Hala Salamé, known as Léa Salamé (born 27 October 1979), is a Lebanese-born French journalist.

Early life

Hala Salamé is the daughter of

Ghassan Salamé Ghassan Salamé ( ar, غسان سلامة; born 1951) is a Paris-based Lebanese academic. He served as the Lebanese Minister of Culture from 2000 to 2003. He was the Dean of the Paris School of International Affairs (PSIA) and professor of Inte ...

, former Lebanese Minister of Culture and former special advisor to UN Secretary-General

Kofi Annan Kofi Atta Annan (; 8 April 193818 August 2018) was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh secretary-general of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. He was the founder ...

; her mother, Mary Boghossian, of Armenian descent, is the sister of diamond dealers Jean and Albert Boghossian. She escaped war in Lebanon with her family, settled in Paris at age 5 and obtained French nationality at age 11. Léa Salamé studied law at Panthéon-Assas University and

Sciences Po , motto_lang = fr , mottoeng = Roots of the Future , type = Public university, Public research university''Grande école'' , established = , founder = Émile Boutmy , a ...

. She spent a year at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

, where she was injured in the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...

Career

Salamé began her career as an intern on

La Chaîne parlementaire La Chaîne parlementaire (French for ''The Parliamentary Channel'') is a French television network created, along with its sister station Public Sénat, by law on 30 December 1999. It films and broadcasts live and recorded debates twenty-four ho ...

with

Jean-Pierre Elkabbach Jean-Pierre Elkabbach (born 29 September 1937) is a French journalist. Biography Elkabbach was born to an Algerian Jewish family in Oran in 1937, then the prefecture of the ''département d'Oran'' in French Algeria. He began his journalisti ...

. In September 2006, she started working for newly created French international news TV channel

France 24 France 24 ( in French) is a French state-owned international news television network based in Paris. Its channels broadcast in French, English, Arabic, and Spanish and are aimed at the overseas market. Based in the Paris suburb of Issy-les-M ...

. Salamé joined i>Télé in late 2010 and hosted a political show in the context of the

2012 French presidential election Presidential elections in France, Presidential elections were held in France on 22 April 2012 (or 21 April in some overseas departments and territories), with a second round Two-round system, run-off held on 6 May (or 5 May for those same territ ...

. Starting in September 2011, she hosted the evening news with Marc Fauvelle and in September 2012, a political debate programme. The next year, she hosted ''Ça se dispute'' with

Éric Zemmour Éric Justin Léon Zemmour (; born 31 August 1958) is a French far-right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political ...

and Nicolas Domenach as commentators. In August 2014, Salamé succeeded

Natacha Polony Natacha Polony (born 15 April 1975) is a French journalist and essayist. She worked on the France 2 TV show '' On n'est pas couché'', presented by Laurent Ruquier from 2011 until 2014. Bibliography * ''Nos Enfants gâchés : petit traité sur ...

in the duo of commentators which she formed with

Aymeric Caron Aymeric Caron (; born 4 December 1971) is a French politician and former radio and television journalist who has represented the 18th constituency of Paris in the National Assembly since 2022. He was elected as a member of the Ecological Revolu ...

, then with Yann Moix, in

Laurent Ruquier Laurent Hugues Emmanuel Ruquier (; born 24 February 1963) is a French television presenter, radio host and comedian. He is also a lyricist, writer, columnist and impresario; he has been co-owner and general manager of Théâtre Antoine-Simone Be ...

's show, ''

On n'est pas couché ''On n'est pas couché'' was a French talk show broadcast on France 2 on Saturdays at 11 p.m. and hosted by Laurent Ruquier. It was produced by Ruquier and Catherine Barma. It first aired on 16 September 2006; after fourteen seasons, it ended on ...

'', aired 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 ...

. In May 2016, she announced that she would leave to host a political show with David Pujadas starting in September 2016, in the context of the

2017 French presidential election The 2017 French presidential election was held on 23 April and 7 May 2017. As no candidate won a majority in the first round, a runoff was held between the top two candidates, Emmanuel Macron of En Marche! (EM) and Marine Le Pen of the Nationa ...

. Since August 2014, Salamé has hosted the 7:50 a.m. interview in

France Inter France Inter () is a major French public radio channel and part of Radio France. It is a "generalist" station, aiming to provide a wide national audience with a full service of news and spoken-word programming, both serious and entertaining, li ...

's morning show. Since December 2015, she has also conducted high-profile interviews in the French edition of '' GQ''. On 14 April 2016, as she interviewed President

François Hollande François Gérard Georges Nicolas Hollande (; born 12 August 1954) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2012 to 2017. He previously was First Secretary of the Socialist Party (PS) from 1997 to 2008, Mayor of Tulle from ...

with

David Pujadas David Pujadas (, , ; born 2 December 1964) is a French journalist and television host. A news presenter for TF1's LCI daily news programme, ''24H Pujadas,'' at 18:00 CET, he was an anchorman on France 2's weeknight newscast, ''Le Journal de ...

in the programme ''Dialogues citoyens'' on

, Léa Salamé replied to President Hollande, who was making a comment on refugees, "Are you joking?", which triggered many reactions on social media. Wit
Les Arènes
journalist Léa Salamé published her first book,
Strong Women
, a series of 12 intimate interviews around female power, originally conducted as a podcast in the summer of 2019, in which she revealed her pantheon of femininity. In the summer of 2019, she conducted a series of interviews branded

at Inter, France - published as a podcast - around the female individuality in relation to power and femininity, exercised in these varied different fields: Publishing, literature, film, business or sports. Through this book, the journalist reveal her pantheon of women:

Leïla Slimani Leïla Slimani (born 3 October 1981) is a Franco-Moroccan writer and journalist. She is also a French diplomat in her capacity as the personal representative of the French president Emmanuel Macron to the ''Organisation internationale de la Fran ...

Chloé Bertolus

Christiane Taubira Christiane Marie Taubira (; born 2 February 1952) is a French politician who served as Minister of Justice of France in the governments of Prime Ministers Jean-Marc Ayrault and Manuel Valls under President François Hollande from 2012 until 201 ...

Laure Adler Laure Adler ( née Laure Clauzet; born 11 March 1950, in Caen) is a French journalist, writer, publisher and radio/TV producer. Works Biographies * 1986: ''L'Amour à l'arsenic : histoire de Marie Lafarge'', Denoël. * 1998: ''Marguerite ...

Élisabeth Badinter Élisabeth Badinter (née Bleustein-Blanchet; 5 March 1944) is a French philosopher, author and historian. She is best known for her philosophical treatises on feminism and women's role in society. She is an advocate of liberal feminism and ...

Béatrice Dalle Béatrice Dalle (née Cabarrou; December 19, 1964) is a French actress. Biography Dalle was born in Brest, Finistère, France, as Béatrice Cabarrou. In 1985, she married the painter Jean-François Dalle, whom she divorced in 1988. Working as ...

Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet Nathalie Geneviève Marie Kosciusko-Morizet () (born 14 May 1973 in the 15th arrondissement of Paris), often referred to by her initials NKM, is an engineer, public figure and advocate, having previously had a political career. She was a Membe ...

Bettina Rheims Bettina Caroline Germaine Rheims (; born 18 December 1952) is a French photographer. Career Early stages Bettina Rheims was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine. Her photographic career began in 1978, when she took a series of photos of a group of strip- ...

, Sophie De Closets,

Amélie Mauresmo Amélie Simone Mauresmo (; born 5 July 1979) is a French former List of WTA number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 tennis player and tournament director. Mauresmo won two Grand Slam (tennis)#Tournaments, major singles titles at the ...

, Anne Méaux and The funny ladies of

Delphine Horvilleur Delphine Horvilleur (born 8 November 1974) is France's third female rabbi, and (as of 2012) editorial director of the quarterly Jewish magazine ''Revue de pensée(s) juive(s) Tenou'a''. She leads a congregation in Paris, and is currently co-lea ...

the Léa Salamé. Not intended to be a feminist manifesto, Strong Women is a book of interviews with 12 female figures in her personal pantheon. For journalists, inspirational characters, the subject of a beautiful book, their meeting and divergence points, strengths and weaknesses, under the sign of sharing, expressing and affirming: all of which fill one's life. inspiration. Liberation, exploration, and relentless affirmation in a world in power - a feminine word, often monopolised by men.

Awards

* "Woman of the year 2014" by the French edition of '' GQ'' * "Best interviewer of the year 2015" (Prix Philippe-Caloni)

References

https://www.amazon.com/Femmes-puissantes-AR-ANTHOL-PRESS-L%C3%A9a-Salam%C3%A9/dp/B083WCSMX8 {{DEFAULTSORT:Salame, Lea 1979 births Living people French people of Armenian descent French people of Lebanese descent Lebanese emigrants to France Naturalized citizens of France Radio France people Sciences Po alumni Paris 2 Panthéon-Assas University alumni New York University alumni Lebanese women journalists Lebanese journalists French television journalists People from Beirut Women television journalists