First World War.com - Vintage Video - Public Reaction in Paris to Declaration of War, 1914

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Public reaction to news of the outbreak of war in Paris, August 1914 Vintage Video: Public Reaction in Paris to Declaration of War, 1914
Updated - Saturday, 29 November, 2003

As elsewhere in Europe, reaction to the news of war on the streets of Paris was ecstatic. So much so indeed that it caught the government by surprise; with the assassination days earlier of prominent socialist leader Jean Jaures some feared revolution was in the air.

Such fears were swept away in the almost universal initial enthusiasm for the conflict against Germany. This was, after all, France's first opportunity to revenge her humiliating defeat at the hands of Germany in the 1870-71 war - and to reclaim the lost territories of Alsace and Lorraine.

Click here to view footage of the public reaction to news of the outbreak of war in Paris (Windows Media, 21 seconds, 288KB).

A "chit" was British slang for a piece of paper.