What revolutionary newspaper did Jean-Paul Marat edit?

Jean-Paul Marat edited the revolutionary newspaper L’Ami du peuple, meaning “The Friend of the People.” It became one of the most influential and confrontational papers of the French Revolution.

Marat began the publication in September 1789, initially calling it Le Publiciste parisien before changing the title after its early issues. Writing from Paris, he attacked royal officials, moderate revolutionaries, ministers, and anyone he believed threatened popular sovereignty.

The paper appealed especially to urban workers and the sans-culottes. Its fiery articles often named alleged enemies and demanded decisive action, helping make Marat a powerful voice among radical revolutionaries. Government attempts to suppress the paper forced him into hiding at various times, but publication continued whenever he could arrange a press.

After the monarchy fell in August 1792, Marat renamed the journal Le Journal de la République française. That later title can cause confusion, but the newspaper most directly associated with Marat—and the canonical answer to this question—is L’Ami du peuple. Marat was assassinated by Charlotte Corday on July 13, 1793.