''Ce soir'' (English: "Tonight"), was a French daily newspaper founded by the

French Communist Party The French Communist Party (, , PCF) is a Communism, communist list of political parties in France, party in France. The PCF is a member of the Party of the European Left, and its Member of the European Parliament, MEPs sit with The Left in the ...

and directed by

Louis Aragon Louis Aragon (; 3 October 1897 – 24 December 1982) was a French poet who was one of the leading voices of the Surrealism, surrealist movement in France. He co-founded with André Breton and Philippe Soupault the surrealist review ''Littératur ...

and

Jean-Richard Bloch Jean-Richard Bloch (25 May 1884 in Paris – 15 March 1947) was a French critic, novelist and playwright. He was a member of the French Communist Party (PCF) and worked with Louis Aragon in the evening daily ''Ce soir''. Early life Jean Bloc ...

History

The newspaper was established on the initiative of the Communist Party general secretary

Maurice Thorez Maurice Thorez (; 28 April 1900 – 11 July 1964) was a French politician and longtime leader of the French Communist Party (PCF) from 1930 until his death. He also served as Deputy Prime Minister of France from 1946 to 1947. Pre-war Thorez, ...

in order to compete with ''

Paris-soir ''Paris-soir'' () was a French newspaper founded in 1923 and published until 1944 when it was banned for having been a collaborationist newspaper during the war. Publication history The first issue of ''Paris-soir'' came out on 4 October 1923 ...

''. The first issue was released on 1 March 1937. The newspaper was under the direction of two famous writers, Louis Aragon who is already known for his membership in the Communist Party became director of the newly established newspaper and Jean-Richard Bloch who was a very close sympathizer of the PCF and will eventually join the party in 1939 became co-director. Although ''Ce soir'' never managed to reach the ''Paris soir'' prints, it managed to reach a circulation of 260,000 by March 1939. Among the famous contributors to the newspaper were René Arcos,

Julien Benda Julien Benda (; 26 December 1867 – 7 June 1956) was a French philosopher and novelist, known as an essayist and cultural critic. He is best known for his short book, ''La Trahison des Clercs'' from 1927 (''The Treason of the Intellectuals'' or ...

Jean Blanzat Jean Blanzat (; 6 January 1906, Domps, Haute-Vienne – 6 November 1977, age 71) was a French novelist and a member of the French Resistance. Biography After a literary debut noticed in the magazine ''Europe'' in 1929 in which he published his ...

Jean Cocteau Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau ( , ; ; 5 July 1889 11 October 1963) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, film director, visual artist and critic. He was one of the foremost avant-garde artists of the 20th-c ...

Lise Deharme Lise Deharme (née Anne-Marie Hirtz; 5 May 1898 – 19 January 1980) was a French writer associated with the Surrealist movement. Biography Deharme was born in Paris in 1898. Her father was a famous doctor. In January 1925, she visited the Paris ...

Robert Desnos Robert Desnos (; 4 July 1900 – 8 June 1945) was a French poet who played a key role in the Surrealist movement. Early life Robert Desnos was born in Paris on 4 July 1900, the son of a licensed dealer in game and poultry at the '' Halles'' ma ...

Luc Durtain André Robert Gustave Nepveu (March 10, 1881, in Paris – January 29, 1959), known under his pseudonym Luc Durtain, was a French poet, novelist, journalist, playwright and a physician by profession. Life Durtain's talents were discovered by Ju ...

Yvette Guilbert Yvette Guilbert (; born Emma Laure Esther Guilbert, 20 January 1865 – 3 February 1944) was a French cabaret singer and actress of the Belle Époque. Biography Emma Laure Esther Guilbert was born in Paris on 20 January 1865 to a modestly w ...

Francis Jourdain Francis Jourdain (2 November 1876 – 31 December 1958) was a French painter, furniture maker, interior designer, maker of ceramics, and other decorative arts, and a left-wing political activist. Early years Francis Jourdain was born on 2 Nove ...

André Lhote André Lhote (5 July 1885 – 24 January 1962) was a French Cubist painter of figure subjects, portraits, landscapes, and still life. He was also active and influential as a teacher and writer on art. Early life and education Lhote was bor ...

Darius Milhaud Darius Milhaud (, ; 4 September 1892 – 22 June 1974) was a French composer, conductor, and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as ''The Group of Six''—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His composition ...

Georges Pillement Georges Pillement (23 March 1898 – 14 April 1984) was a French writer, translator and photographer. He was born in Mayet in the Loire region. He won the Prix des Deux Magots for his novel ''Plaisir d'amour'' in 1937.Tristan Rémy,

Jean Renoir Jean Renoir (; 15 September 1894 – 12 February 1979) was a French film director, screenwriter, actor, producer and author. His '' La Grande Illusion'' (1937) and '' The Rules of the Game'' (1939) are often cited by critics as among the greate ...

Georges Sadoul Georges Sadoul (; 4 February 1904 – 13 October 1967) was a French film critic, journalist and cinema writer. He is known for writing encyclopedias of film and filmmakers, many of which have been translated into English. Biography Sadoul w ...

Elsa Triolet Ella Yuryevna Kagan (; – 16 June 1970), known as Elsa Triolet (), was a Russian-French writer and translator. Biography Ella Yuryevna Kagan was born into a Jewish family of Yuri Alexandrovich Kagan, a lawyer, and Yelena Youlevna Berman, ...

Jean Wiener Jean Wiener (or Wiéner) (19 March 1896, 14th arrondissement of Paris – 8 June 1982, Paris) was a French pianist and composer. Life Wiener was trained at the Conservatoire de Paris, where he studied alongside Darius Milhaud, and worked wit ...

. Well known professional editors of the newspaper were

Édith Thomas Édith Thomas (23 January 1909 – 7 December 1970) was a French novelist, archivist, historian, and journalist. A bisexual pioneer of women's history, she reputedly inspired a character of the erotic novel ''Story of O''.Dorothy Kaufmann, ''É ...

Simone Téry Simone Téry (January 28, 1897 – December 12, 1967) was a French journalist who wrote several books and was a war correspondent. She wrote for ''L'Humanité'', ''Vendredi'', and ''Regards''. She reported on the Irish Civil War, interwar France, ...

and

Andrée Viollis Andrée Viollis (9 December 1870 – 9 August 1950) was a French journalist and writer. A prominent figure in news journalism and major reporting, she was an anti-fascist and feminist activist who was part of the French group associated with the ...

. The

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

was covered by eighteen journalists and reporter-photographers. The big names in left-wing journalism follow one another to describe and illustrate the struggles on the Republican faction. Among them were Édith Thomas, Andrée Viollis, Simone Téry, already mentioned and

Louis Parrot Louis Parrot (28 August 1906 – 24 August 1948) was a French poet, novelist and journalist. Louis Parrot was born in Tours and came from a family of laborers and artisans. He became an apprentice at 12 years old, first in a bank and then in ...

, Stéphane Manier, Georges Soria, Renaud de Jouvenel. Special Envoys of ''Ce soir'' were photographers who would later become famous for their coverage of the Spanish Civil War,

Gerda Taro Gerta Pohorylle (1 August 1910 – 26 July 1937), known professionally as Gerda Taro, was a German War photography, war photographer active during the Spanish Civil War. She is regarded as the first female Photojournalism, photojournalist to hav ...

, who was killed in the

Battle of Brunete The Battle of Brunete (6–25 July 1937), fought west of Madrid, was a Republican attempt to alleviate the pressure exerted by the Nationalists on the capital and on the north during the Spanish Civil War. Although initially successful, the R ...

in July 1937,

Robert Capa Robert Capa (; born Endre Ernő Friedmann, ; October 22, 1913 – May 25, 1954) was a Hungarian-American war photographer and photojournalist. He is considered by some to be the greatest combat and adventure photographer in history.Kershaw, Al ...

and Chim, aka

David Seymour David Breen Seymour (born 24 June 1983) is a New Zealand politician who has served as the 21st deputy prime minister of New Zealand since 2025 and as the 1st minister for regulation since 2023. A member of the ACT Party, he has served as its ...

. The newspaper which was considered to be an organ of the French Communist Party the daily was banned on 25 August by French authorities in 1939, along with ''

L'Humanité (; ) is a French daily newspaper. It was previously an organisation of the SFIO, ''de facto'', and thereafter of the French Communist Party (PCF), and maintains links to the party. Its slogan is "In an ideal world, would not exist." History ...

'' and all of the party's publications because they were suspected of supporting

Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, officially the Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and also known as the Hitler–Stalin Pact and the Nazi–Soviet Pact, was a non-aggression pact between Nazi Ge ...

. The newspaper did not officially resume publication until 1944 under the editorship of

who was a pre-war editor of the newspaper. Louis Aragon re-assumed the position of director of the newspaper. He was succeeded by Bloch, however after his death in 1947 Aragon became the sole director of the newspaper. After the eviction of Communist ministers and the beginnings of the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

, gradually there was a call into questioning the existence of the newspaper, whose administration was similar with that of ''L'Humanité.'' In 1947, the headquarters of the two newspapers are united in the same building. The daily, which lost its autonomy, is then caught in a spiral of decline. On 28 February 1953 the newspaper ceased publication.Date of end of publication in accordance with the testimonies of Raymond Lavigne, then head of the political service, and of Pierre Daix, editor-in-chief and deputy director of the newspaper

Chief editors

* Elie Richard (1937–1939) *

(1944) * Gilbert Badia (1945–1949) * André Stil (1949–1950)

References

{{Authority control Newspapers established in 1937 Publications disestablished in 1953 Defunct newspapers published in France Communist newspapers French Communist Party