La guerre franco-allemande vue par la presse grecque (juillet 1870-avril 1871)

Abstract

The Franco-Prussian war, declared by France against Prussia in July 1870, was one ol the most disastrous in the history of France. The Great Powers saw France as an aggressor, so they all declared a strict neutrality, beginning with Britain. Greece, encouraged by the Great Powers, could not follow a different policy, although there had been some patriots who took the war as an opportunity to promote the “Megali Idea”. As the relations between Greece and the empire of Napoleon III were very tense, it was not difficult for her to insist on the neutrality and regard the war h detachment and moderation. But once Napoleon was taken prisoner at Sedan on the 3rd of September 1870 and democracy was established, public opinion veered in favour of France, while there was a small minority who, being traditionally pro-prussian, supported the prussian cause. As a result of the pro-french feelings we mention a campaign, started by Gennadios, a professor in the University of Athens, aiming at the exhortation of Greeks to fight for the freedom of France. This campaign, especially through the press, was not without success and some thousands of Greeks coming from various social classes, took up arms and volunteered for the french cause. Their act reflects the ideology of some to fight against the tyranny of Napoleon, the feeling of gratitude towards the French Philhellenes who fought for the Greek independence half a century before and a spirit of adventure of others as well. The volunteers, who disembarked at Marseille, were warmly received by local Greeks. The majority of them joined the volunteer corp under Garibaldi, others were placed under General Bourbaki in the army of the East and a group of them participated in the “Francs-tireurs” of Paris. All of them seemed to have fought with some distinction. The way that greek public opinion regarded this war was thoroughly examined in the pages of this article, after the study of fourteen of the most reliable greek newspapers and some others of the diaspora, from July 1870 to April 1871. Although the press was read only by a small part of the Greek population — an “élite” — it reflects in a way, an ideology expressed by the bourgeoisie of that period: for example the liberal and republican part of the greek society who was placed in favour of the french democracy in opposition to the more conservative who preferred to support the Prussians. Above all, however, we are impressed by the particular promotion of the peaceful feelings of the public opinion, which reflects the anxiety of powerless Greece against any cause that could disturb the balance of powers in Europe. Any alteration of the overall “status quo” would mean dangerous changes on the political map of South-East Europe.