The first recorded use of this expression is by French critic, journalist and novelist Alphonse Karr in 1849 in Les Guêpes, a monthly journal he founded: Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.
Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr (1808-1890) was a French novelist, critic and journalist. His father was the German pianist and composer Henri Karr. Jean-Baptiste was educated at the Collège Bourbon in Paris, one of France's oldest and most prestigious schools, where he later taught. Between 1832 and 1880 he published at least a dozen novels. In 1839 he became editor of the daily newspaper, Le Figaro and also launched Les Guêpes, which earned a reputation for its satirical wit.
He moved to Nice in 1855 where he was able to indulge his love of fishing and flower cultivation (according to Wikipedia he "practically founded the trade in cut flowers on the French Riviera").
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