Le Constitutionnel (French pronunciation:[ləkɔ̃stitysjɔnɛl],TheConstitutional) was a French political and literary newspaper, founded inParis during theHundred Days byJoseph Fouché. Originally established in October 1815 asThe Independent, it took its current name during theSecond Restoration. A voice for Liberals,Bonapartists, and critics of the church, it was suppressed five times, reappearing each time under a new name. Its primary contributors wereAntoine Jay, Évariste Dumoulin,Adolphe Thiers,Louis François Auguste Cauchois-Lemaire, as well asAlexander Chevassut and his son-in-lawNicole Robinet de La Serve.
During the 19th century,European monarchs were wary of the press and often suppressed it because they believed it could spark popular uprisings. Newspapers which covered national news were rare and read by few, especially since Germany and Italy were not yet nation-states. According to theEncyclopædia Britannica, "the first signs of a popular press" appeared in Continental Europe withLa Presse in 1836, founded byÉmile de Girardin.[1] At the same time,Louis Véron founded theRevue de Paris in 1829 and revivedLe Constitutionnel in 1835. In 1848, it played a key role in the election ofLouis-Napoleon Bonaparte and was a major government newspaper of theSecond French Empire.
Véron askedCharles Augustin Sainte-Beuve to write a weekly column on current literary topics. Sainte-Beuve called the now-famous collectionCauseries du lundi ("Monday Chats"). His essays appeared inLe Constitutionnel from October 1849 to November 1852 and from September 1861 to January 1867 as well as in other papers. They were ruminations on authors and their works, with an emphasis on French literature.[2] Sainte-Beuve's reputation as one of the most important French literary critics of the day rested on these columns, in which he guided the literary tastes of the populace.[3] Like other papers at the time,Le Constitutionnel had a "literary slant", which covered up their lack of national news, a slant, which according toBritannica, "persists to some degree in the modern era" in French newspapers.[1]
In 1862,Jules Mirès purchased the newspaper as its quality was worsening. Beginning in 1880, it saw a real decline and ceased publication in 1914.
Under the editorship of Louis Véron, from 1844 to 1862, the following works were published serially: