France in the news from yesteryear

I HAVE just spent too long browsing around the Internet Archive, and in particular it's collection of video clips from years gone by.

The news story above dates from 1934 and features the assassination of King Alexander of Jugoslavia and French Foreign Minister Barthou, both shot whilst parading around the streets of Marseilles by Balkan revolutionaries.

The film was produced by Universal Newsreel and has the classic stern voiceover, shaky camera work and crowds of smiling bystanders, but also features the moment the assassin is captured by the crowd and dragged off to be beaten to death.

Who said that news reports of today are more shocking than those of the past?

Although the Internet Archive features a wealth of video, audio and images the News and Public Affairs pages will let you narrow down your search.

Browsing on the keyword France, I was able to watch a number of clips from World War Two as well as news stories featuring Algerian independence and even a state visit by the Shah of Iran in 1961.

(via News Videographer)