Le Canard enchaîné (English:
The Chained Duck or
The Chained Paper) is a satirical newspaper published weekly in France. Founded in 1915, it features
investigative journalismInvestigative journalism is a type of reporting in which reporters deeply investigate a topic of interest, often involving crime, political corruption, or some other scandal....
and leaks from sources inside the French government, the French political world and the French business world, as well as a large number of jokes and humorous cartoons. It has a circulation of 446,000. It is one of the most respected and oldest French newspapers, despite its often humoristic tone.
Its name itself is a reference to Radical
Georges ClemenceauGeorges Benjamin Clemenceau was a French statesman, physician, and journalist. He served as the prime minister of France from 1906-1909 and 1917-1920. For nearly the final year of World War I he led France, and was one of the major voices behind the Treaty of Versailles...
's newspaper
L'homme libre ("The Free Man") which was forced to close by
government censorshipFrance has a long history of governmental censorship, particularly in the 16th to 18th centuries, but today freedom of press is guaranteed by the French Constitution and instances of governmental censorship are relatively limited and isolated....
and reacted by changing its name to
L'homme enchaîné ("The Chained-up Man");
Le Canard enchaîné means "The chained-up duck", but
canard (duck) is also French slang for "newspaper"; it was also a reference to French journals published by soldiers during World War I.
The
Canard has a fixed 8 page layout.
Le Canard enchaîné (English:
The Chained Duck or
The Chained Paper) is a satirical newspaper published weekly in France. Founded in 1915, it features
investigative journalismInvestigative journalism is a type of reporting in which reporters deeply investigate a topic of interest, often involving crime, political corruption, or some other scandal....
and leaks from sources inside the French government, the French political world and the French business world, as well as a large number of jokes and humorous cartoons. It has a circulation of 446,000. It is one of the most respected and oldest French newspapers, despite its often humoristic tone.
Presentation
Its name itself is a reference to Radical
Georges ClemenceauGeorges Benjamin Clemenceau was a French statesman, physician, and journalist. He served as the prime minister of France from 1906-1909 and 1917-1920. For nearly the final year of World War I he led France, and was one of the major voices behind the Treaty of Versailles...
's newspaper
L'homme libre ("The Free Man") which was forced to close by
government censorshipFrance has a long history of governmental censorship, particularly in the 16th to 18th centuries, but today freedom of press is guaranteed by the French Constitution and instances of governmental censorship are relatively limited and isolated....
and reacted by changing its name to
L'homme enchaîné ("The Chained-up Man");
Le Canard enchaîné means "The chained-up duck", but
canard (duck) is also French slang for "newspaper"; it was also a reference to French journals published by soldiers during World War I.
The
Canard has a fixed 8 page layout. Pages 1, 2-4 and 8 are mostly news and editorials. Page 2 is anecdotes from the political and business world. Pages 5-7 are dedicated to social issues (such as the environment), profiles, general humour and satire,
CabuCabu is a French comic strip artist and carticaturist.He started out studying art at the École Estienne in Paris and his drawings were first published by 1954 in a local newspaper...
's "Beauf" comic strip, and literary, theater, opera and film criticism. One section, called
l'Album de la Comtesse, is dedicated to
spoonerismA spoonerism is an error in speech or deliberate play on words in which corresponding consonants, vowels, or morphemes are switched . It is named after the Reverend William Archibald Spooner , Warden of New College, Oxford, who was notoriously prone to this tendency...
s.
It was founded by Maurice Maréchal and his wife Jeanne Maréchal, along with H. P. Gassier.
It briefly changed its title after World War I to
Le Canard Déchaîné (the duck without chains), to celebrate the end of military censorship of the press. It resumed the title
Le Canard Enchaîné in 1920.
It continued to publish and grow in popularity and influence until it was forced to suspend publication during the German occupation of France in 1940. After Liberation, it resumed publication. It gained its 8-page format in the 1960s.
Many of the Canards early contributors were members of the Communist and Socialist parties, but it shed its alignment with those groups in the 1920s. Its current owners are not tied to any political or economic group, although it does tend to have a left-wing political bias. It now fiercely defends its independence against any alignment, and has gained a reputation for publishing incriminating stories and criticizing any political party with no preference. It is also fairly anti-clerical and lampoons the
nobilityNobility is a state-privileged status which is generally hereditary, but which may also be personal only. Titles of nobility are usually associated with present or former monarchies. The term originally referred to those who were "known" or "notable" and was applied to the highest social class in...
.
The Canard
does not accept any advertisements. In the 1920s, it used to publish free advertisement for Le CrapouillotLe Crapouillot was a satiric publication founded by Jean Galtier-Boissière, in France during World War I. Its name means in French:le petit crapaud that is "the little toad". At this time, in the trenches, the term was used by the Poilus to designate the small trench's mortars...
, another satirical magazine created by Jean Galtier-BoissièreJean Galtier-Boissière was a writer, polemist, and journalist from Paris, France. He founded Le Crapouillot and wrote for Le Canard enchaîné.-Bibliography:* Croquis De Tranchées. 1917...
, a friend of Maurice Maréchal. Similarly, Le CrapouillotLe Crapouillot was a satiric publication founded by Jean Galtier-Boissière, in France during World War I. Its name means in French:le petit crapaud that is "the little toad". At this time, in the trenches, the term was used by the Poilus to designate the small trench's mortars...
was carrying free advertisements for the Canard
. The relations between the two magazines soured during the Spanish Civil WarThe Spanish Civil War was a major conflict that devastated Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939. It began after an attempted coup d'état by a group of Spanish Army generals against the government of the Second Spanish Republic, then under the leadership of president Manuel Azaña...
as Maréchal was supporting the republican government of Madrid, while Galtier-Boissière was strictly pacifist.
The Canard is notable because of its focus on scandals in French
governmentalThe Politics of France take place in a framework of a semi-presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President of France is head of state and the Prime Minister of France head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the...
and business circles, although it does also cover other countries. Although they became more aggressive during
François MitterrandFrançois Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand served as the President of France from 1981 to 1995, elected as representative of the Socialist Party . First elected during the May 1981 presidential election, he became the first socialist President of the Fifth Republic and the first left-wing head of...
's presidency, major French newspapers are traditionally reluctant to challenge government corruption or pursue embarrassing scandals (the rationale being that revealing political or business scandals only profits extremists of the far-left or far-right); the Canard
filled that gap. The Canard
publishes "insider knowledge" on politicians and "leaks" from administration officials, including information from whistle-blowers. Generally, the Canard
is well informed about happenings within the world of French politics. Its revelations have sometimes brought about the resignation of cabinet ministers.
Some of the information published by the Canard
clearly comes from very well-placed sources, likely including ministerial aides. Charles de GaulleCharles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II...
was a frequent target; he was known to ask, "What does the damned bird have to say?" (que dit le volatile?
) on the day – every Wednesday – the Canard
would roll off the presses. There are often verbatim and off-the-record quotes from major politicians, including the President and Prime Minister, usually aimed at another politician.
Although the Canard
has recently improved, its international coverage was spotty. It relies mostly on leaks from French government services and reports from the other media.
The Canard also publishes
satiricalSatire is often strictly defined as a literary genre or form; although in practice it is also found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, human or individual vices, follies, abuses, or shortcomings are held up to censure by means of ridicule, derision, burlesque, irony, or other methods,...
cartoonThe word cartoon has various meanings, based on several very different forms of visual art and illustration. The term has evolved over time....
s and jokes. The factual and jocular columns are cleanly delineated.
Famous are the weekly bogus interview "interviews (presque) imaginaires", its weekly profile ("Prises de Bec"), its "Journal de Carla B." (a section presenting in a hilarious way an imaginary diary of
Carla BruniCarla Bruni-Sarkozy is an Italian-born, naturalized French songwriter, singer, and former model...
, describing her bohemian-bourgeois reactions towards events involving her husband, President
Nicolas SarkozyNicolas Sarkozy is the 23rd and current President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra...
), its famous sections of press clippings (typos and malaproprisms found in the French press) "rue des petites perles" and "à travers la presse déchaînée", its two most absurd or incomprehensible sentences of the week by politicians the "mur du çon" and the "noix d'honneur", as well as its infamous "Sur l'Album de la Comtesse" section of hilarious cryptic
spoonerismA spoonerism is an error in speech or deliberate play on words in which corresponding consonants, vowels, or morphemes are switched . It is named after the Reverend William Archibald Spooner , Warden of New College, Oxford, who was notoriously prone to this tendency...
s. During the 1960s, André Ribaud and the cartoonist Moisan created a series La Cour
which was a parody of Louis de Rouvroy, duc de Saint-SimonLouis de Rouvroy, duc de Saint-Simon , French soldier, diplomatist and writer of memoirs, was born in Paris...
's Memoirs on the Reign of Louis XIV
. Charles De GaulleCharles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II...
was turned into the king, and the deputies and the senators into courtiers. Thus, in La Cour
, François MitterrandFrançois Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand served as the President of France from 1981 to 1995, elected as representative of the Socialist Party . First elected during the May 1981 presidential election, he became the first socialist President of the Fifth Republic and the first left-wing head of...
became the ever scheming count of Château-ChinonChâteau-Chinon is the name of two communes of the Nièvre département, in France:* Château-Chinon * Château-Chinon The two towns are neighboring each other. They were separated during the French Revolution....
. In La Cour
, the king would address his subjects through the mean of the étranges lucarnes
(strange windows), a phrase De Gaulle had employed about television.
After the death of De Gaulle, La Cour
became La Régence
with Georges PompidouGeorges Jean Raymond Pompidou was a French politician. He was Prime Minister of France from 1962 to 1968, holding the longest tenure in this position, and later President of the French Republic from 1969 until his death in 1974....
being the regentA regent, from the Latin regens "reigning", is a person selected to act as head of state because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated. Thus, the common use is for an acting deputy governor....
. This followed the Memoirs of Saint-Simon, which also extend into the Regency of Philippe II, Duke of OrléansPhilippe Charles d'Orléans, petit-fils de France, Duke of Orléans , was a member of the royal family of France and served as Regent of the Kingdom from 1715 to 1723. Born at his father's palace at Saint-Cloud, he was known from birth under the title of Duke of Chartres...
that followed the death of Louis XIV. After the death of Georges Pompidou, La Régence
was stopped.
The Canard
also reports on topics affecting the general population: scandals in industriesAn industry is the manufacturing of a good or service within a category. Although industry is a broad term for any kind of economic production, in economics and urban planning industry is a synonym for the secondary sector, which is a type of economic activity involved in the manufacturing of raw...
(workforceThe workforce is the labour pool in employment. It is generally used to describe those working for a single company or industry, but can also apply to a geographic region like a city, country, state, etc. The term generally excludes the employers or management, and implies those involved in...
, safetySafety is the state of being "safe" , the condition of being protected against physical, social, spiritual, financial, political, emotional, occupational, psychological, educational or other types or consequences of failure, damage, error, accidents, harm or any other event which could be...
issues), miscarriages of justiceJustice is the concept of moral rightness based on ethics, rationality, law, natural law, fairness, or equity.-Concept of justice:Justice... concerns the proper ordering of things and persons within a society. As a concept it has been subject to philosophical, legal, and theological reflection and...
, bad behavior of public administrations and services...
As with the British satirical magazine Private EyePrivate Eye is a fortnightly British satirical and current affairs magazine, currently edited by Ian Hislop. Since its first publication in 1961, Private Eye has been a prominent critic of public figures deemed incompetent, inefficient or corrupt, and has become a self-styled "thorn in the side" of...
, it has its own language, jargonJargon is terminology which is especially defined in relationship to a specific activity, profession, or group. In other words, the term most often covers the language used by people who work in a particular area or who have a common interest...
and style. In particular, it has nicknames for politicians and personnalities.
Some examples include:
- Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II...
:
Mongénéral
, Badingaulle
(after 13 May 1958, an allusion to Napoléon III)
François MitterrandFrançois Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand served as the President of France from 1981 to 1995, elected as representative of the Socialist Party . First elected during the May 1981 presidential election, he became the first socialist President of the Fifth Republic and the first left-wing head of...
: Tonton
(the codename used by the Secret Service in charge of his protection)
Valéry Giscard d'EstaingValéry Marie René Georges Giscard d'Estaing is a French centre-right politician who was President of the French Republic from 1974 until 1981...
: Valy
, L'Ex
(after 1981)
Raymond BarreRaymond Octave Joseph Barre was a French centre-right politician and economist. He served as Prime Minister under Valéry Giscard d'Estaing from 1976 until 1981. As a candidate for the presidency in 1988, he came in third and was eliminated in the first round...
: BabarreBabar the Elephant is a very popular French children's fictional character who first appeared in Histoire de Babar by Jean de Brunhoff in 1931 and enjoyed immediate success. An English language version, entitled The Story of Babar, appeared in 1933 in Britain and also in the United States...
Michel DebréMichel Debré was a French Gaullist politician. He is considered the "father" of the current Constitution of France, and was the first Prime Minister of the Fifth Republic...
: L'amer Michel
(from the popular rhyme La Mère Michel
)
Michel RocardMichel Rocard is a French politician, member of the Socialist Party . He served as Prime Minister under François Mitterrand from 1988 to 1991, during which he created the Revenu minimum d'insertion , a social minimum welfare program for indigents, and led the Matignon Accords regarding the status...
: Hamster Jovial
(an allusion to a comic by Marcel Gotlib in reference to his past as a scoutScouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement with the stated aim of supporting young people in their physical, mental and spiritual development, so that they may play constructive roles in society....
)
Robert HersantRobert Hersant was a French newspaper magnate with right-wing political views.- Biography :Hersant was born in Vertou, Loire-Atlantique....
: Le Papivore
Christian EstrosiChristian Estrosi is a French politician, member of the French Parliament , mayor of Nice since 2008. He is a supporter of Nicolas Sarkozy....
: Le Motodidacte
(a reference to his past in motorbike racing)
Jean-Pierre RaffarinJean-Pierre Raffarin is a French conservative politician and senator for Vienne.Jean-Pierre Raffarin served as the Prime Minister of France from 6 May 2002 to 31 May 2005, resigning after France's rejection of the referendum on the European Union draft constitution...
: Le Phénix du Haut-Poitou
Jacques ChiracJacques René Chirac served as the President of France from 17 May 1995 until 16 May 2007. As President he also served as an ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra and Grand Master of the French Légion d'honneur. Chirac was the second-longest serving President of France , behind François Mitterrand...
: Chichi
, Le Chi
Bernadette ChiracBernadette Thérèse Marie Chirac, born Bernadette Thérèse Marie Chodron de Courcel is a French politician and the former First Lady of France. She is married to former President Jacques Chirac....
: Bernie
Nicolas SarkozyNicolas Sarkozy is the 23rd and current President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra...
: Sarkoléon
(A portmanteau of Sarkozy with NapoléonNapoleon Bonaparte later known as Napoleon I, and previously Napoleone di Buonaparte, was a military and political leader of France whose actions shaped European politics in the early 19th century.Born in Corsica and trained as an artillery officer in mainland France, Bonaparte rose to prominence...
)
François HollandeFrançois Hollande is a French politician. From 1997 to 2008, he was the First Secretary of the French Socialist Party...
: Monsieur Royal
(a reference to his one-time life-partner Ségolène RoyalMarie-Ségolène Royal , known as Ségolène Royal , is a French politician. She is the president of the Poitou-Charentes Regional Council, a former member of the National Assembly, a former government minister, and a prominent member of the French Socialist Party...
)
Jean-Pierre ChevènementJean-Pierre Chevènement is a French politician. He was Minister of Defense from 1988 to 1991 and Minister of the Interior from 1997 to 2000. He was a presidential candidate in 2002 and since 2008 has been a member of the Senate....
: Le Che
, the publisher of the Canard
is Michel Gaillard, and the head editors are Claude Angeli and Erik Emptaz. The Canard
's cartoonists include:
- André Escaro
- René Pétillon
René Pétillon is a French satirical and political cartoonist.Pétillon joined Pilote in 1972.Since 1993, he has published cartoons in the Canard Enchaîné and he signs them as Pétillon....
- Cabu
Cabu is a French comic strip artist and carticaturist.He started out studying art at the École Estienne in Paris and his drawings were first published by 1954 in a local newspaper...
- Jacques-Armand Cardon
- Lefred-Thouron
Lefred Thouron is a cartoonist and writer born in Nancy, France in 1961.-Biography:First cartoons published in 1984 in Hara-Kiri. Following, his work will be published in the weekly news magazine L'événement du Jeudi, the daily Libération, 7 à Paris, La Grosse Bertha, the legendary weekly Charlie...
- Delambre (see http://www.delambre-cartoon.com/)
- Martin Veyron
- Kerleroux
- Carlos Brito
Carlos Alfredo de Brito, GCIH is a Portuguese politician. He joined the illegal Portuguese Communist Party during the fascist New State regime , by whom he was imprisoned....
- Wozniak
Woźniak is the 10th most common surname in Poland .Notable people with the Woźniak surname:* Aleksandra Wozniak, a professional tennis player from Canada....
- Guiraud
For the 19th century French composer, see: Ernest GuiraudSaint Guiraud was a bishop of Béziers of the twelfth centuryHe is said to have been the second prior of Cassan Abbey. He served as bishop from 1121 to November 5, 1123...
- Ghertman
- Pancho
Pancho may be:*The shorthand for Spanish name Francisco*Pancho Barnes, aviatrix*Pancho Gonzales and Pancho Segura, tennis players*Pancho Villa, Mexican revolutionary*A character in Plaza Sésamo*Pancho's Mexican Buffet a buffet restaurant chain....
Past cartoonists included:
- Jean Effel
Jean Effel, real name François Lejeune was French painter, caricaturist, illustrator and journalist. Mostly he considered himself to be journalist and political commentator. His pseudonym is created by his initials F. L.- Life :Effel was born in Paris and graduated in art, music and philosophy...
- Moisan
- Jacques Lap
It also publishes a quarterly magazine, Les Dossiers du Canard
, dedicated to one subject, usually one affecting French society, or world events as seen from a French perspective.
The "Plumbers' affair"
On December 3 1973, policeA police service is a public force empowered to enforce the law and provide security through the legitimized use of force.The term is most commonly associated with police services of a state that are authorized to exercise the police power of that state within a defined legal or territorial area of...
men of the Directorate of Territorial Surveillance (DST), disguised as plumberThe word plumber dates from the Roman Empire. In Roman times, some roofs were made of lead, or in Latin . Lead roofs were waterproof, and the workers on such roofs were what are now called "plumbers". Roman baths later used lead for piping and for the main baths...
s, were caught trying to install a spy microphone in the directorial office of Le Canard. The resulting scandal forced
Interior Minister Raymond MarcellinRaymond Marcellin was a French politician.- Biography :The son of a banker, he studied law at the University of Strasbourg and the University of Paris. He worked as a lawyer for three years, before being called into the army in September 1939. He was captured by the Wehrmacht, but managed to...
to leave the government, though it is said that Marcellin was a
scapegoatThe scapegoat was a goat that was driven off into the wilderness as part of the ceremonies of the Day of Atonement, in Judaism during the times of the Temple in Jerusalem...
for other members of the government, especially the Defense Minister, who was intent on knowing the identities of informers for the newspaper.
The Robert Boulin affair
A series of articles accusing long-serving Gaullist minister and possible Prime Ministerial candidate
Robert BoulinRobert Boulin was a French politician who served as Minister of Labour in the French Cabinet and was at the centre of a major real-estate scandal that ended only with his death in mysterious circumstances...
of involvement in dubious real estate deals was followed by Boulin's mysterious death, presumed to be suicide. Following his death, major officials publicly accused Le Canard enchaîné of being morally responsible for Boulin's death, and there were broad hints the government might use the reaction to the Boulin death to seek stricter libel laws, as was done in the 1930s after the suicide of
Roger SalengroRoger Henri Charles Salengro was a French politician. He achieved fame as Minister of the Interior during the Popular Front government in 1936...
.
Jacques Chaban-DelmasJacques Chaban-Delmas was a French Gaullist politician. He served as Prime Minister under Georges Pompidou from 1969 to 1972. In addition, for almost half a century, he was Mayor of Bordeaux and a deputy for the Gironde département.Jacques Chaban-Delmas was born Jacques Delmas...
, then President of the National Assembly, who had been politically identified with Boulin for many years, told a special memorial session of the assembly that it should "draw the lessons of this tragedy, of this assassination." After meeting with President
Valéry Giscard d'EstaingValéry Marie René Georges Giscard d'Estaing is a French centre-right politician who was President of the French Republic from 1974 until 1981...
, Prime Minister
Raymond BarreRaymond Octave Joseph Barre was a French centre-right politician and economist. He served as Prime Minister under Valéry Giscard d'Estaing from 1976 until 1981. As a candidate for the presidency in 1988, he came in third and was eliminated in the first round...
called for "meditation upon the consequences of certain ignominies", and spoke of "a baseness." President Giscard d'Estaing also added to the criticism: Boulin, he said, "was unable to resist the campaign of harassment he was subjected to. Public opinion should severely condemn any other similar campaigns."
Famous investigations
- Marthe Hanau
Marthe Hanau was a Frenchwoman who defrauded French financial markets in the 1930s.Marthe Hanau was born in Lille to a Jewish family of an industrialist. After World War I, after she had divorced businessman Lazare Block, Hanau bought an economic newspaper La Gazette du Franc et des Nations. She...
affair (1928) Albert Oustric affair (1930)
- Stavisky Affair
The Stavisky Affair was a 1934 financial scandal generated by the actions of embezzler Alexandre Stavisky. It had political ramifications for the French Radical Socialist moderate government of the day...
(1934)
- Cardinal Jean Daniélou's death in the house of a prostitute (1974)
- Bokassa's diamonds (1980s)
- The Canard fought to bring to light evidence of alleged corruption during President Jacques Chirac
Jacques René Chirac served as the President of France from 17 May 1995 until 16 May 2007. As President he also served as an ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra and Grand Master of the French Légion d'honneur. Chirac was the second-longest serving President of France , behind François Mitterrand...
's tenure as mayor of Paris. (see: Chirac's role in Parisian corruption scandals)
- Yann Piat Affair (a former Front National
Front National can mean:* Front National , a French political party* Front National , a World War II French Resistance group* Front National , a Belgian political party...
far-right MP, assassinated on February 25, 1994) Contaminated blood scandal (1990s)
- Affair Elf
Elf Aquitaine was a French oil company which merged with TotalFina to form TotalFinaElf. The new company changed its name to Total in 2003...
-DumasRoland Dumas is a lawyer and French Socialist politician who served notably as Foreign Minister under President François Mitterrand from 1984 to 1986 and from 1988 to 1993...
(1998)
- The Canard made efforts to uncover the Nazi
Nazism, known officially in German as National Socialism , is the totalitarian ideology and practices of the Nazi Party or National Socialist German Workers’ Party under Adolf Hitler, and the policies adopted by the dictatorial government of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945.Nazism is often considered...
past of former Paris chief of police Maurice PaponMaurice Papon was a French civil servant, industrial leader and Gaullist politician, convicted for crimes against humanity for his participation in the deportation of over 1600 Jews during World War II when he was secretary general for police of the Prefecture of Bordeaux.Papon also participated...
.
- The revelations of the Canard on Finance Minister Hervé Gaymard
Hervé Gaymard is a French politician and a member of UMP conservative party. He served as the country's Minister of Finances from 30 November 2004 until his resignation on 25 February 2005....
's lavish state-funded apartment led to his resignation in 2005.
Ownership
The Canard
is published by Les Éditions Maréchal - Le Canard Enchaîné
(Maurice and Jeanne Maréchal founded the Canard
), which is privately owned; the main associates are Michel Gaillard (CEO and director of publication), André Escaro, Nicolas Brimo, Erik Emptaz and employees of the newspaper.
Le Canard Enchaîné
in popular culture
L'Armée des OmbresArmy of Shadows is a 1969 French film directed by Jean-Pierre Melville. It is a film adaptation of Joseph Kessel's 1943 book of the same name, which blends Kessel's own experiences as a member of the French Resistance with fictionalized versions of real Resistance members who fought against the...
, directed by Jean-Pierre MelvilleJean-Pierre Melville was a French filmmaker. Born Jean-Pierre Grumbach, he later adopted the pseudonym Melville as a tribute to his favorite American author, Herman Melville.- Biography :...
, the character Luc Jardie (played by Paul Meurisse), while in London during the Occupation of France during World War II, imagines that his fellow countrymen will be truly liberated when they will be able to see American films and reread Le Canard Enchaîné
, alluding to the censorship of the Vichy Regime.
Notable donc coupable(2007) (translation: Well-to-do, hence guilty), the fictional weekly Le Canardeur
is modeled after Le Canard Enchaîné.
External links