About us
French Prohibition
French Prohibition tells the little-known story of the connections between France and American Prohibition. Through historical investigations, archival research, photographs, and rare documents, the project explores the role of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, the smuggling of alcohol into the United States, and the networks that helped shape one of the largest illicit trades of the 1920s and 1930s.
How American Prohibition Created a Global Black Market
French Prohibition was born from a fascination with a largely forgotten chapter of history: the unexpected links between France and the era of American Prohibition.
When the United States banned the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcohol in 1920, an immense underground market emerged. The demand for liquor fueled a vast international smuggling network that reached far beyond American shores.
Behind the well-known figures of organized crime and the romanticized image of speakeasies lies a much broader story. It is a story involving shipowners, diplomats, merchants, smugglers, and French territories. This overlooked history reveals another dimension of Prohibition and its global consequences.
Saint-Pierre and Miquelon: A Strategic Hub of the Liquor Trade
At the center of this story stands Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, the small French archipelago off the coast of Newfoundland.
During the 1920s and 1930s, the islands became one of the world’s most important hubs for alcohol destined for the United States and a major gateway in the smuggling networks that supplied the American black market.
Despite its small size, Saint-Pierre and Miquelon played an outsized role in one of the most remarkable economic and criminal phenomena of the twentieth century.
Exploring History Through Archives and Forgotten Stories
French Prohibition aims to bring this history to life through historical investigations, archival documents, rare records, photographs, and overlooked narratives.
The project also explores the cultural, political, and economic context of the 1920s and 1930s, seeking to better understand the world in which these events unfolded, from the United States to France and beyond.
By connecting local stories to broader historical movements, French Prohibition sheds light on a remarkable chapter of transatlantic history.
Who Is Yassir Guelzim?
French Prohibition was founded by Yassir Guelzim, a journalist, author, and documentary filmmaker.
For more than twenty-five years, he has worked across print journalism, radio, television, and documentary production.
A former journalist with LCI and contributor to Le Courrier de l’Atlas, he has also worked with France 3, France Inter, France Culture, and RMC Moyen-Orient–RFI.
He is the co-author and co-director of the documentary L’Archipel des Français Libres, broadcast on France 5, and co-author, with Xavier Fréquant, of the book L’Archipel des Français Libres, published by Éditions Mon Autre France.
Throughout his career, he has pursued a common goal: uncovering overlooked stories that help explain the larger movements of history.
French Prohibition extends that mission by creating a space where investigative journalism meets memory, archives, and historical storytelling through the exploration of this little-known Franco-American story.
Because some stories deserve to be rediscovered.