A powerful political platform: Françoise Giroud and L'Express in a Cold War climate

Long, Imogen

Abstract

Founded in 1953 by Jean-Jacques Servan-Schreiber and Françoise Giroud, L’Express was a politically committed outlet predominantly led by Giroud’s strong editorial direction until its rebranding in 1964 along the lines of Time magazine. Its goals were clear: to encourage modernization in French cultural and economic life, to support Pierre Mendès France and to oppose the war in Indochina. This article investigates Giroud’s vision of the press, her politics and her journalistic dialogue with other significant actors at a complex and pivotal juncture in French Cold War history. Giroud opened up the columns of L’Express to a diverse range of leading writers and intellectuals, even to those in disagreement with the publication, as the case study of Jean-Paul Sartre highlighted here shows. In so doing, Giroud’s L’Express constituted a singularly powerful press platform in Cold War France.

Citation

Long, I. (2016). A powerful political platform: Françoise Giroud and L'Express in a Cold War climate. French History, 30(2), 241-258. https://doi.org/10.1093/fh/crw001

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Mar 4, 2016
• Online Publication Date: Apr 22, 2016
• Publication Date: Jun 18, 2016
• Deposit Date: Apr 13, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 26, 2018
• Journal: French history
• Print ISSN: 0269-1191
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 30
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 241-258
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/fh/crw001
• Keywords: Express (Paris, France)
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/435849
• Publisher URL: http://fh.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2016/04/22/fh.crw001.abstract
• Additional Information: This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced version of an article accepted for publication in French History following peer review. The version of record, Imogen Long; A powerful political platform: Françoise Giroud and L’Express in a Cold War climate, French History, Volume 30, Issue 2, 1 June 2016, Pages 241–258, is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1093/fh/crw001.
• Contract Date: Apr 13, 2016