The Telegraph: First Information Revolution

France's communications innovation began with the Revolution itself. In 1792, Claude Chappe demonstrated his "tachygraphe" (later renamed télégraphe) to the Legislative Assembly. Using mechanical semaphore arms mounted on towers, operators could relay messages across France in hours rather than days. The first line, connecting Paris to Lille, carried news of military victories to boost revolutionary morale.

The optical telegraph network eventually stretched over 5,000 kilometers, connecting major cities and frontiers. It represented the world's first telecommunications network, predating electrical telegraphy by decades. The system's design—standardized equipment, trained operators, coded messages—established principles that would guide all subsequent communications networks.

Napoleon recognized the strategic value immediately, using the telegraph to coordinate his far-flung armies. But the technology also had civilian applications. Stock prices, lottery results, and commercial information flowed across the network. The government monopoly on telecommunications, established to control this powerful technology, would shape French communications policy for two centuries.

Women played crucial but unrecognized roles in early telecommunications. The "demoiselles du téléphone"—young women who operated telephone switchboards from the 1880s onward—became icons of modernity. Their work required technical skill, discretion (they could hear all conversations), and diplomatic ability to manage impatient callers. By 1900, telephone operating was one of the few technical professions open to women, providing economic independence and social mobility.