The Papon trial: analyzing the media coverage of historian’s expertise

Abstract

During the Papon trial were cited to appear historians as expert witnesses. The general presshighlighted the fi gure of the historian-expert positively due to his eff ort to carry out in good terms the claim. Th en, in "specialized" journals, a deep disagreement arose regarding the historian expertise. To clarify the causes and bases of this diff erence, we must analyse one ofthree relevance points identifi ed by Patrick Charaudeau: the discourse construction point. The set confi rms a rather forgott en evidence by the press studies: the treatment of an event, here linked to History, depending of factors beyond the fr amework wich assumes in a given period.