The ‘responsibility’ of the author, like that of the publisher, has a long history made up of battles fought in defence of the freedom to create against all forms of power. (Gisèle Sapiro)
The meandering history of censorship and the relations between publishers and governments - which we cannot imagine ever really coming to an end - is also a ‘history of silence’. (Jean-Yves Mollier)
The years after the Second World War saw the dawn of a new epoch for consumer publishing in France, which, due to new arrivals, a new reading public, new editorial genres and increasing competition, was obliged to restructure.
At that time, the State strengthened its direct control over books in an entirely new way. In the name of a certain morality, viewed as a quintessential quality, certain works deemed to be shocking were disqualified on societal grounds.