Ten years earlier, on July 15, 1949, the French parliament had voted into law its own version of the Comics Code, aimed at protecting children, albeit with a twist. Even though its second article stipulated that “no picture, no story, no column, no heading, no insertion would put in a favourable light banditry, lying, theft, laziness, cowardice, hatred, debauchery or any other acts acts as deemed crimes or offenses that would demoralize childhood or youth”, the law also decreed that at least 25 % of all creative work in magazines for young people should be by French authors.

As a result of this, the number of American comics and newspaper strips on the French market dwindled, but also the influence of Catholic organisations in the publication and distribution of comics and children’s magazines became quite considerable. A series like La Compagnie des Castors – the Beaver Patrol, about the wholesome adventures of a group of boy scouts  -  by Michel Tacq, was published in Spirou to please the members of the Commission for the Law of 49 (see Actua BD’s article here).

(Bob Dalton is sent to Boot Hill, one of the examples of cartoon ‘violence’ the 1949 law disapproved of, from Morris & Goscinny’s Lucky Luke, published Dupuis, pic borrowed from Actua BD)

Magazines like Spirou and Tintin, originally of Belgian origin, gave French authors, like Tibet or Jean Graton, a break to meet the 25 % rule, but the law also had its influence on the content of the stories. The cases of Lucky Luke being censured for killing the original Daltons, or the commission denouncing the Marsupilami for being totally preposterous, have become legendary.

The repressive effect of the law dwindled after the 1960, when magazines like Hara Kiri paved the way for comics aimed at a more mature audience. Still, the Law of 1949 is probably one of the more important factors in the development, in terms of quantity and content, of the famed Franco-Belgian tradition.

More on the law of 1949 can be found in the excellent book, On tue à chaque page, edited by Pascal Ory, Thierry Crépin, and Thierry Groensteen (1999), that I was referred to by Didier Pasamonik’s article at Actua BD, referred to above.

Wim Lockefeer lives in Belgium and the only code he applies to his comics reading is simply ‘is it good?’; you can read more of Wim’s thoughts on comics and art on his Ephemerist blog.