Michel Droit (23 January 1923 in

Vincennes Vincennes (, ) is a commune in the Val-de-Marne department in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. It is next to but does not include the Château de Vincennes and Bois de Vincennes, which are attached ...

Val-de-Marne Val-de-Marne (, "Vale of the Marne") is a department of France located in the Île-de-France region. Named after the river Marne, it is situated in the Grand Paris metropolis to the southeast of the City of Paris. In 2019, Val-de-Marne had a pop ...

– 22 June 2000) was a French novelist and journalist. He was the father of the photographer Éric Droit (1954–2007).

Biography

After studying at the

Faculté des lettres de Paris The faculté des lettres de Paris was a French educational institution based at the Sorbonne. It was set up by the imperial decree regarding the University of France on 17 March 1808. It partly succeeded the arts faculty of the former University o ...

and

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

, Droit joined the army in 1944 and was wounded near

Ulm Ulm () is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Danube on the border with Bavaria. The city, which has an estimated population of more than 126,000 (2018), forms an urban district of its own (german: link=no, ...

in April 1945. He took on a career as a press, radio and television journalist after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and at the 1960s he was the preferred television interviewer of général de Gaulle. His first novel, ''Plus rien au monde'', dates to 1954. In 1964, he won the

Grand prix du roman de l'Académie française Le Grand Prix du Roman is a French literary award, created in 1914, and given each year by the Académie française. Along with the Prix Goncourt The Prix Goncourt (french: Le prix Goncourt, , ''The Goncourt Prize'') is a prize in French litera ...

for his '' Le Retour''. On 6 March 1980, on the same day as

Marguerite Yourcenar Marguerite Yourcenar (, , ; born Marguerite Antoinette Jeanne Marie Ghislaine Cleenewerck de Crayencour; 8 June 1903 – 17 December 1987) was a Belgian-born French novelist and essayist, who became a US citizen in 1947. Winner of the ''Prix Fem ...

, he was elected as a member of the

Académie française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

, replacing

Joseph Kessel Joseph Kessel (10 February 1898 – 23 July 1979), also known as "Jef", was a French journalist and novelist. He was a member of the Académie française and Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour. Biography Kessel was born to a Argentine Jews, Je ...

. Droit wrote a polemic against a reggae adaptation of ''

La Marseillaise "La Marseillaise" is the national anthem of France. The song was written in 1792 by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle in Strasbourg after the declaration of war by France against Austria, and was originally titled "Chant de guerre pour l'Armée du R ...

'' as '' Aux armes et cætera'' by

Serge Gainsbourg Serge Gainsbourg (; born Lucien Ginsburg; 2 April 1928 – 2 March 1991) was a French musician, singer-songwriter, actor, author and filmmaker. Regarded as one of the most important figures in French pop, he was renowned for often provoca ...

, reproaching him for "provoking" a resurgence of

anti-Semitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

and thus making things difficult for his "co-religionists". Droit was attacked for this position by the

Mouvement contre le racisme et pour l'amitié entre les peuples The ''Mouvement contre le racisme et pour l'amitié entre les peuples'' (MRAP; Movement Against Racism and for Friendship between Peoples) is an anti-racist French NGO founded in 1949. Origins and name changes In 1941, the ''Mouvement national ...

. Droit got into legal difficulties as a member of the CNCL, a television regulator set up in the 1980s, but this was thrown out of court with the help of his lawyer Jean-Marc Varaut. Droit accidentally killed one of his companions on a safari in Africa.''Un accident de chasse, une balle qui part toute seule, un compagnon qui s’abat à trente mètres et qui meurt dans ses bras''
Droit is buried in the

Passy Cemetery Passy Cemetery (french: Cimetière de Passy) is a small cemetery in Passy, in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, France. History The current cemetery replaced the old cemetery (''l'ancien cimetière communal de Passy'', located on Rue Lekain), ...

Works

*''De Lattre Maréchal de France'', Pierre Horay, 1952 (livre sur

Jean de Lattre de Tassigny Jean Joseph Marie Gabriel de Lattre de Tassigny (2 February 1889 – 11 January 1952) was a French général d'armée during World War II and the First Indochina War. He was posthumously elevated to the dignity of Marshal of France in 1952. As ...

) *''André Maurois'', Éditions universitaires, 1953 (livre sur

André Maurois André Maurois (; born Émile Salomon Wilhelm Herzog; 26 July 1885 – 9 October 1967) was a French author. Biography Maurois was born on 26 July 1885 in Elbeuf and educated at the Lycée Pierre Corneille in Rouen, both in Normandy. A member of ...

) *''Plus rien au monde'', Prix Max Barthou, Ferencz, 1954 *''Jours et Nuits d’Amérique'', Georges Nizet, 1954 *''Visas pour l’ Amérique du Sud'', Gallimar, 1956 *''Pueblo'', Julliard, 1957 *''J’ai vu vivre le Japon'', Fayard, 1958 *''Panoramas mexicains'', Fayard, 1960 *''La Camargue'', Prix Carlos de Lazerme, Benjamin Arthaud, 1961 *'' Le Retour'',

Grand Prix du roman de l'Académie française Le Grand Prix du Roman is a French literary award, created in 1914, and given each year by the Académie française. Along with the Prix Goncourt The Prix Goncourt (french: Le prix Goncourt, , ''The Goncourt Prize'') is a prize in French litera ...

, Julliard, 1964 *'' Les Compagnons de la Forêt-Noire'', Julliard, 1966, Tome 1 de la série "''le temps des hommes''"Série "''Le temps des hommes''"
/ref> *''La Fille de l’ancre bleue'', Solar,1967 *''L’Orient perdu'', Julliard, 1969, Tome 2 de la série "''le temps des hommes''" *''L’Homme du destin'', Larrieu-Bonnel,1972 *''La Ville blanche'', Julliard, 1973, Tome 3 de la série "''le temps des hommes''" *''La coupe est pleine'', France-Empire, 1975 *''La Mort du connétable'', Julliard, 1976, Tome 4 de la série "''le temps des hommes''" *''Les Feux du crépuscule'', Plon, 1977 *''Les Clartés du jour'', Plon, 1978 *''Le Lion et le Marabout'', Plon, 1979 *''Les Lueurs de l’aube'', Plon, 1981 *''Une plume et un micro'', Plon, 1982 *''Et maintenant si nous parlions de l’ Afrique du Sud'', Plon, 1983 *''Une fois la nuit venue'', Plon, 1984 *''Lettre ouverte à ceux qui en ont plus qu’assez du socialisme'', Albin Michel, 1985 *''La Rivière de la guerre'', Julliard, 1985 *''Le Fils unique'', Plon, 1988 *''Le Rendez-vous d’Elchingen'', Plon, 1990 *''Nous parlerons de Rome'', Le Fallois, 1992 *''Le Temps d’apprendre à vivre'', Le Rocher, 1993 *''Le Temps qui tient au cœur'', Le Rocher, 1996

References

External links

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Dossier
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Homage to Michel Droit
{{DEFAULTSORT:Droit, Michel 1923 births 2000 deaths Lycée Louis-le-Grand alumni People from Vincennes Members of the Académie Française Burials at Passy Cemetery Grand Prix du roman de l'Académie française winners 20th-century French novelists French male novelists 20th-century French male writers French male non-fiction writers 20th-century French journalists