Le Figaro is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It was named after Figaro, a character in a play by polymath Beaumarchais (1732–1799); one of his lines became the paper's motto: "Without the freedom to criticise, there is no flattering praise".
Michel Houellebecq is a French author of novels, poems and essays, as well as an occasional actor, filmmaker and singer. His first book was a biographical essay on the horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. Houellebecq published his first novel, Whatever, in 1994. His next novel, Atomised, published in 1998, brought him international fame as well as controversy. Platform followed in 2001. He has published several books of poetry, including The Art of Struggle in 1996.
The Prix Décembre, originally known as the Prix Novembre, is one of France's premier literary awards. It was founded under the name Prix Novembre in 1989 by Philippe Dennery. In 1998, the founder resigned after he disapproved awarding of the prize to Michel Houellebecq's novel Atomised. The prize then got a new patron – Pierre Bergé – and a new name: Prix Decembre.
Emmanuèle Bernheim was a French writer. She was the daughter of art collector André Bernheim and sculptress Claude de Soria. In 1993 she won the Prix Médicis with her book Sa femme. She wrote the screenplay of feature films Swimming Pool (2003) and 5x2 (2004), both directed by François Ozon. She lived in Paris and also worked for television. In 1998 she wrote Vendredi soir, a novel that was adapted into a film by Claire Denis in 2002. She also worked with Michel Houellebecq on a film adaptation of his novel Platform.
Benoît Duteurtre was a French novelist and essayist. He was also a musical critic, musician, producer and host of a radio show about music. He spent his time between Paris, New York and Normandy.
The École nationale supérieure Louis-Lumière offers theoretical, practical as well as technical and artistic education and training for those wishing to go into the various branches of the audiovisual industry in France.
Louise Bourgoin is a French actress.
The Albert Londres Prize is the highest French journalism award, named in honor of journalist Albert Londres. Created in 1932, it was first awarded in 1933 and is considered the French equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize. Three laureates are awarded each year. The three categories are : "best reporter in the written press", "best audiovisual reporter" and "best reporting book".
Pierre-René Lemas is a French civil servant. He served as the Chief of Staff of the French President, François Hollande from 2012 to 2014. He has served as the Chairman of the Caisse des dépôts et consignations since 2014.
Danseur étoile or danseuse étoile, literally "star dancer", is the highest rank a dancer can reach at the Paris Opera Ballet. It is equivalent to the title "Principal dancer" used in English or to the title "Primo Ballerino" or "Prima Ballerina" in Italian.
Stéphane Jean-Abel Michel Charbonnier, better known as Charb, was a French satirical caricaturist and journalist. He was assassinated during the Charlie Hebdo shooting on 7 January 2015.
Bernard Henri Maris, also known as "Oncle Bernard", was a French economist, writer and journalist who was also a shareholder in Charlie Hebdo magazine. He was murdered on 7 January 2015, during the shooting at the headquarters of the magazine in Paris.
Patrick Buisson was a French right-wing essayist, journalist and political advisor. He was a journalist for Minute, Valeurs Actuelles and Le Crapouillot as well as La Chaîne Info. He wrote several books about Vichy France, the Algerian War and the Indochina War. The founder and co-owner of Publifact, a polling agency, he was a key advisor to former President Nicolas Sarkozy from 2006 to 2012, during which time he surreptitiously recorded private conversations he had with the president. He was the co-presenter of Historiquement show, a television program on Histoire, a subsidiary of the TF1 Group, which he chaired.
Rama Ayalon is an Israeli French-to-Hebrew translator. She has translated more than 100 books of classic and contemporary literature in the fields of prose, philosophy, and psychoanalysis. Her translations include important philosophical works such as Pensées by Blaise Pascal and Totalité et infini by Emmanuel Lévinas. Among the prose authors she has translated are Michel Houellebecq, Georges Simenon, Marguerite Duras, Guy de Maupassant, Romain Gary, Milan Kundera, Delphine de Vigan, and Leïla Slimani.
Marie-Claire Pauwels was a French journalist, the daughter of Suzanne Brégeon and Louis Pauwels. In April 1980, she launched the magazine Madame Figaro of which she became the first editor-in-chief and received the Prix Roger Nimier in 2003 for her autobiographical work Fille à papa.
Fabienne Servan-Schreiber is a French film and television producer. She is the founder and president of Cinétévé, a production company.
Claire Guion-Firmin is a French Saint Martinois politician. She was elected to the French National Assembly on 18 June 2017, representing the department of Saint Barthélemy and Saint Martin.
Annihilation is a novel by Michel Houellebecq, published on 7 January 2022 by Éditions Flammarion. An English translation by Shaun Whiteside was published in 2024.
Camille Kouchner, is a lawyer, French academic and lecturer in private law. With her book, La familia grande, she initiated the Duhamel scandal.
Michel Houellebecq is a French writer and occasional actor, film director and singer.
