1989 in Poland (up to the June Elections) in the Journalism of Le Monde
1989 in Poland (up to the June Elections) in the Journalism of Le Monde

Summary/Abstract: The article aims to show how one of the mostinfluential centre-to-left French journal Le Mondeassessed the political developments in Poland fromthe end of 1988 until the Solidarity victory in theJune elections. The attitude of Le Monde towardsthe changes in the Soviet Union and its externalempire is considered as well but it serves only asa contextual backdrop. The French newspaperobserved the irreversible nature of the ongoingprocesses in the Soviet Union that marked a sig-nificant change in Gorbachev’s foreign policy ap-proach. The political developments of all membersof the Eastern Bloc were closely examined by thedaily but the changing dynamics in the PolishPeople’s Republic directed most of the magazine’sfocus towards the situation in that country. It mayseem astonishing that the journal analysed thepuzzling murders of Polish priests and scrutinisedthe reforms introduced by M. Rakowski in signifi-cant detail. However, these issues were consideredintertwined with the progress of Poland’s politicaltransformation. The agreements made at theRound Table and the results of the June electionswere viewed as significant accomplishments. TheSolidarity was commended for abstaining fromabrupt actions that could threaten the agreement with the authorities. Le Monde opines that suchactions could be hazardous owing to the presentgeopolitical situation and the likelihood of resis-tance within the party.

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