Dictionary Definition
devoir n : formal expression of respect
User Contributed Dictionary
see devoirs
English
Pronunciation
/dəˈvwɑː/Noun
- Duty, business; something which one
must do.
- 1603, John Florio, translating Michel de Montaigne, Essays,
vol. 1 p. 149:
- he imprint not so much in his schollers mind [...] where Marcellus died, as because he was unworthy of his devoire he died there [...].
- 1885, Sir Richard Burton, The Book of the Thousand Nights and a
Night, vol. 1:
- Then quoth the portress to the mistress of the house, "O my lady, arise and go to thy place that I in turn may do my devoir."
- 1603, John Florio, translating Michel de Montaigne, Essays,
vol. 1 p. 149:
Pronunciation
- /dǝvwaʁ/, /d@.vwaR/
Noun
fr-noun mConjugation
See also
Extensive Definition
Le Devoir is a French-language
newspaper published in
Montreal
and distributed in Quebec and the rest
of Canada.
It was founded by journalist, politician and nationalist
Henri
Bourassa in 1910. It is a respected, intellectual newspaper
of record in Quebec.
In recent times, Le Devoir has favoured sovereignty
for Quebec and social
democracy. It is noted for being the only independent
large-circulation newspaper in Quebec amongst a market dominated by
the media
conglomerates of Gesca
Limitée (including La
Presse) and Quebecor
(including
Le Journal de Montréal).
Le Devoir is effectively the French language
equivalent to national newspapers such as The
Globe and Mail and the National
Post, although it has only a modest circulation outside of
Quebec and tends to focus largely on the events and issues shaping
Québécois society.
History
Henri Bourassa, a young and promising Liberal Party MP from Montreal, rose to national prominence in 1899 when he resigned his seat in Parliament in protest at the Liberal government's decision to send troops to support the British in the South African War of 1899-1902. Bourassa was opposed to all Canadian participation in British wars and would go on to become a key figure in fighting for an independent Canadian foreign policy. He is considered both a forebear of French Canadian nationalists as well as a Canadian nationalist more generally. He was also an early promoter of the bicultural Anglo-French conception of Canada, and an impassioned advocate for the political and cultural equality of all French Canadians within Confederation, wherever they may reside.In 1910 he founded Le Devoir as an
outlet for his anti-imperialist Ligue
nationaliste and to fight for the rights of French Canadians
within Confederation. In its maiden edition, published January 10,
1910, Bourassa explained the name and mission of the newspaper
thus: "To ensure the triumph of ideas over appetites, of the public
good over partisan interests, there is but one means: awake in the
people, and above all in the ruling classes, a sense of public duty
in all its forms: religious duty, national duty, civic duty."
Bourassa headed the newspaper until August 3,
1932 when he
was replaced by Georges
Pelletier. After the death of Pelletier in early 1947, the role
of editor-in-chief would pass to Gérard
Filion, ex-editor of La Terre de chez nous, under whose reign
the paper would publish highly controversial critiques of Maurice
Duplessis's government in Quebec by journalists and figures
such as André
Laurendeau. Claude Ryan,
a federalist,
took the helm in 1964, followed by Jean-Louis Roy in 1980 and
Benoit Lauzière in 1986. In 1990 the paper got its first woman
editor-in-chief when Lise
Bissonnette succeeded Lauzière, firmly establishing the paper's
sovereignist orientation following the federalist years of Ryan and
his successors. She would continue on in her post until 1998, with
the current editor-in-chief, Bernard Descôteaux, taking over the
following year.
While the paper has in recent times becomes
associated with the Quebec nationalist movement, it is important to
note that Bourassa himself was in fact opposed to the notion of a
separate territorial entity for the majority French-speaking
province, believing instead in an Anglo-French conception of Canada
in which French-speaking Canadians would see their culture
recognized as equal and protected and encouraged from coast to
coast. Instances of this view can be found in both his campaign for
Franco-Ontarian rights as well as his ardent opposition to
controversial priest and historian Lionel
Groulx in the 1920s following Groulx's musing on the
possibility and desirability of a separate Quebec state. . This
said, the history of Le Devoir would
become characterized by varying phases (as well as shades) of
French Canadian and later Québécois nationalism, opening its pages
in the troubled 1930s to Groulx and his followers, yet seeing a
federalist at its helm in 1964 in the form of Claude Ryan, who in
1978 would go on to become leader of the federalist Quebec
Liberal Party.
Ideologically, Le Devoir has
been a chief voice against military intervention and in favour of
pacifism and social
democracy, opposing conscription in World War
II (see
Conscription Crisis of 1944) and endorsing, under federalist
Ryan's tenure, the election of René
Lévesque's new socialist-inspired Parti
Québécois in the
1976 election, despite its platform centred on Québécois
nationalism. Generally considered one of the best and most
prestigious newspapers in Canada - as well as the paper of the
Québec intellectual class - it has gained a particularly strong
reputation for its excellent international coverage and insightful
and poignant commentary.
Business
It has a relatively low circulation of about 34,000 on weekdays and 58,000 on Saturdays, but is widely considered very influential and the most respected intellectual newspaper of Quebec. Its financial situation has often been precarious, and recent years are no exception: in 2002, it had revenues of $14,376,530, with a meagre profit of $13,524, while the previous year it had made a small loss.Other information
The newspaper's slogan is "Fais ce que dois" (Do what [you] must). "Le Devoir" means "the duty" in French. In 1993 and 1994, the Society of News Design called Le Devoir the world's most beautiful newspaper.Editors-in-chief
- Henri Bourassa (1910–1932)
- Georges Pelletier (1932–1947)
- Gérard Filion (1947–1963)
- Claude Ryan (1963–1978)
- Jean-Louis Roy (1980–1986)
- Benoît Lauzière (1986–1990)
- Lise Bissonnette (1990–1998)
- Bernard Descôteaux (1999–current)
Contributors
Notable contributors have included the following.See also
External links
devoir in German: Le Devoir
devoir in Spanish: Le Devoir
devoir in French: Le Devoir