Gérard Holtz (born 8 December 1946) is a French sports journalist.

Early life and education

Gérard Holtz was born in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

and grew up in the area of Belleville. At the age of eight, he nearly died from an accident and contracted

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...

. He was sent until the age of ten in a

sanitorium A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal, make healthy'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, are antiquated names for specialised hospitals, for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often ...

in the department of

Corrèze Corrèze (; oc, Corresa) is a department in France, named after the river Corrèze which runs through it. Although its prefecture is Tulle, its most populated city is Brive-la-Gaillarde. Corrèze is located in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region ...

to be treated. The doctor diagnosed that he will stay with rachitis and will never be able to do sports again. Holtz will later determine that he will do anything else in life to show the contrary. Holtz graduated with a DESS of public law and later studied at the

French Press Institute The French Press Institute (french: Institut français de presse, commonly referred to as "IFP") is a public institution of research and higher education, which has served as the department for communication and journalism studies at Panthéon-A ...

before graduating at the Centre de formation des journalistes (CFJ) of Paris in 1972.

Television career

Holtz attempted the contest for

Europe 1 Europe 1, formerly known as Europe n° 1, is a privately owned radio station created in 1955. Owned and operated by Lagardère Active, a subsidiary of the Lagardère Group, it is one of the leading radio broadcasting stations in France and its pr ...

but was not received. Claire Richet, director of the CFJ, let him join the ORTF in 1972 where he is a reporter for the news for 10 years. From 1976 to 1982, he hosted the daily news before becoming a well-known reporter for the sports on

Antenne 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 ...

in 1982. From 1985 to 1992, he presents ''Stade 2'' where he comments the sport and is well known for his interviews after the race of the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...

since 1985 and the comments of the

Dakar Rally The Dakar Rally (or simply "The Dakar"; formerly known as the "Paris–Dakar Rally") is an annual rally raid organised by the Amaury Sport Organisation. Most events since the inception in 1978 were staged from Paris, France, to Dakar, Senegal ...

since 1994. He retired from covering the Tour de France after the 2016 edition, and during post-race interviews after stage 20 in

Morzine Morzine (; frp, Morzena) is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of south-eastern France. A traditional market town in the heart of the Portes du Soleil, Morzine is dominated by chalets spread across a riv ...

race leader

Chris Froome Christopher Clive Froome ɹɪs fɹuːm (born 20 May 1985) is a Kenyan/British road racing cyclist who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . He has won seven Grand Tours: four editions of the Tour de France (in 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017), one ...

presented Holtz with an autographed yellow jersey as a gift. In 1999, he hosts ''Les cinglés de la télé'' on

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 A ...

, a game show based on television culture. He also co-hosts the ''Téléthon'' with Claude Sérillon and

Sophie Davant Sophie Davant (born 19 May 1963) is a French journalist, television presenter and actress. Early life and education She was born in Bordeaux in the department of Gironde. She graduated with a master of foreign languages in both English and Germ ...

in 1991, 1998, 2002 and 2003. He hosted the ''Journal de 13 heures'' on

between September 2000 and July 2001 but also some of them in the evening. From 2005 to 2008, he hosted again ''Stade 2'' on Sundays on France 2, and right after the 2008 Summer Olympics. During the

, he hosts the ''Avant Tour'' since 2007 and the ''Après Tour'' since 2008 on

. He also hosts the 2012 Summer Olympics on

France Télévisions France Télévisions (; stylized since 2018 as ) is the French national public television broadcaster. It is a state-owned company formed from the integration of the public television channels France 2 (formerly Antenne 2) and France 3 (form ...

Personal life

Gérard Holtz married Marie-Françoise Buart from 1979 to 2006, with whom he has two sons, Julien (born in 1979) and Antoine (born in 1987). He married again on 19 April 2013

Muriel Mayette Muriel Mayette (born 2 May 1964) is a French actress. Life and career At the age of 14, Mayette followed the lectures of Marcel Tassencourt in Versailles. From 1980 to 1982, she studied at the ''National School of Arts and Theatre Technique ...

, the administrator of the Comédie Française.

Honours

Gérard Holtz was named Knight of the National Order of Merit by Nicolas Sarkozy on November 23, 2010.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holtz, Gerard 1946 births Living people French television presenters French sports journalists Journalists from Paris Knights of the Ordre national du Mérite French male non-fiction writers French people of German descent