Le Canard enchaîné Free Man") which was forced to close by government censorship and reacted upon its reopening by changing its name to "L'homme enchaîné" ("The Chained-up Man"); "Le Canard enchaîné" means "The chained-up duck", but "canard" (duck) is also French slang for "newspaper"; it was also a reference to French journals published by soldiers during World War I. The weekly was founded in 1915 by and his wife , along with H. P. Gassier. It changed its title briefly after World War I to "Le Canard Déchaîné" ("The duck unbound", or "out of control"), to celebrate the end of military censorship of
Le Canard enchaîné of its focus on scandals in French governmental and business circles, although it does also cover other countries. Although they became more aggressive during François Mitterrand's presidency, major French newspapers are traditionally reluctant to challenge government corruption or pursue embarrassing scandals (the rationale being that revealing political or business scandals only profits extremists on the far-left or far-right); hence, the "Canard" fills that gap. The "Canard" publishes insider knowledge on politicians and leaks from administration officials, including information from whistle-blowers. Generally, the "Canard" is well informed about happenings within the world of French politics. Its revelations have sometimes brought about