The first Frenchman in space, the campaign for the Maastricht referendum, the contaminated blood trial, the attack on Jacques Chirac, medals at the Olympic Games... From 1972 to today, L'Express has witnessed, each summer, political events, technological advances, sporting victories or great cultural firsts. Thanks to our archives, we invite you to relive this news by turning the pages of our fifty-year-old weekly. After the summer of 1972 and 1982, place this week in the summer of 1992.
During the summer of 1992, the September 20 deadline was on everyone's mind. The French are called to the polls to decide on the ratification of the Maastricht Treaty. The campaign is in full swing between supporters of yes and supporters of no ranked behind Philippe Séguin, Charles Pasqua or Philippe de Villiers. At the end of August, the outcome of the election is totally uncertain. In the polls, the two camps are practically equal (51% of voting intentions in favor of yes against 49% for no according to L'Express of August 27). Refusing the equation no to Europe = no to Mitterrand, the President of the Republic burst into the campaign on September 3, facing Philippe Séguin, during a televised debate that has remained in the memories.
"In a little over three weeks, the French will have decided for or against the ratification of the Treaty of Maastricht. A choice with serious consequences for them and their children, since the future of relations between the nations of the Old Continent in And yet, never, perhaps, have the voters been so disoriented on the eve of a referendum, dazed by the cacophony of their political cause a cataclysm throughout Europe, while the unconditional no go so far as to denounce the alleged 'evil' nature of the new treaty, our compatriots no longer know which Cassandra to trust. these speeches too often politicized, Manichaean or demagogic, many threaten to shun the consultation. l is more mobilizing. But also because a certain number of voters believe they find there an opportunity to sanction the socialist power in place without waiting for the next legislative elections.
Alain Louyot, L'Express of August 27, 1992
Cover of L'Express of August 27, 1992.
L'Express
Invested by the Democratic Party in mid-July, Bill Clinton is in the lead for the presidential election on November 3. The governor of Arkansas presents himself as the candidate for "change" and "renewal" of America against outgoing President George Bush.
“When the Democratic Party delegates traveled to Madison Square Garden in New York on Monday, July 13, it was to confirm – without delirious enthusiasm – their support for Bill Clinton in the race for the White House. , four days later, a poll gave Clinton a lead of more than 27 points over George Bush, the day after a convention that a presidential candidate had never made such a leap forward. are definitely in good shape: for twelve years, they have never had the impression of being so close to victory. They believe in it." [...]
However, the Democrats would do well to remain vigilant: their current popularity owes much, on closer examination, to the foolishness of their opponents. George Bush, first. His relatives have certainly advised him to campaign discreetly before the convention of the Republican Party, which will be held in a few weeks, in Houston. But the 'discretion' reaches such a level that the chief executive, at this rate, will soon seem to belong, they say over there, to the vegetable world: without ideas, without momentum, without hope. Some conservatives themselves speak of a 'disintegration' of the presidency. [...]
Bush seems unable, for the moment, to make his experience an advantage in the face of Clinton's dynamism. The success of Perot's initiative is also a rejection of the traditional political class. Clinton may be rising in the polls while Bush is falling, but both men still have a long way to go before convincing that either can lead the country effectively."
Marc Epstein, L'Express of July 23, 1992
Article from L'Express of July 23, 1992.
L'Express
The so-called contaminated blood trial opened on June 22, 1992. Four doctors, including Michel Garretta, director of the National Center for Blood Transfusion, faced justice for "deception" and "non-assistance to a person in danger". "Where are the ministers?" exclaims Me Eric Dupont-Moretti on behalf of hemophiliacs on the second day of the trial. It was not until 1999 that Laurent Fabius, former Prime Minister, Georgina Dufoix, Minister of Social Affairs and Edmond Hervé, Minister of Health were judged by the Court of Justice of the Republic. Only Edmond Hervé will be condemned but he will be exempted from punishment. Michel Garretta will be sentenced to the heaviest sentence, four years in prison.
"We are witnessing the most appalling trial this country has ever known - apart from wartime. In front of a simple correctional chamber, justice tries to find out who is responsible, who is guilty of the death, to this day, of 256 hemophiliacs, of the death, announced, of several other hundreds of adults and children.
In writing this enormity that goes beyond understanding, the pen stops, as if seized in the ultimate spasm of a retching. We must face the facts. By disposing of stocks of blood contaminated with the AIDS virus, 'we' knew, feigning doubt, that those who received these transfusions would be doomed and, with them, those to whom the inexorable disease would be transmitted. 'We' also knew that certain techniques could stop the process but 'we' deliberately neglected them. It is entirely possible that, legally speaking, this disgusting act does not meet the definition of poisoning. But for any individual, this inoculation of certain death is called assassination. Did we act with premeditation? Not even. There was no deliberate plan to carry out a murder. In the gradation of horror, there was worse, which bears, and for good reason, no name: a kind of absolute negligence with regard to human life, of cardinal I-don't care. By not granting any importance to the disappearance, accepted as implicit, of one's neighbour, 'one' has committed homicide in its purest form, the one to which a capital letter should be attributed. The unimaginable."
Yann de l'Ecotais, L'Express of July 2, 1992.
After the Barcelona Games, Juan Antonio Samaranch, President of the International Olympic Committee, wants to give new impetus to the Olympic movement. In view of the Atlanta Games, he advocates a tougher selection of athletes, the massive arrival of professional athletes and the elimination of certain so-called "minor" disciplines.
The Spanish delegation marches on July 25, 1992 during the opening ceremony of the Barcelona Olympic Games
afp.com/STF
"To close the Summer Olympics, Barcelona offered a dull ceremony in the Montjuich stadium, without genius. However, in the official gallery, Juan Antonio Samaranch did not hide his satisfaction. After two weeks of competitions in the stadium, the swimming pools and the gymnasiums, it is indeed him, the president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and he alone, the great winner of these 1992 Olympics. While the athletes of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) were ahead of the Americans in the medal rankings, Samaranch was busy behind the scenes. For fourteen days, he watched. And learned a few lessons. For the Olympism of tomorrow. The first evidence: today, philosophy Olympic Games no longer has anything in common with that presented by Baron Pierre de Coubertin when he relaunched the Games in 1894. The notion of amateurism has, for the most part, disappeared. last century by the French baron: 'The important thing is to participate' seems ridiculous and outdated. Barcelona recalled it, Atlanta will confirm it in 1996 in an even more brilliant way.
This is why Juan Antonio Samaranch, who was Spanish ambassador to the USSR and president of the Spanish rink-hockey federation (hockey on roller skates), was categorical last weekend. For the next summer Olympic meeting, the IOC will limit the number of athletes to 10,000. world, and we no longer want sportsmen who come to spend a fortnight's vacation.' Consequence: it is necessary to redefine the program of the Olympic Games and the selection criteria. So preparing for the Olympic revolution."
Serge Bressan, L'Express of August 13, 1992.
Michael Jackson's world tour will stop on September 13 at the Hippodrome de Vincennes. A performance eagerly awaited by the singer's fans. For L'Express, "the King of pop has nothing to envy to the stars of the slipper".
"Four unstoppable pirouettes. The knee touches the shoulder. Released at the second. Arm in semaphore. Baryshnikov? No, Michael Jackson. A hell of a dancer in the skin of a rock star. Live demonstration in the new mega-show associated with the release of his latest album, Dangerous (Sony Music). At the Hippodrome de Vincennes, September 13. The European tour began in Munich, at the end of July. We were there. [...] Michael Jackson paces the stage, caught up by the crossed beams of headlamps and lasers, surrounded by smoke bombs. [...] He gambols jerkily, furiously, ruthlessly. Just to persuade us that he is coming from another planet. Isn't his specialty the moonwalk - this strange walk between forward and backward - inaugurated in 1983 for the video of Billie Jean? History will remember that Fred Astaire asked for the recipe. [...]
L'Express of September 3, 1992.
L'Express
Embellished with undead, werewolves and skeletons, Thriller lives up to the clip. Feet inside-out, kneecaps mounted on ball bearings, kangaroo leaps, halts on points. The King of pop (50 million records sold outside the United States) did not usurp his title of top dancer. 'Yes, Michael Jackson is an avant-garde dancer, and his dancing could be called abstract. Like Merce Cunningham, he demonstrates that movement is a value in itself...' writes Anna Kisselgoff, the New York Times' eminent dance critic. 'I never went a day without dancing,' the beat mutant once said.
Simone Dupuis, L'Express of September 3, 1992.
