The Republican Imaginary: Hegemony and its Reproduction

The photograph in Marianne first appeared in Paris-Soir on the evening of 7 February 1934 (Fig. 1). It was perhaps there that Rim first encountered it and it is quite possible that his narrative was constructed around the suggestive detail of the discarded hat. Yet this detail probably remained submerged for most viewers. The photograph was first reproduced with ten others on the back page of Paris-Soir. Here the caption identified the scene as taking place close to the Hotel de Ville, whilst other captions indicated the Boulevard de Sebastopol and the Avenue des Champs-Elysees; the suite of images served to show the extent of the rioting in central Paris. On 7 February then, it was the extremity of the violence that was the salient fact. This was not because street violence was exceptional at this moment. There had been a good deal of unrest in the previous weeks, prompted by the political corruption revealed during the investigation of the financial dealings of one Alexandre Stavisky. Violence was exceptional on 7 February because of its consequences. The front page of Paris-Soir carried news of the riot and also announced that Edouard Daladier had resigned as president of cabinet. The violence had brought down the government.