[SARS epidemic in the world, from March to July 2003: what lessons can be learned from press coverage?]

In the period from March to July 2003, the French and international press published a great deal of information and news about the first occurrence of the global SARS epidemic, due to its threat on numerous developed or lesser developed countries. The author collected all of the available French daily newspapers, dating from March 17 to July 31, 2003, and in particular every edition of the five national papers relaying any information on the epidemic covered on the front page. The review and study of these papers' headlines highlight the intense media coverage given in the French press primarily from April to May 2003, accompanied by an evolution of the themes being tackled above all which concerned the world-wide alert from WHO which originally comprised the countries of the East (mainly China) as well as Canada, European countries (including France) and finally whose scale reached that of global proportions. Due to this situation, certain countries adopted more drastic protective measures.