23 février 1892
22 septembre 1985
Tabouis, Geneviève (1892-1985)
Geneviève Tabouis (née Le Quesne) est l'une des premières femmes journalistes à se faire connaître du grand public en France. Journaliste spécialisée dans les relations internationales, elle travaille d'abord dans la presse écrite puis connaît une grande notoriété après la Seconde Guerre mondiale à la radio, sur les antennes de la RTF puis de Radio Luxembourg. Auteur de treize ouvrages, elle s'illustre également par ses talents d'essayiste.
Issue d'un milieu bourgeois, Geneviève Le Quesne naît à Paris le 23 février 1892. Son père, Fernand Le Quesne, artiste peintre, quitte le foyer familial alors que Geneviève n'est âgée que de 7 ans. Elle est élevée par sa mère, Berthe Le Quesne (née Lafosse), fille d'un industriel fortuné. Elle grandit entourée de son frère cadet, Raymond, sa mère, et la famille de sa tante Eugénie Lafosse, épouse de l'ambassadeur Jules Cambon. Geneviève Tabouis reçoit une éducation soignée au couvent de l'Assomption, rue de Lubeck. Elle suit ensuite les cours de l' École du Louvre où elle se spécialise dans l'Égypte ancienne. Elle y obtient son diplôme à 20 ans, en 1912. Outre cette éducation classique, Geneviève Le Quesne est profondément marquée par les étroites relations qu'elle entretient avec son oncle Jules Cambon et le frère de celui-ci, Paul. Tous deux ambassadeurs, ils forment très tôt la jeune Geneviève à la politique internationale. Elle visite à de nombreuses reprises son oncle à Madrid puis à Berlin où il est en poste jusqu'au déclenchement de la Première Guerre mondiale. En 1919, Jules Cambon engage sa nièce en tant que secrétaire pour l'accompagner tout au long des négociations du traité de Versailles. Pour la jeune femme le pas est franchi et sa passion naissante pour le journalisme prend le dessus sur l'Égypte antique. La fréquentation de Jules et Paul Cambon lui offre très vite un formidable carnet d'adresses qui lui permettra longtemps d'accéder de façon privilégiée aux personnalités politiques majeures de son temps. Son biographe, Denis Maréchal, précise ainsi qu'elle était admise, grâce à l'entremise de Jules Cambon, à la loge élyséenne de la Chambre des députés. Édouard Herriot, qu'elle accompagnera souvent dans ses voyages politiques, est un ami de la famille.
Geneviève Le Quesne épouse Robert Tabouis en 1916. Le couple aura deux enfants, François, né le 5 mars 1917, et Rosine, née le 17 août 1920. A partir de 1922, Geneviève Tabouis devient correspondante de La Petite Gironde puis du Petit Marseillais auprès de la Société des Nations (SDN). Elle y suit les négociations internationales et s'engage dans l'Association internationale des journalistes accrédités auprès de la SDN en tant que vice-présidente. Sa notoriété ne cesse de grandir, ce qui lui permet d'être engagée en 1930 ou 1933 par le quotidien à succès L'Œuvre, pour y tenir des chroniques de politique étrangère. Elle y connaît ses plus grands succès de journaliste de presse écrite. Le 17 décembre 1935, elle dévoile, en même temps que son collègue Pertinax à L'Écho de Paris, les dessous du plan de partage de l'Éthiopie élaboré par Pierre Laval et Samuel Hoare. Ce scoop apporte une grande renommée à leurs auteurs. L'année suivante, Geneviève Tabouis annonce, deux jours avant sa réalisation, la réoccupation allemande de la Rhénanie. De nouveau, en janvier 1937, elle dévoile en avant-première les plans d'Hitler en Espagne. Ses articles font preuve d'une grande lucidité envers le danger que représente le régime nazi. Ils lui valent d'être à plusieurs reprises prise à partie par la presse allemande et par Hitler lui même lors d'un discours qu'il prononce le 1er mai 1939. Le 14 juin 1940, alors que les Allemands entre dans la ville, Geneviève Tabouis fuit Paris en automobile et suit le Gouvernement à Bordeaux. A peine arrivée, on lui fait comprendre que ses prises de position font peser sur elle un grand danger. Menacée d'arrestation au même titre que ses collègues Buré et Pertinax, elle décide de quitter le territoire, suivant ainsi les conseils du Gouvernement. A l'invitation de Londres, elle choisit la Grande-Bretagne. Elle n'y reste cependant que quelques semaines, durant lesquelles elle se brouille avec le général De Gaulle, qui lui reproche son absence de soutien officiel (elle redoute les conséquences que son engagement pourraient avoir sur sa famille restée en France). Elle est également reçue par le Premier ministre britannique Winston Churchill, qui la convainc de rejoindre les États-Unis. Il espère qu'elle pourra y soutenir la cause de l'entrée en guerre de Roosevelt aux côtés des Alliés. Débarquée à New-York à la fin du mois de juillet 1940, Geneviève Tabouis restera en exil aux États-Unis durant 5 ans. Elle y rencontre le président Roosevelt et noue une très forte amitié avec son épouse Eleanor. Durant cette période, Geneviève Tabouis parcoure l'Amérique du Nord en tant que conférencière et tente de porter auprès de la société américaine le message d'une intervention dans la guerre. Elle débute également à New-York sa carrière de journaliste radio sur les antennes de la section française de La Voix de l'Amérique. Mais la grande aventure de la journaliste aux États-Unis est la naissance du journal Pour la victoire, qu'elle crée et dirige de 1942 à 1945 aux côtés de plusieurs de ses compatriotes en exil, notamment l'ancien député et journaliste Henri de Kérillis. Déchue de sa nationalité par le régime de Vichy et brouillée avec les gaullistes, elle ne parvient à rentrer d'exil qu'à l'été 1945.
Sans plus aucun repère dans cette France en reconstruction, elle débute difficilement une nouvelle carrière. De retour en France, Geneviève Tabouis est éditorialiste à L'Aurore et à France libre (1945-1949), à L'Information (1949-1956), dont elle dirige le service de politique étrangère, puis à Paris-Jour (1959-1972). À partir de 1956, elle collabore également à La Dépêche du Midi. Elle écrit beaucoup, écrit pour de nombreux journaux ( L'Espoir, La Revue des Deux mondes ou encore Juvénal), mais de façon plus irrégulière, et ne parvient pas toujours à placer ses papiers. Sa signature n'est plus aussi considérée qu'avant guerre. Petit à petit, elle se lance alors dans le journalisme de radio. Ses chroniques radiophoniques lui valent une notoriété auprès du grand public que le presse écrite ne lui a jamais procurée. Intervenant fréquemment sur les ondes de la RDF (Radio diffusion française), de la RTF puis de l'ORTF, elle connait un très grand succès en tant qu'éditorialiste à Radio Luxembourg puis RTL. Elle y présente des chroniques de politique étrangère à succès, les « Dernières nouvelles de demain » (1949-1967), les « Nouvelles exclusives » (1964-1966) et « l'Inédit du dimanche » (1967-1981). Geneviève Tabouis a publié des ouvrages historiques tels que Le Pharaon Tout Ank Amon, sa vie et son temps (1928), Nabuchodonosor et le triomphe de Babylone (1931), Salomon (1934), Albion perfide ou loyale (1938), Jules Cambon par l'un des siens (1938), Quand Paris résiste, de Jules César à Bismarck (1951) et Sybaris, les Grecs en Italie (1958), des mémoires ( Ils l'ont appelée Cassandre (1942)), ou des essais politiques comme Chantage à la guerre (1936), Grandeurs et servitudes américaines (1945), Vingt ans de suspense diplomatique (1958), Les Princes de la paix (1980).
Âgée de 93 ans, Geneviève Tabouis meurt à Paris le 22 septembre 1985.
Robert Tabouis est un industriel français né à Paris le 22 avril 1889. Fils de Charles Tabouis, avocat parisien, il fait des études de droit aux Facultés des lettres et de droit de Paris. Mobilisé en 1915, il est d'abord chef du service du courrier au sous-secrétariat de l'aéronautique militaire, avant de devenir ensuite sergent-major à la 3e compagnie d'aviation jusqu'en 1919. Il épouse Geneviève La Quesne le 15 février 1916. Robert Tabouis débute sa vie professionnelle en tant que secrétaire général dans une société appartenant aux établissements Bréguet. Dès 1921, il entame une brillante carrière dans le domaine naissant de la radiodiffusion privée. Il entre, grâce au réseau de l'ambassadeur Jules Cambon, oncle de son épouse, à la Compagnie Radio-France, créée l'année précédente par l'ingénieur Émile Girardeau. Il devient rapidement vice-président de Radio-France, poste qu'il occupe jusqu'en 1960. Il devient parallèlement secrétaire-trésorier du Syndicat professionnel des industries radio-électriques (1923-1938) et directeur général de la Compagnie française de radiophonie (Radio-Paris) (1929-1933). De 1932 à 1938, il dirige la Société pour la diffusion des arts, chargée de l'organisation du salon de la TSF. De 1946 à 1960, suivant une nouvelle fois Émile Girardeau, il devient secrétaire général puis directeur de la Compagnie générale de télégraphie sans fil. De 1953 à 1963, il est administrateur à Radio Luxembourg et vice-président directeur général de Radio-Orient. Robert Tabouis décède à Paris le 3 décembre 1973.
Was this content helpful? Let Archives Portal Europe and the archival institution know what you think.
Feedback is sent directly to the institution holding this material and should preferably be submitted in English or in the language of the institution, if possible. The institution will aim at getting back to you as soon as possible to help you with your request, though you might need to allow between two and four weeks for this depending on the current workload at the institution.
Please select amongst the relevant tips we can help with. If you still have questions, please do not hesitate to contact us, and we will be in touch as soon as possible.
Starting your search here will include all content available in Archives Portal Europe. Simply enter your keyword(s) and hit the search button. Wrap fixed expressions in quotation marks, e.g. “French Revolution”. Check the box to “Search each term separately” in case you are looking for documents containing at least one word, but not necessarily all keywords; this will also allow you to search for the same term in multiple languages at the same time (e.g. “French Revolution” “Révolution Française”). You can also use wildcards - find more about Research Tools here. If you would like to use more specific settings, try our Advanced search
The additional advanced search options give you the possibility to focus your search in:
When searching with multiple terms at the same time, wrap fixed expressions in quotation marks (e.g. "French Revolution"), or check the box "Search each term separately" in case you are looking for either one term of the other. This will also allow you to search for the same term in multiple languages (e.g. "French Revolution" "Révolution française"). You can also choose one of the suggestions matching your search term once you start typing.
This will only show results that include documents that have been digitised and are available online
Use this option to search only one or more keywords, rather than all of them
Select where your search terms should appear specifically inside the archival description:
You can filter results by selecting where your search terms appears specifically inside the archival description:
You can filter results by selecting where your search terms appears specifically inside the description of the archive:
Please note that this filter will only include institutions, for which a type has been provided as part of their descriptions:
Enter a start and/or end date in the format DD-MM-YYYY, i.e. 01-01-1900 for 1 January 1900. This will allow you to focus your search on a specific period of time. You can use the calendar function or type directly in the text field. The checkbox "Exact date search" concentrates the search on one specific date.
Check "View in context" to view the results in the hierarchical structure of archives.
For more details see Research Tools
Please sign in to save your searches.
A holdings guide is an overview of the collections and fonds of one archival institution.
A finding aid is a structured description of archival materials per collection or fonds up to item level.
You can filter results by selecting one or more countries of interest. You can also combine this filter with other filters. Your filter selection will appear above. Click "Clear filters" to see all results matching your initial search request again.
You can filter results by one or more holding archival institutions. You can also combine this filter with other filters. Your filter selection will appear above. Click "Clear filters" to see all results matching your initial search request again.
You can select to view results from a specific Finding Aid, i.e., a structured description of archival materials per collection or fonds up to item level. You can also combine this filter with other filters. Your filter selection will appear above. Click "Clear filters" to see all results matching your initial search request again.
You can filter by type of descriptive document:
You can also combine this filter with other filters. Your filter selection will appear above. Click "Clear filters" to see all results matching your initial search request again.
You can filter results by selecting "Fonds description" for a general overview or "Other descriptions" for item level. You can also combine this filter with other filters. Your filter
selection will appear above. Click "Clear filters" to see all results
matching your initial search request again.
You can filter results by selecting only those containing digital objects, i.e. the link to the digitised version of the archival material you are looking for. You can also combine this filter with other filters. Your filter selection will appear above. Click "Clear filters" to see all results matching your initial search request again.
You can filter results by type of digital object you are interested in:
You can also combine this filter with other filters. Your filter selection will appear above. Click "Clear filters" to see all results matching your initial search request again.
You can filter results based on the date of creation of the archival material (which may differ from the time period you are interested in - e.g., philosophers from the Enlightenment period reflecting on classic thinkers)
Please note that not all documents contain a machine-readable date. More information here
You can filter results based on the date of creation of the archival material (which may differ from the time period you are interested in - e.g., philosophers from the Enlightenment period reflecting on classic thinkers). This filter will only include materials with "Full dates", i.e. those that include date information available for date-based searches. You can either search for a specific date of interest or focus step by step on the time span of a century, decade, year or month. When searching for a specific date, enter the date in the format DD-MM-YYYY, i.e. 01/01/1900 for 1 January 1900, via the calendar function or by typing directly in the text field.
This filter concentrates on the earliest dates mentioned in the materials.
You can filter results based on the date of creation of the archival material (which may differ from the time period you are interested in - e.g., philosophers from the Enlightenment period reflecting on classic thinkers). This filter will only include materials with "Full dates", i.e. those that include date information available for date-based searches. You can either search for a specific date of interest or focus step by step on the time span of a century, decade, year or month. When searching for a specific date, enter the date in the format DD-MM-YYYY, i.e. 01/01/1900 for 1 January 1900, via the calendar function or by typing directly in the text field.
This filter concentrates on the latest dates mentioned in the materials.
You can filter results based on the language in which the material is written. Please note that this filter will only include materials where specific language information has been provided by the institution and is therefore in a machine-readable format. You can also combine this filter with other filters. Your selection will then be displayed above the search results (see "Search filters"). Clicking "Clear filters" will remove your selection and you will see all results matching your initial search request again.
You can filter results by selecting one or more topics of interest. Please note that this filter will only include materials where the topic has been assigned and is therefore in a machine-readable format. Read how to assign a topic to documents on the Topics page. You can also combine this filter with other filters. Your selection will then be displayed above the search results (see "Search filters"). Clicking "Clear filters" will remove your selection and you will see all results matching your initial search request again.
You can filter results by selecting where your search terms appears specifically inside the archival description:
You can also combine this filter with other filters. Your selection will then be displayed above the search results (see "Search filters"). Clicking "Clear filters" will remove your selection and you will see all results matching your initial search request again.
You can filter results by type of entities:
You can filter results based on the language in which the material is written. Please note that this filter will only include materials where specific language information has been provided by the institution and is therefore in a machine-readable format. You can also combine this filter with other filters. Your selection will then be displayed above the search results (see "Search filters"). Clicking "Clear filters" will remove your selection and you will see all results matching your initial search request again.
You can filter results based on the type of holding institution. Please note that this filter will only include institutions, for which a type has been provided as part of their descriptions.
Write your message in your own language and use this drop-down menu to have your message translated into English or in the language of the institution for a swifter response. By checking this box and selecting a language you will send your original message along with the translated version
What kind of suggestion would you like to make?
This is a test area to fill out all the copyright details for Attribution Creative Commons Licence
This object is not or no longer protected by copyright and has been labelled with the Public Domain Mark. It can be used by anyone without any restrictions.
This object is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Public Domain Dedication. All possible existing rights in the content are waived, and the object can be used by anyone without any restrictions.
This object is made available under the terms of the Creative Commons - Attribution (BY) licence. You can copy, redistribute, remix, tweak, and build upon the licensed object, even
commercially, as long as you attribute the rights holder as described
in the licence.
This is a test area to fill out all the copyright details for Attribution Creative Commons Share Alike Licence
This is a test area to fill out all the copyright details for NoDerivs
This is a test area to fill out all the copyright details for NonCommercial
This object is in the public domain, but has been digitised as the outcome of a public-private partnership, where the terms of the contractual agreement limit commercial use for a certain period of time. You can copy, redistribute, remix, tweak, and build upon the object for non-commercial use only.
This object has been
identified as an Orphan Work in the country of first publication and in
line with the requirements of the national law implementing Directive
2012/28/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October
2012 on certain permitted uses of orphan works.
You are free to use this object in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. Please note that you are responsible for your own use, including the need to obtain other permissions e.g. with regard to publicity, privacy or moral rights.
This object is in the public domain, but is subject to known legal restrictions other than copyright which prevent its free re-use. Please contact the providing institution for more information.
This object is currently in copyright. Please contact the providing institution for more information and in order to acquire additional permissions for re-use.
The copyright status of this object has not been evaluated yet. Please contact the providing institution for more information.
You are free to use this object in any way that is permitted by the
copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. Please note that you are responsible for your own use, including the need to obtain other permissions e.g. with regard to publicity, privacy, or moral rights.
This object is currently in copyright and the rights holder(s) have allowed re-use for educational purposes only. You are free to use this object in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. Please note that you are responsible for your own use, including the need to obtain other permissions e.g. with regard to publicity, privacy or moral rights.
Please contact the providing institution for more information and in order to acquire additional permissions for any other uses.
This object is made available under the terms of the Creative Commons - Attribution, ShareAlike (BY-SA) licence. You can copy, redistribute, remix, tweak and build upon the licensed object, even for commercial purposes, as long as you attribute the rights holder as described in the licence, and you license your adaptations of the object under the same terms.
This object is made available under the terms of the Creative Commons - Attribution, ShareAlike (BY-SA) licence. You can copy, redistribute, remix, tweak and build upon the licensed object, even for commercial purposes, as long as you attribute the rights holder as described in the licence, and you license your adaptations of the object under the same terms.
This object is made available under the terms of the Creative Commons - Attribution, No Derivates (BY-ND) licence. You can copy and redistribute the object, even
commercially, as long as no alteration is made to the object and you attribute the rights holder as described in the licence.
If you remix, transform or build upon the object, you may not distribute the modified material.
This object is made available under the terms of the Creative Commons - Attribution, Non-Commercial (BY-NC) licence. You can copy, redistribute, remix, tweak, and build upon the licensed object for non-commercial use only and as long as you attribute the rights holder as described in the licence.
This object is made available under the terms of the Creative Commons - Attribution, Non-Commercial, ShareAlike (BY-NC-SA) licence. You can copy, redistribute, remix, tweak, and build upon the licensed object for non-commercial use only, as long as you attribute the rights
holder as described in
the licence, and as long as you license your adaptations of the object under the same
terms.
This object is made available under the terms of the Creative Commons - Attribution, Non-Commercial, No Derivates (BY-NC-ND) licence. You can copy and redistribute the object for non-commercial use only, as long as no alteration is made to the object and as long as you attribute the rights
holder as described in
the licence.
If you remix, transform or build upon the object, you may not distribute the modified material.
This object is in the public domain, but has been digitised as the outcome of a public-private partnership, where the terms of the contractual agreement limit commercial use for a certain period of time. You can copy, redistribute, remix, tweak, and build upon the object for non-commercial use only.
This object has been
identified as an Orphan Work in the country of first publication and in
line with the requirements of the national law implementing Directive
2012/28/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October
2012 on certain permitted uses of orphan works.
You are free to use this object in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. Please note that you are responsible for your own use, including the need to obtain other permissions e.g. with regard to publicity, privacy or moral rights.
This object is in the public domain, but is subject to known legal restrictions other than copyright which prevent its free re-use. Please contact the providing institution for more information.
This object is currently in copyright. Please contact the providing institution for more information and in order to acquire additional permissions for re-use.
The copyright status of this object has not been evaluated yet. Please contact the providing institution for more information.
You are free to use this object in any way that is permitted by the
copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. Please note that you are responsible for your own use, including the need to obtain other permissions e.g. with regard to publicity, privacy, or moral rights.
This object is currently in copyright and the rights holder(s) have allowed re-use for educational purposes only. You are free to use this object in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. Please note that you are responsible for your own use, including the need to obtain other permissions e.g. with regard to publicity, privacy or moral rights.
Please contact the providing institution for more information and in order to acquire additional permissions for any other uses.