18th-century society was also an information society: street songs, readings aloud in gardens, clandestine gazettes, posters, conversations in literary salons and cafés.... But in pre-revolutionary Paris, a new theatricality of public and political events was emerging. Texts were burnt in public, riots broke out even in theatres, and carnival ceremonies led to violence.... These events, fuelled by rising protests against arbitrary rule, were all harbingers of the Revolution!
With Robert Darnton, Professor Emeritus, European History, Princeton University, author of Humeur révolutionnaire. Paris, 1748-1789 (Editions Gallimard, 2024)
And Valérie Hannin, editorial director, L'Histoire.