Press and elections in the French revolution of 1848: The case of Lyon

The French legislative election of April 23, 1848, was one of the first examples of a ritual that has become central to modern democracy: the consecration by a population of a new political order to replace a fallen regime. The newspaper press played a major but little-studied role in ensuring that the election was held relatively smoothly and that the results were generally accepted by the population. This case study, based on the press of Lyon, France's second largest city, shows, however, the role of the press in 1848 was very different from what it had been in 1830. Despite many years of preparation, the republican opposition journalists of 1848 were resoundingly disavowed by the voters, whereas papers representing the conservative parties and the democratic-socialist movement were more successful in promoting their candidates.