Although Lippmann has been the journalist of the “American Century” and that he is still well known in communication studies because of his Public Opinion, his book the Phantom Public has not been taken for what it really is: the Prince of the 20th century. To introduce the translation to the French, a long foreword has been written to establish Lippmann’s credentials and to highlight why his devastating critique of the illusions of democracy as it has been thought in the Continental tradition, does not preclude a deep conviction for democracy. On the condition of modifying deeply what is meant by “the public” which bears no resemblance with the Public represented by a government. This long paper is a sequel of the introduction to Making Things Public (96) which was dedicated to Lippmann’s phantom.