Laffitte
Maisons-Laffitte is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is located in the north-western suburbs of Paris from the center....
where he had lived since 1883.
The rue de Pierre Giffard in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis
Saint-Denis
Saint-Denis is a commune in the northern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Saint-Denis is a sous-préfecture of the Seine-Saint-Denis département, being the seat of the Arrondissement of Saint-Denis....
is named in his honour.