Part 1: Madeleine Riffaud – A female journalist and a brave Communist fighter
.jpg)
French journalist Madeleine Riffaud. Source: https://special.nhandan.vn/Madeleine-Riffaud-1/
In examining the topic of “Journalism and War,” one is often confronted with the question: given that war involves at least two opposing sides, does journalism maintain a similar duality in its representation? Nevertheless, drawing from the empirical realities of the wars in Vietnam and Indochina, instigated by the governing powers of France and the United States, it can be asserted that journalism, by and large, fundamentally aligned itself with a singular perspective – that of truth, justice, and the nation resisting what was deemed an unjust war.
After the Second World War, the world entered a prolonged period of ideological, military, and political confrontation between the two superpowers – the United States and the Soviet Union – commonly referred to as the Cold War, which lasted from 1947 to 1991. Between 1945 and 1964, the media underwent significant expansion, marked by the advent of radio and television, which facilitated broader dissemination of international affairs. Nevertheless, this flow of information was subject to strict control by political authorities. As a result, coverage of the war in Vietnam during its early stages was similarly constrained, and global public awareness of the war during this period remained relatively limited.
In the late 1950s, the French media remained notably silent regarding the developments in Vietnam. Within the editorial offices of Parisian newspapers between 1955 and 1960, the war attracted minimal interest. The limited information available was primarily derived from sparse official communiqués from Saigon or a handful of aerial photographs depicting rural landscapes – marked by the golden tons of rice fields, the white glow of phosphorus, and the crimson blaze of napalm bombs engulfing forests – yet these stark realities went unacknowledged by the French press. Nevertheless, for the French Communist Party, progressive organizations, and the peace-loving segment of the French population, the war in Vietnam was perceived as akin to the war once waged by Nazi Germany on French soil. To them, each photograph, each poem, and each frame of film served as a symbolic bullet in the fight against the aggressor. As with their counterparts from other nations, French female correspondents braved the dangers of the Vietnamese battlefield to observe and report on the combat – undertaking a perilous and demanding role traditionally dominated by men. Among these pioneering women, Madeleine Riffaud stood out as one of the first female journalists to report directly from Vietnam.
Born on August 23, 1924, in the village of Arvillers, located in northern France, Madeleine Riffaud demonstrated a profound inclination for poetry from a young age and initially aspired to follow in the footsteps of her parents, both of whom were devoted educators. However, her ambition to pursue her parents' profession, coupled with her desire to discover a means of using poetry to bring about change in the world around her, was ultimately unfulfilled. In 1939, as a high school student, she faced numerous personal challenges and witnessed the tumultuous historical events unfolding in France. She contracted tuberculosis, and her family was forced to evacuate in order to escape the German occupation. Despite these hardships, the young woman made the resolute decision to join the French Resistance. In 1941, Madeleine Riffaud commenced her medical studies in the Isère region of southeastern France, before later continuing her education in Paris. During the same year, while evacuating her grandparents along a road frequently subjected to German air raids, she was unexpectedly struck in the back by a German soldier, who sought to expedite her movement. This incident proved to be a turning point for the 17-year-old, motivating her to enlist in the Resistance movement dedicated to liberating France. As she later recalled, “That moment determined the course of my entire life.” After enduring an illness that required her to care for herself for an entire year, Madeleine Riffaud resumed her engagement in resistance activities in 1942. By day, she was a student; by night, she was a resistance fighter. Her first resistance alias was “Rainer,” chosen in homage to the Austrian poet Rainer Maria Rilke, whom she greatly admired. Madeleine later explained, “It was a German name because we were not fighting against the German people, but against the army of the Nazi regime that was occupying everywhere.”
At the beginning of 1944, Madeleine Riffaud was admitted to the French Communist Party. Upon becoming a member of the Francs-Tireurs et Partisans (FTP) resistance movement against Nazi Germany, she distinguished herself as one of the most courageous and exemplary revolutionaries in France during the Second World War.
On July 24, 1944, Madeleine Riffaud shot and killed a German officer on the Solferino Bridge, which spans the Seine River in Paris. This act represented an exceptional display of bravery and posed an immense challenge for a young woman engaged in the resistance. Shortly thereafter, she was arrested by the Gestapo – the secret police of Nazi Germany – subjected to weeks of torture without yielding, sentenced to death, and ultimately rescued on August 15, 1944, a mere six days before the sentence was to be carried out. Remarkably, during the period in which she awaited execution, she maintained an unwavering sense of optimism and composed numerous poems exalting life. These verses circulated among her fellow prisoners and were widely read. One of her poems reads: “These men will kill me/ But comrades, do not kill them/ When they are defeated, like a weasel caught in a trap/ Tonight, I am overwhelmed with emotion/ My heart holds only love/ Oh, indescribable love…”.
On August 1, 1944, Madeleine Riffaud rejoined the forces engaged in the liberation of Paris. On her 20th birthday, August 23, 1944, her resistance group launched an assault and successfully captured 80 Nazi German soldiers. For her bravery and unwavering willingness to volunteer for the most challenging missions, she was honored by General Charles de Gaulle and awarded a medal for valor. When offered further commendation and a promotion, Madeleine Riffaud humbly replied, “I have done nothing extraordinary”.
Following the liberation of France, Madeleine Riffaud, guided by an unwavering belief that writing could contribute to changing the world and embodying the spirit of a resistance fighter, embarked on a career in journalism. She worked for Ce Soir (This Evening), the magazine La Vie Ouvrière (Workers’ Life), and later for the daily newspaper L'Humanité (Humanity), the official organ of the French Communist Party.
.jpg)
Madeleine Riffaud was honored to have an audience with President Hồ Chí Minh on September 19, 1966. Source: https://nhandan.vn/mung-chien-si-vi-hoa-binh-madeleine-riffaud-tron-100-tuoi-post826318.html
In 1964, while serving as a journalist for L'Humanité, the official newspaper of the French Communist Party, Madeleine Riffaud was specially dispatched to Vietnam to report on the resistance efforts of the liberation forces. During her time in Vietnam, she came to be affectionately known by the Vietnamese people as “Chị Tám Madeleine” (Sister Tám Madeleine)..
In the summer of 1946, President Hồ Chí Minh visited France as a distinguished guest of the French Government. During this time, the young journalist Madeleine Riffaud, then a reporter for the daily newspaper Ce Soir, was introduced by fellow journalist Andrée Viollis – author of the book Indochine S.O.S. (published in 1935) – to attend a press conference in Fontainebleau (France). At this event, Madeleine had the honor of meeting President Hồ Chí Minh, who affectionately referred to her as his “daughter,” a moment she cherished with immense pride. This encounter at the Fontainebleau Conference in 1946 profoundly influenced her and ultimately inspired her to travel to Vietnam, where she stood in solidarity with the Vietnamese people in their struggle against American military forces.