''L'Intelligence'' was a French political journal created by republican

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

Albert Laponneraye in 1837. It is regarded by historians as the first

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

periodical.

History

During its brief existence, ''L'Intelligence'' was a popular periodical among not only the working class in major French cities like

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

, but enjoyed substantial popularity in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

as well. Utopian communist

Étienne Cabet Étienne Cabet (; January 1, 1788 – November 9, 1856) was a philosopher and utopian socialist who founded the Icarian movement. Cabet became the most popular socialist advocate of his day, with a special appeal to artisans who were being under ...

, with whom Laponneraye occasionally collaborated, referred to the publication as the 'standard-bearer of the egalitarian party, the communist party.'

Richard Lahautière Auguste-Richard Lahautière (May 21, 1813 – June 27, 1882) (also known as Richard de la Hautière) was a French socialist, journalist, poet and lawyer. He is commonly grouped with Théodore Dézamy, Albert Laponneraye, Jean-Jacques Pillot and o ...

, friend and closest collaborator of Laponneraye, served as editor-in-chief of L'Intelligence. Marie Pierre Gabriel Étienne Choron, a lawyer who would later be elected Mayor of

Soissons Soissons () is a commune in the northern French department of Aisne, in the region of Hauts-de-France. Located on the river Aisne, about northeast of Paris, it is one of the most ancient towns of France, and is probably the ancient capital ...

and a member of the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...

, also served in an editorial position and defended the publication in court.https://maitron.fr/spip.php? Article 28752. CHORON Marie, Pierre, Gabriel, Étienne, version published on February 20, 2009, last modification on February 20, 2009. Following the failed insurrection by the leaders of the

Société des Saisons Groupe Lactalis S.A. (doing business as Lactalis) is a French multinational dairy products corporation, owned by the Besnier family and based in Laval, Mayenne, France. The company's former name was Besnier S.A. Lactalis is the largest dairy pr ...

in 1839, Laponneraye ceased publishing the periodical.

References

{{reflist Communist magazines Socialist magazines Magazines established in 1837 Magazines disestablished in 1839 Defunct political magazines published in France Neo-Babouvism