Éditions Golias

Éditions Golias is a French publishing house and press group founded in Lyon in 1994, rooted in a left-wing Catholic tradition. Its origins lie in the review Golias, launched in 1985 by Christian Terras in Villeurbanne, which became known for its critical, secular-minded reading of the Catholic Church and its institutions. The publishing house grew out of that review and now issues books as well as two periodicals: the bimonthly Golias Magazine, descended from the 1985 review, and Golias Hebdo, a weekly founded in 2008. The house is known for its uncompromising investigations into the Catholic far right, the Rwandan genocide, and the advertising industry. Its 1990 Trombinoscope des évêques (a directory of bishops) brought the review wider public attention. In the context of the Rwandan civil war, Golias became a reference from 1995 onward, with its articles inspiring or being reproduced by Rwandan journalists, and its investigations feeding documentary films such as La Machette et le Goupillon. Golias publishes a range of authors including Paul Ariès, Caroline Fourest, René Naba, Jean Cardonnel, and Christian Terras himself. Its name refers to a legendary medieval bishop, Golias, said to have inspired the Goliards, singers critical of the Roman Catholic Church. The house has also been involved in legal proceedings, notably the Videlier affair, in which it was convicted of public defamation in 1998, a conviction upheld on appeal in 1999.

Golias began as a review founded in 1985 by Christian Terras in Villeurbanne, near Lyon. It gained wider popularity after the success of the first edition of the Trombinoscope des évêques (a directory of Catholic bishops) in 1990. The historic review, published since 1985, became the bimonthly Golias Magazine. In 1994, the publishing house Éditions Golias was founded in Lyon, extending the review's activity into book publishing. Since November 2008, the publishing house has also produced Golias Hebdo, a weekly available in print and as a PDF by online subscription. The review has been engaged on issues relating to antisemitism and the history of the Shoah. According to Sophie Noël, a specialist in information science, Golias is a Catholic publishing house that favours a secular and critical reading grid. It publishes uncompromising works on the Catholic far right, on Rwanda, and on the advertising industry. In the context of the Rwandan civil war, Golias became a reference from 1995: articles published in the review inspired Rwandan journalists or were reproduced in full in Rwandan newspapers, including the government newspaper La Nouvelle Relève; circulation also worked in the other direction, with Golias reproducing articles from the Rwandan press. Investigations published by Golias provided material used in several documentary films, such as La Machette et le Goupillon, which denounced the protection enjoyed by a priest of Kigali, Wenceslas Munyeshyaka, from the French episcopate. The name refers to a legendary medieval bishop called Golias, who is said to have inspired the Goliards, singers critical of the functioning of the Roman Catholic Church. In the Videlier affair, concerning a CNRS historian who challenged a colleague, accusing him of past links to a negationist group, the association, as co-publisher of the book Négationnistes : les chiffonniers de l'Histoire (Villeurbanne/Paris, Éd. Golias/Éd. Syllepse, 1997), was convicted on 6 March 1998 by the Tribunal de grande instance de Paris for public defamation of an individual and ordered to pay a fine and damages. On 31 March 1999, the court of appeal upheld the conviction of historian Philippe Videlier, Radio France, the leaders of the Golias association and Éditions Syllepse — publishers of the incriminated book — to the prescribed fines. The court of appeal stated that it was not for it to judge 'the truth or falsity of the allegations concerning the past of François Robert', but that 'the imputation of negationism is defamatory'.

• 2008

  Golias Hebdo weekly launched in November.

• 1999

  Court of appeal upholds the defamation conviction on 31 March.

• 1998

  Convicted of public defamation by the Tribunal de grande instance de Paris on 6 March.

• 1997

  Co-publication of Négationnistes : les chiffonniers de l'Histoire with Éditions Syllepse.

• 1995

  Golias becomes a reference on the Rwandan civil war.

• 1994

  Éditions Golias publishing house founded in Lyon.

• 1990

  First edition of the Trombinoscope des évêques published, bringing wider popularity.

• 1985

  Golias review founded by Christian Terras in Villeurbanne.

Left-wing Catholic publishing house with a secular and critical reading of the Catholic Church and society.

• Golias Magazine

  Bimonthly general information magazine founded in 1985 by Christian Terras; a Christian review 'resolutely anchored on the left', distributed via subscribers and sold in bookshops.

• Golias Hebdo

  Weekly general information publication founded in 2008 by Christian Terras; print edition available only by subscription or via digital edition.

• Trombinoscope des évêques

  Directory of Catholic bishops, first published in 1990, which brought the review wider popularity.

1. 1Éditions Golias - Wikidatawikidata.org
2. 2Golias (maison d'édition) - Wikipédiafr.wikipedia.org