Contenu du sommaire

This article analyzes the struggle for municipal power in a French village during the first part of the 20th century through the lens of the relationship between working-class militants and rural elites. It adopts a social and localized historical perspective, with the aim of understanding the political mechanisms of exclusion and upward mobility for the working classes. These mechanisms operate first and foremost at the municipal level—the first rung of the political order— where the legitimization of the ruling classes is established in close proximity with the population, and thus faces the risk of direct contestation. This article examines how socialists and communists challenged and appropriated the municipal arena, as well as the political consequences of their rise when they entered town hall.

Republican symbols such as busts of Marianne have long been the object of intense political struggle. During the Vichy regime, Marianne was among the icons that the most fervent collaborationists sought to eliminate. This led to numerous attacks on Marianne's image, notably through raids on public buildings, where the portrait of Marshal Pétain was substituted for the Republican image. By examining these politico-symbolic actions and the reactions they provoked, we hope to gain a better understanding of the political stakes and the evolution of public opinion during the Occupation.

This article examines the relationship between the Spanish Falange and the European Social Movement (ESM) between 1950 and 1953. Through an analysis of archives from the Servicio Exterior de Falange and declassified CIA reports, this study sheds light on the Falange's stance toward the ESM, oscillating between a willingness to participate and a reluctance to become directly involved. By employing the concept of ambivalence, this article elucidates apparent contradictions and inconsistencies by situating them within a context shaped by Cold War tensions and the post-war redefinition of fascist identity.

Although their profession had existed for over a century, a small group of lifeguards founded the “Association of French Swimming Teachers” (Association des professeurs de natation de France, APNF) in 1927, in order to advocate for the creation of a state-recognized diploma and the exclusive regulation of their professional domain. This article, which focuses on the struggles of this occupational community, highlights how these specialists capitalized on shifting social norms regarding safety in the aftermath of the Second World War. Previously regarded as little more than local news stories, incidents of drowning became a matter of public interest, transforming a precarious and seasonal occupation into a stable, institutionalized sector of public service.

This article focuses on the strategies implemented by petrochemical companies to respond to popular environmental protests in the Lyon chemical corridor in the 1970s. While workers and local residents raised their voices in the early 1960s to challenge certain industrial choices, these protested largely faded by the late 1970s. How were factories responsible for repeated accidents and severe pollution able to remain active —and even become indisputable— in such densely populated areas? The case of the Lyon chemical corridor demonstrates that this persistent presence is the result of active efforts by industrial actors to render pollution invisible and erase public awareness of the risks associated with their activities.

Given that it was a primary target of attacks on civil aviation from the late 1960s onward, the Israeli airline El Al was subject to increased scrutiny at all the airports it served, including Orly airport in France. However, the strategy adopted by the French air and border police to ensure the security of El Al's operations sometimes conflicted with the airline's commercial interests, as the company sought to avoid overly restrictive measures for its passengers. This case thus serves as an example of the search for compromise in establishing aviation security protocols that also consider the needs of commercial airlines in managing their passengers.

Unlike the wars in Indochina or Algeria, the Cameroonian Independence War (1956–1971) was marked by the political and military defeat of nationalist forces. The word maquisard, which forces had initially claimed during the first two years of the conflict, eventually lost its original meaning and became associated with banditry, looting, theft and other violent crimes. This study examines the historical process of this discursive deconstruction.

This paper examines the first institutional crisis experienced by the Francophonie. This crisis unfolded between 1990 and 1991 in the context of major international changes following the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet bloc. This analysis is based exclusively on French presidential archives and records from the Quai d'Orsay. It offers a critical reading of the negotiations that took place between June 1990 and January 1991 to revoke Zaire's hosting of the Francophonie summit, following the dramatic events that took place in Lubumbashi in May 1990.

Fifteen years after the publication of a programmatic article in Vingtième Siècle. Revue d'histoire launching an investigation into the history of international adoption in France, this contribution offers a nuanced account of how to construct a history of the present that is simultaneously situated, scholarly, and ethical. Adopting a reflexive approach, it discusses researchers' positioning in relation to the those directly affected by their subject of study, as well as institutional actors and the media. As experts, historians have moved from the epistemic balcony of historical analysis to the main stage, where all the stakeholders in the world of international adoption interact. This shift raises broader questions about the professional practice of contemporary historians and their social role.

The new questions raised by environmental history have the potential to renew the historiography of cultural practices. This article explores this perspective by proposing avenues for an environmental reading of sports history. Revolutionary changes in transportation, media, and infrastructure made it possible for 20th century sporting events to reach a gigantic scale, leading to increasingly large ecological footprints. Thanks to advances in science and technology, the rise of international sporting competitions also brought about an unprecedented rationalization of athletic training in the name of optimizing performance. As a result, sports institutions have become global environmental actors, facing longstanding challenges and critiques.