46. ​​47. general characteristics of the “golden age” of the French press French press in the period after the fall of the Paris Commune

After 1871, the struggle for the restoration of press freedom passed into the legislative sphere. It was necessary to prepare a single law, since the French law on the press consisted of forty-two laws, decrees and ordinances adopted at different times and often mutually exclusive. Even experienced lawyers could not say with certainty whether this or that law on the press is in force or has already been repealed.
The law consisted of five chapters. The first three chapters regulated the typographic and bookselling, periodicals and trade in printed works. The fourth chapter was devoted to crimes of the press, the fifth - procedural rulings.
The law abolished censorship, prior authorization, bail, stamp duty and many other restrictions that existed. The penalties for the so-called crime of opinions were also abolished: opposition to the constitution, universal suffrage, private property, cults, and the family. From now on, for the publication of the newspaper it was enough just to send a letter to the prosecutor of Paris indicating the name of the proposed newspaper, the name, address of the publisher and owner. (Although for the regular press it was required to have a lot of money).
Restrictions for journalism consisted of eight points. The press prohibited: incitement to crimes and offenses, direct or indirect calls for riot and insurrection, grave insult to the president, government and parliament, as well as diplomats and leaders of other states, publication of false information that violates order and public peace, grave insult to morality, slander. The guilt of the newspaper could only establish a jury trial.
The Press Act of 1881 was one of the most advanced in the world. It has been operating unchanged (but with some additions) until now and has become a model for the relevant legislations of many other countries, including Russia.
According to many historians of the French press, with the adoption of the press law in France, the golden age of the press began. The freedoms obtained led to an unusually rapid growth in the number and circulation of newspapers. In addition, the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries was marked by an increase in the popularity of the political press.
In 1883 a daily Catholic newspaper appeared.
In the 1890s, a typology of newspapers was finally formed: political party (including clerical), political non-party, commercial (including tabloid). Many Parisian newspapers began to appear in three editions: the first edition was printed late in the evening and the trains were transported to distant provincial cities, the second edition was printed at night and on horseback (and then by car) spread through the metropolitan suburbs, the third in the early morning and was intended for Paris.
At the same time, in spite of the obvious rise of journalism, a number of press crises occur in the “golden age”, the largest of which was associated with the so-called Dreyfus affair. The captain of the French General Staff, a Jew of nationality, Alfred Dreyfus, under false pretexts in 1894, was accused of spying for Germany. The trial that took place over it was obviously tendentious and anti-Semitic. Dreyfus was convicted and sentenced to life penal servitude on Devil Island. It is indicative that the majority of Parisian newspapers took the side of the prosecution (especially succeeded in harassing Dreyfuss “Eco de Paris”, “Eclair”, “Pet Journal”).
Two years later, Colonel Picard of the French General Staff found documents, from which it followed that Dreyfus was convicted innocently, while the real spy Major Esterhazy remained at his post. After unsuccessful attempts to justify Dreyfus, Picard turned to Emil Zola, a well-known writer and human rights activist, for help. Zola wrote a passionate letter “I blame. A letter to the President of the French Republic, Felix Fora, ”which, despite the legally confirmed freedom of the press, no Paris newspaper has decided to publish. Only a small newspaper “L'Aurore” (“Oror” - “Zarya”) on January 13, 1898 placed “I Accuse” on its pages. Immediately after that, its circulation increased dramatically, and it became one of the most popular metropolitan newspapers.
Zola has dedicated many more articles to the Dreyfus affair. For his activities, he was sentenced to imprisonment, but went to England, where he continued to fight for the release of his ward. This struggle led to a political crisis in France. Under pressure from public opinion, Dreyfus was pardoned in 1899, and in 1906 (after Zola’s death) was fully rehabilitated and reinstated.
The Dreyfus case showed how powerful the press is, how it can excite the whole country and achieve the truth, in spite of any obstacles.