Book review: from deliberation to demonstration: politicalrallies in France, 1869-1939 by Paula Cossart

This book considers the transformation of political rallies in France from the last years of the Second Empire until the end of the Third Republic. Originally designed by Republicans as a tool of citizenship learning and formation of political opinion through open debate, rallies gradually became a stage dedicated to the show of force, at the initiative of various emerging political formations. From Deliberation to Demonstration offers a much-needed appraisal of an often forgotten, but crucial aspect of political sociability in France, which anyone with a good background knowledge of nineteenth-century French history will enjoy reading, writes Berny Sèbe.