''Le Libertaire'' ('The Libertarian') is a

Francophone The Francophonie or Francophone world is the whole body of people and organisations around the world who use the French language regularly for private or public purposes. The term was coined by Onésime Reclus in 1880 and became important a ...

anarchist newspaper established in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in June 1858 by the exiled

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...

Joseph Déjacque Joseph Déjacque (; 27 December 1821 – 18 November 1865) was a French political journalist and poet. A house painter by trade, during the 1840s, he became involved in the French labour movement and taught himself how to write poetry. He was ...

. It appeared at slightly irregular intervals until February 1861. The title reappeared in

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

in 1892 and was then produced in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

between 1893 and 1894.René Bianco, ''Répertoire des périodiques anarchistes de langue française : un siècle de presse anarchiste d’expression française, 1880-1983'', Aix-Marseille, 1987. In 1895, ''Le Libertaire'' was relaunched as a weekly publication in France by

Sébastien Faure Sébastien Faure (; 6 January 1858 – 14 July 1942) was a French anarchist, convicted sex offender, freethought and secularist activist and a principal proponent of synthesis anarchism. Biography Before becoming a free-thinker, Faure w ...

and in the socially and politically turbulent years that accompanied rapid economic change during the run up to 1914 it became a leading title in a growing field of anarchist newspapers and journals.Jean Maitron, ''Le mouvement anarchiste en France'', Gallimard, coll. « Tel », 1992 ISBN, 2070724980. Publication persisted from 1918 until 1939 and then from 1944 until 1956. ''Le Libertaire returned'' in 1968 and was produced intermittently until 2011, although it was restricted to online publication after 2005. As of 2016, there are reports that it continues to exist as an "internet space".

History

''Le Libertaire'' (New York: 1858–1861)

The first edition of ''Le Libertaire'' was published in New York City. Subtitled ''Journal du Mouvement Social'', it was produced by

, a noted writer and anarchist journalist who had arrived in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

as a political refugee in 1854 in order to escape a prison sentence handed out on 22 October 1851 by a Paris court. Prosecuted originally for "inciting hatred and disrespect for the government, stirring up mutual hatred and contempt between citizens, and for actions defined as crimes under the criminal law" by the government of the short-lived Second Republic, Déjacque had been faced by a tribunal decision to destroy his poetry ''Les Lazaréennes: fables et poésies sociales'', along with two years in prison and a 2,000 franc fine.Fernand Drujon, ''Catalogue des ouvrages écrits et dessins de toute nature poursuivis, supprimés ou condamnés depuis le 21 octobre 1814 jusqu'au 31 juillet 1877'', E. Rouveyre, Paris, 1879, pp. 218–219. In order to escape the fate determined for him by the court, he had initially taken refuge in

and then in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

before moving on to

Jersey Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...

and finally the United States.Gaetano Manfredonia, ''La chanson anarchiste en France des origines à 1914'', Paris, L'Harmattan, 1997, pp. 82–94. Déjacque's republican-socialist beliefs had been shattered by the June Massacres in 1848. He reacted by turning to an uncompromising radicalism that rejected all forms of authority, exploitation and economic privilege. He published ''La question révolutionnaire'' in 1854, a book in which he attacked religion, the family, property rights and government, to set out to demonstrate their "devastating impacts" (''effets dévastateurs''). ''Le Libertaire'' was the journal of a corresponding social movement, giving him the chance to explain the meaning of "true anarchism" (''la vraie anarchie'') and "radical anarchism", set on a foundation of "absolute liberty". In the first edition, he detailed the

libertarian Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according ...

programme as such: "It starts with a single supreme principal: liberty in everything for everyone 'la liberté et en tout et pour tous'' The only authority it acknowledges is the authority of progress. In everything and for everyone it wants to abolish all forms of slavery, and to enfranchise every individual body and soul".Joseph Déjacque, « Le Libertaire », ''Le Libertaire'', New York, 9 June 1858. According to information appearing directly below its title, the New York City version of ''Le Libertaire'' appeared at irregular intervals, but generally once or twice per month. By August 1860, Déjacque had produced 25 editions. ''Le Libertaire'' continued to appear until January or February 1861.

''Le Libertaire'' (Algiers: 1892)

On 27 January 1892, Jean Faure published ''Le Libertaire'' in

. It was described as an "Algerian communist anarchist organ" (''une organe algérien communiste anarchiste''). Seven issues were produced and distributed across the French north African Littoral, from

Oran Oran () is a major coastal city located in the northwest of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria, after the capital, Algiers, because of its population and commercial, industrial and cultural importance. It is w ...

Sfax Sfax ( ; , ) is a major port city in Tunisia, located southeast of Tunis. The city, founded in AD849 on the ruins of Taparura, is the capital of the Sfax Governorate (about 955,421 inhabitants in 2014), and a Mediterranean port. Sfax has a ...

. Apart from the announcements of a few public meetings, very little of the content was concerned with

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

or with social developments locally. Most of the features concerned themes such as anti-militarism, social inequalities, salary exploitation and the

Paris Commune The Paris Commune (, ) was a French revolutionary government that seized power in Paris on 18 March 1871 and controlled parts of the city until 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard (France), Nation ...

.Philippe Bouba, ''Le mouvement anarchiste en Algérie de 1887 à 1926 : presse de propagande et de combat, activités militantes et positions politiques face au fait colonial'', Université d'Oran Es-Sénia, CRASC, Université de Perpignan, CRHiSM, 2011
texte intégral
.

''Le Libertaire'' (Brussels: 1893–1894)

''Le Libertaire'' reappeared in

on 23 October 1893, now appearing twice monthly and carrying the subtitle ''The St-Josse-ten-Noode Socialist-Revolutionary organ'' (''Organe socialiste-révolutionnaire des groupes de St-Josse-ten-Noode''). In this iteration, it was founded by (administration) and Charles Herkelboeck (printing). It was produced along with ''L'Antipatriote'', a similarly focused publication which the two of them had launched in 1892 and which appeared until 1894. On 5 April 1894, Willems and Herkelboeck were indicted for "press crimes" (''délit de presse'') in connection with an article that had appeared in ''L'Antipatriote'' celebrating Auguste Vaillant, who had been guillotined in Paris two months earlier. Vaillant's crime had involved throwing a rather ineffective bomb into the French parliament chamber from its public gallery. Willems and Herkelboeck were found guilty by the

court A court is an institution, often a government entity, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between Party (law), parties and Administration of justice, administer justice in Civil law (common law), civil, Criminal law, criminal, an ...

of the "press crimes" for which they sere charged and condemned to spend four years in prison and pay a 1,000 franc fine.R. D,
Charles Herkelboeck
', Dictionnaire international des militants anarchistes, sur ''militants-anarchistes.info'', 2007. As a result, ''Le Libertaire'' ceased to appear in Brussels after the eleventh edition, dated 10 March 1894.

''Le Libertaire'' (France: 1895–1914)

launched ''Le Libertaire'' in France on 16 November 1895. Widespread reports that

Louise Michel Louise Michel (; 29 May 1830 – 9 January 1905) was a teacher and prominent figure during the Paris Commune. Following her penal transportation to New Caledonia she began to embrace anarchism, and upon her return to France she emerged as an im ...

was a co-founder with Faure may be incorrect, but she certainly collaborated with him in its production. The French version of ''Le Libertaire'' was produced in Paris and Marseilles.Louis Louvet, �
"Les Origines de notre journal, II"
. ''Le Monde libertaire'', sur federation-anarchiste.org, 1965. The first 32 editions of the journal produced in France carried the subtitle ''Established by S.Faure'' (''Fondé par S.Faure''). The paper appeared on a weekly basis between 1895 and 1914 except during an eleven-month hiatus between February and December 1899 when it was replaced by a daily paper entitled ''Le Journal du peuple'' (''The Peoples' Paper''). Starting in August 1899, Faure also produced an illustrated supplementary ''Le Libertaire'' illustré which was produced alongside ''Le Journal du peuple'', continuing to appear after the return of the weekly ''Le Libertaire'' until August 1914, at which point after 960 editions had emerged an end to publication was enforced on account of ''Le Libertaire'''s anti-militarism stance.

''Le Libertaire'' (France: 1917, 1919–1939)

Following a tentative and brief reappearance in 1917, ''Le Libertaire'' returned in 1919 and continued to be published without interruption until 1939 when a return to

war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

forced its suspension. Between December 1923 and March 1925, the paper again switched from weekly to daily publication. In France as in Germany, the aftermath of war was accompanied by a splintering of the political left and the emergence of a substantial communist party. Within the French trades union movement, there was a corresponding split with the creation in 1922 of the

Confédération générale du travail unitaire The Confédération générale du travail unitaire, or CGTU (), was a trade union confederation in France that at first included anarcho-syndicalists and soon became aligned with the French Communist Party. It was founded in 1922 as a confederat ...

(CGTU), a grouping of pro-libertarian, pro-communist factions formerly within the mainstream General Confederation of Labour (CGT). Eventually in 1936, the CGTU merged back into the CGT. In the meantime, under Sebastian Faure ''Le Libertaire'' was firm in its support for the breakaway CGTU.

''Le Libertaire'' (France: 1944–1956)

War ended in May 1945. The first postwar edition of ''Le Libertaire'' appeared on 21 December 1944.Numéros du journal Le Libertaire (1944-1956), Archives Autonomies, 2013
lire en ligne
Subsequent editions were published intermittently and then twice per month, with activities restricted by paper rationing. It returned to weekly publication in April 1946. The first eleven editions after the war included the subheading under the title ''The Federalist organ of the Libertarian Movement'' (''Organe fédéraliste du Mouvement libertaire''). The period became a golden age for ''Le Libertaire''. Contributors included Georges Brassens, who would later become a permanent member of the production team. Others were

Léo Ferré Léo Ferré (; 24 August 1916 – 14 July 1993) was a Monégasque poet and composer, and a dynamic and controversial live performer. He released some forty albums over this period, composing the music and the majority of the lyrics. He released ...

André Breton André Robert Breton (; ; 19 February 1896 – 28 September 1966) was a French writer and poet, the co-founder, leader, and principal theorist of surrealism. His writings include the first ''Surrealist Manifesto'' (''Manifeste du surréalisme'') ...

, Armand Robin and

Albert Camus Albert Camus ( ; ; 7 November 1913 – 4 January 1960) was a French philosopher, author, dramatist, journalist, world federalist, and political activist. He was the recipient of the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature at the age of 44, the s ...

. The French Anarchist Federation, whose members were well represented among contributors to ''Le Libertaire'', underwent a breakup of its own during the early 1950s. In May 1953, after the takeover by the OPB faction and the exclusion or departure of those opposed to it, the residual Anarchist Federation renamed itself as the Federation of Libertarian Communism (FCL) and it was this group within an increasingly fragmented movement that now owned the title ''Le Libertaire''. Starting with issue 378, dated 3 December 1953, the newspaper's front page featured the subtitle ''Organe de la Fédération Communiste Libertaire''. By this time, the war in Algeria was rising rapidly up the political agenda and ''Le Libertaire'' backed independence for Algeria. The FCL now found itself under attack from the government in the courts, and built up a crippling burden of legal indebtedness. Weekly editions of ''Le Libertaire'' disappeared in July 1956, three years after the anarchist schism that had given birth to the FCL and its control of the newspaper. The national council of the FCL resolved to "suspend" ''Le Libertaire'' on 17 July 1956. By that time, edition 486, the final edition of the series, had already appeared on 5 July 1956. The newspaper's role would eventually be taken on by '' Le Monde libertaire'', published by a reconstituted anarchist federation which would take up the torch of ''Le Libertaire''.

''Le Libertaire'' (France: 1968–present)

Between 1968 and 1972, the Federal Union of Anarchists took over the title of ten numbers. In 1977, the title is taken again for a number of mimeographed by the Fresnes-Antony group of the Anarchist Federation. In May 1978, ''Le Libertaire'' reappears, being published by members of the Anarchist Federation in rupture with this last one. In 1979, Jean-Pierre Jacquinot, the editor of ''Le Libertaire'', left this organization and founded with Maurice Laisant and other groups the Union of Anarchists at the Congress of Nevers (November 1979). ''Le Libertaire'' would then be the unofficial organ of this organization. Gradually, the editorial part of the Jules Durand Group became dominant. It was first edited by the Jules Durand groups, Atelier du Soir, Germinal, then Jules Durand and Atelier du soir, then by the Jules Durand group and activists of the Union of Anarchists. At the Congress of Dijon (1993) of the Union of Anarchists, Jean-Pierre Jacquinot is excluded. At the Congress of Saint Léger-les-Vignes (1994), the break is official and the group Jules Durand withdraws from the Union of Anarchists, carrying ''Le Libertaire'' with it. At the General Assembly of Le Havre in September 1995, the publisher group and other activists (former members of the Union of Anarchists, among others) founded the Anarchist Coordination and ''Le Libertaire'' becomes the unofficial organ. In 2001, the group Jules Durand decides to dissolve it, but it continues to claim it. In November 2005, the financial difficulties forced the group to stop publishing ''Le Libertaire''. The newspaper continued its publication via the Internet until at least 2011 and became the "internet space" of the libertarian group Jules Durand16.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Libertaire, Le Anti-militarism Anarchist culture Defunct newspapers published in France French Anarchist Federations Anarchist periodicals published in France Newspapers established in 1858 Newspapers established in 1892 Publications disestablished in 1861