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1 Censorship of the Press in France 1917-1918 Charles Sorrie London

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1 Censorship of the Press in France 1917-1918 Charles Sorrie London 1 Censorship of the Press in France 1917-1918 Charles Sorrie London School of Economics and Political Science Supervised by Prof. David Stevenson Word Count: 99,757 2 Declaration: I certify that the thesis I have presented for examination for the PhD degree of the London School of Economics and Political Science is solely my own work other than where I have clearly indicated that it is the work of others (in which case the extent of any work carried out jointly by me and any other person is clearly identified in it). The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. Quotation from it is permitted, provided that full acknowledgement is made. This thesis may not be reproduced without my prior written consent. I warrant that this authorisation does not, to the best of my belief, infringe the rights of any third party. I declare that my thesis consists of 99,757 words. Charles Sorrie 3 Table of Contents Page 4 Abstract 5 Acknowledgements 6 Introduction: Primary Sources, Historiography and the Importance of Censorship in 1917-1918 France 37 Chapter 1: The Evolution and Organization of Censorship in France 1914- 1916 67 Chapter 2: Spring 1917: New Partners and the Opening of a New Phase for the French War Effort 109 Chapter 3: Crisis 141 Chapter 4: Crisis Continued 187 Chapter 5: Autumn 1917-Winter 1917-1918: New Leadership and a Modified Approach to Censorship 226 Chapter 6: Spring-Summer 1918: The Challenge of the Ludendorff Offensives 260 Chapter 7: Summer to Autumn 1918: Censoring the War’s End 272 Conclusion: The Limitations of Liberty in a Republican Democracy at War 276 Bibliography 4 Abstract This thesis examines the development and implementation of media control in France during the First World War. First it describes the evolution of the press control system between 1914 and 1916 and outlines its bureaucratic framework. The study then analyses the extent to which censorship of the press was useful in helping the French government achieve its aims during the particularly turbulent years of 1917 and 1918. The chapters are set out chronologically and contain sections that examine the role of censorship on a case by case basis. The last two years of the war have been chosen for special examination in this thesis because in 1917 and 1918 France’s war effort was increasingly strained simultaneously by both internal and external events. In 1917 France was threatened with rising war weariness, coinciding with the failed Nivelle Offensive, mutinies at the front and international calls for a negotiated peace settlement. In 1918, as Clemenceau began to rally the nation, France faced its most crucial enemy attack since the Marne in 1914. Most of the thesis focuses on censorship of newspapers in Paris. These papers not only had far larger ciculations than their provincial counterparts but often were read in the provinces more than were local papers. Finally by following a few papers specifically through these two years, it is possible to see the evolution of the way in which papers on the left, right and centre were monitored by the government. This thesis argues that France’s censorship system, while not perfect was effective in achieving the aims set out as its goals in 1914 by the War Ministry: to keep military secrets from the enemy and to help maintain public order. 5 Acknowledgements Thank you to Professor David Stevenson, Stevenson Professor of International History at the London School of Economics, for his supervision, mentorship and invaluable assistance and patience since first taking me on as an MA student in 2006 and then afterwards agreeing to supervise my PhD. Thank you also to Dr. Heather Jones, Associate Professor of International History at the London School of Economics, for assistance in proofreading and her many useful comments and suggestions. As well, I wish to thank Professor Steven Casey, also at the London School of Economics, for supervising my second year as a PhD student and for allowing me to reference his unpublished manuscript on American censorship and war correspondents during the First World War. Thank you to the London School of Economics Academic Partnerships program for agreeing to fund me during a one semester academic exchange at Sciences Po, Paris, and Professor Jacob Vogel for agreeing to officially oversee my work while in Paris. I am also much indebted to the archival staff at the Bibliothèque de Documentation Internationale Contemporaine in Nanterre and the Service Historique de la Défense in Vincennes, particularly Mme. Decuber from the latter. Finally I would like to acknowledge and thank my parents Charles and Lynda Sorrie, whose moral and financial support has been indispensable to my academic career thus far. To them this thesis is dedicated. Charles Sorrie, July 2014 6 Introduction: Primary Sources, Historiography and the Importance of Censorship in 1917-1918 France The historiography of the First World War continues to grow as the conflict, one hundred years later, still inspires fascination and bewilderment among academics and among those for whom history is more a curiosity. This thesis examines a subject about which little has been written, particularly in English. It investigates the methods used by the French Government to both protect state secrets and control public opinion in 1917 and 1918 and evaluates its effectiveness in achieving these aims. Newspapers as the primary news source for citizens and soldiers were seen as useful tools by the French Government for shoring up public opinion in favour of the war effort. The written press, however, was also viewed as being potentially dangerous if left unchecked, because of its potential to leak state or military secrets and its capacity to foment unrest. Though works have been written which discuss the bureaucracy of the French information management system and the debates surrounding its practices, none have yet attempted to evaluate the effectiveness of French censorship in both achieving the aims set out for its use in 1914 and its value as a tool in helping France fight the war, particularly during the critical 1917-1918 period. There are no extended monographs published in English on French censorship during the First World War, and only one in French. La Censure militaire et policière 1914-19181 by Maurice Rajsfus glances over most aspects of government directed censorship during the war. It includes sections on censorship of the press, advertising, pamphlets, the post, feminist movements, music, theatre and cabarets. His central argument is that the French government in censoring the press extended its powers beyond what was needed to preserve public order and military discipline. At some points he argues this point effectively. The best examples are his analyses of the censorship of trench letters written to soldiers’ families2 and of the censorship of the 1 M., Rajsfus, La Censure militaire et policière 1914-1918 (Paris 1999). 2 ibid., pp.143-152. 7 arts in Paris.3 Though Rajsfus’s study is adequately researched and is an interesting read, it contains several flaws which diminish its contribution to the field. Rajsfus attempts to cover too much in 256 pages. Because he discusses broad subjects (political censorship 1914-1918, for example)4 in twenty pages or less he is forced to make sweeping statements while using few examples to defend his arguments. Many of his most strongly worded passages appear to be only partially relevant to the material immediately preceding them. This is not helped by the fact that his tone is often sarcastic and polemical. It seems Rajsfus approached the subject from the outset of his research with a pre-conceived opinion that all censorship is immoral and all censors are mean-spirited. His conclusion, for example, is entitled ‘Under the Gaze of the Perverse.’ The present thesis is narrower in scope than Rajfus’s book, allowing for an analysis more heavily based on archival material, and is also more nuanced in tone and less politically partisan. The longest study on censorship in France during the First World War is an unpublished 994 page thesis written by Olivier Forcade under the supervision of Jean Jacques Becker at the University of Paris-X (Nanterre).5 Forcade’s thesis is meticulously researched and is an essential research tool for scholars of the subject. It contains extensive charts, graphs and a vast bibliography. His primary interest is in the political debates surrounding censorship and the creation and bureaucratic structure of the French information management system. His central argument is that by 1918 wartime censorship was largely tolerated by both French citizens and by journalists. In addition he contends that by 1918 journalists had become so familiar with censorship practices that self-censorship became the primary method of French press control. Finally, he argues that censorship had a positive effect in rallying the nation behind the war effort.6 3 ibid., part 4. 4 ibid., pp.51-69. 5 O. Forcade ‘La Censure politique en France pendant la Grande Guerre’, doctoral thesis, (Paris, 1998). 6 ibid., Conclusion. 8 An occasionally heated, though more often nuanced, debate exists between French historians of the First World War over the extent to which French citizens and soldiers accepted the draconian wartime measures of their government between 1914 and 1919.7 Two prominent historiographical centres are at the forefront of the debate. Historians associated with the Historial de la Grande Guerre, (known as the Historial) located in Péronne,8 have generally contended that the patriotism of citizens and soldiers led them to accept wartime measures and that this acceptance characterised an idiosyncratic wartime culture. Well-known scholars associated with this centre include Jean-Jacques Becker, Jay Winter, John Horne, Stéphane Audoin-Rouzeau, Annette Becker, Leonard V.
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