Éric Fottorino (born 26 August 1960, in

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...

), is a French journalist and writer. He is the winner of the

Prix Femina The Prix Femina is a French literary prize created in 1904 by 22 writers for the magazine '' La Vie heureuse'' (today known as '' Femina''). The prize is decided each year by an exclusively female jury. They reward French-language works written ...

, 2007, for ''Baisers de cinéma''. After having been a reporter for the daily newspaper ''

Le Monde ''Le Monde'' (; ) is a French daily afternoon newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average circulation of 323,039 copies per issue in 2009, about 40,000 of which were sold abroad. It has had its own website si ...

'', then becoming editor-in-chief and executive editor, he was appointed president of the directory group of the La Vie-Le Monde group in January 2008. He was removed from this latter office in December 2010.

Biography

His biological father, Maurice Maman, was of Moroccan-Jewish origin and was a gynecology student when he met his mother. The ultra-Catholic family of his mother, Monique Charbrerie, was opposed to their marriage. The young Eric was raised without his father. When he was 9, his mother married Michael Fottorino, a physiotherapist. It's at this time that he took the name of Eric Fottorino. It was only years later that he managed to contact his biological father. In 1984, after studies at the Faculty of Law at the

University of La Rochelle La Rochelle Université (''La Rochelle Université'') is a French public university, based in La Rochelle. Founded in 1993, La Rochelle Université belongs to the Academy of Poitiers. In 2021, the university counted nearly 9000 students. La Roc ...

and then at the

Institut d'études politiques de Paris , motto_lang = fr , mottoeng = Roots of the Future , type = Public research university''Grande école'' , established = , founder = Émile Boutmy , accreditation ...

, Eric Fottorino started as a freelance reporter for ''

Libération ''Libération'' (), popularly known as ''Libé'' (), is a daily newspaper in France, founded in Paris by Jean-Paul Sartre and Serge July in 1973 in the wake of the protest movements of May 1968. Initially positioned on the far-left of France's ...

'' and '' La Tribune de l'économie''. He joined the daily newspaper ''

'' in 1986, initially as a news desk editor, tracking records of incoming source material, eventually moving on to work with agricultural and African source material. He then became a

reporter A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

(1995-1997) before becoming

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

in 1998, then a ''chroniqueur'' (a journalist who writes as a specialist in a particular domain) in 2003. After preparing a new format of ''

'', launched in November 2005, he was appointed as the director of publication in March 2006. In June 2007, after the ousting of

Jean-Marie Colombani Jean-Marie Colombani (born 7 July 1948 in Dakar, Senegal) is a French journalist, and was the editor-in-chief of the daily newspaper ''Le Monde'' from 1994 until 2007. Biography Educated at Panthéon-Assas University and Science-Po, he is the ...

following the negative vote of the Society of LeMonde Editors (Société des rédacteurs du Monde or SRM), he was elected director of the journal after receiving over 60% of the votes. On 19 December 2007, he resigned from his position, along with two other board members of the La Vie-Le Monde group,

Pierre Jeantet Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...

and Bruno Patino, due to financial disagreements with the Society of LeMonde Editors (SRM). In a statement to France Inter, he accuses the SRM of "playing the roles of both arsonist and firefighter" calling into question the group's strategy. On 4 January 2008, when Pierre Jeantet and Bruno Patino confirmed their resignations, Eric Fottorino decided not to resign after all. On 5 January 2008, in the newspaper's

editorial An editorial, or leading article (UK) or leader (UK) is an article written by the senior editorial people or publisher of a newspaper, magazine, or any other written document, often unsigned. Australian and major United States newspapers, suc ...

, he explained that he went back on his decision so as not to add another crisis on top of the current one. He also presented himself as a candidate for the post of president of the directory group of the La Vie-Le Monde group, with the support the Editor's Group (SRM), initially for a term of six years. Newly emboldened, he then decided to apply for a full term of ten years, to prevent

Alain Minc Alain Minc (; born 15 April 1949) is a French businessman, political advisor and author. Biography Early life Alain Minc was born on April 15, 1949 in Paris to a family of Jewish immigrants from Poland. His father, Joseph Minkowski, was a denti ...

, the chairman of the supervisory board, from appointing a provisional president. After a first provisional refusal of his application on 14 January, he was finally elected president of the directory group on 25 January 2008, succeeding

. On 15 December 2010, he was dismissed by the supervisory board of ''

''.

Other activities

Between 1992 and 1995, Eric Fottorino was a lecturer at the

(the Political Studies Institute of Paris). An experienced amateur cyclist, Eric Fottorino participated in the

Grand Prix du Midi Libre The Grand Prix du Midi Libre (referred to as just Midi Libre) was a multiple-stage road cycling course in the south of France. The race, named after the newspaper that organized it, was first organized in 1949 and was an important preparation cou ...

in 2001, a mid-mountain cycling event (organized at the time by the La Vie-Le Monde group), an experience he recounts in his books ''Je pars demain'' and ''Petit éloge de la bicyclette''. Eric Fottorino is also known as a

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire to ...

and

essay An essay is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a letter, a paper, an article, a pamphlet, and a short story. Essays have been sub-classified as formal a ...

ist, having received numerous awards for his work, including the ''Prix Europe'' and the ''Prix des Bibliothécaires'' for ''Un territoire fragile'' (2000), the ''Prix François Mauriac'' from the

French Academy French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

(an annual prize for literature established in 1994) for ''Caresse de rouge'' (2004) and the ''

'' for ''Baisers de cinéma'' (2007). On 14 June 2009, he was interviewed by

Catherine Ceylac Katherine, also spelled Catherine, and other variations are feminine names. They are popular in Christian countries because of their derivation from the name of one of the first Christian saints, Catherine of Alexandria. In the early Christ ...

in the show "''Thé ou café''" (Tea or coffee) for the television station

France 2 France 2 () is a French public national television channel. It is part of the state-owned France Télévisions group, along with France 3, France 4 and France 5. France Télévisions also participates in Arte and Euronews. Since 3:20 CET on 7 ...

, whose website states: "to celebrate the release of ''100 récits exceptionnels - Le Monde - les grands reportages 1944 – 2009'' (100 outstanding accounts – LeMonde - major stories 1944 – 2009) published by Éditions Les Arènes and of ''L'homme qui m'aimait tout bas'' published by Gallimard. Additional information: the book ''À chacun son défi'' published by Éditions Solar."

Bibliography

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

: ''Le Festin de la terre'', Lieu commun, 1988, *

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...

: ''La France en friche'' *

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

: ''Rochelle'' *

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

: ''Besoin d'Afrique'' *

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

: ''L'Homme de terre'' *

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

: ''Les Éphémères'' *

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

: ''Aventures industrielles'' *

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

: ''Cœur d'Afrique'' (''Prix Amerigo Vespucci'') *

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

: ''Nordeste''; Gallimard, 2008, *

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

: ''Un territoire fragile''; Gallimard, 2009, (''Prix Europe 1'' et le ''Prix des Bibliothécaires'') *

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

: ''Je pars demain'' *

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

: ''C'est mon tour'' *

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

: ''Caresse de rouge'' (''Prix François Mauriac'' from the

) *

: ''Korsakov'' (Prix des libraires and

Prix France Télévisions The Prix France Télévisions are annual literary awards in France. Since 1995, the national television broadcaster France Télévisions has awarded two prizes, for a novel and an essay. The judging panel consists of 15 television viewers chosen f ...

) *

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

: ''Le Tiers sauvage'' *

: ''Lire tue'', avec Nicolas Vial *

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

: ''Baisers de cinéma'' Gallimard, 2007, (''

'') *

: ''Petit éloge de la bicyclette'' *

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

: ''L'Homme qui m'aimait tout bas'', Gallimard, 2009, *

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

: ''Questions à mon père'' *

: ''Paris Plages : De 1900 à aujourd'hui''

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fottorino, Eric People from Nice 1960 births Living people 20th-century French novelists 21st-century French novelists Prix Femina winners Prix des libraires winners Sciences Po alumni 20th-century French journalists 21st-century French journalists French male novelists French people of Moroccan-Jewish descent Cycling journalists Cycling writers 20th-century French male writers 21st-century French male writers French male non-fiction writers