Sonia Mabrouk (; born 1977) is a Tunisian-born journalist who in 2010 obtained

French nationality French nationality law is historically based on the principles of ''jus soli'' (Latin for "right of soil") and ''jus sanguinis'', according to Ernest Renan's definition, in opposition to the German definition of nationality, ''jus sanguinis'' ( ...

. After first embarking on an academic career in

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

, in 2005 she turned to journalism, writing for the magazine ''

Jeune Afrique ''Jeune Afrique'' (English: ''Young Africa'') is a French-language pan-African weekly news magazine, founded in 1960 in Tunis and subsequently published in Paris. It is the most widely read pan-African magazine. It is also a book publisher, unde ...

''. In 2009, she was engaged by the French parliamentary television channel

Public Sénat In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

and later hosted political programmes on the radio station

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 pro ...

. In 2017, Mabrouk published her first book ''Le monde ne tourne pas rond, ma petite-fille''. Due to her stances, on the French

political spectrum A political spectrum is a system to characterize and classify different political positions in relation to one another. These positions sit upon one or more geometric axes that represent independent political dimensions. The expressions politi ...

, Sonia Mabrouk is generally ranked on the

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

right-wing Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authorit ...

, or even on the

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 spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...

Early life

Born in Tunis on 17 December 1977, Sonia Mabrouk was brought up as an only child in an upper class Tunisian family with connections to President

Habib Bourguiba Habib Bourguiba (; ar, الحبيب بورقيبة, al-Ḥabīb Būrqībah; 3 August 19036 April 2000) was a Tunisian lawyer, nationalist leader and statesman who led the country from 1956 to 1957 as the prime minister of the Kingdom of T ...

. Her grandfather Mongi Mabrouk was Tunisia's trade minister and her uncle

Hédi Mabrouk Hédi Mabrouk (1921–2000) was a Tunisian statesman, diplomat and politician. After serving as governor of different provinces between 1956 and 1962 he headed various state-owned companies. He was the ambassador of Tunisia to France from 1973 to ...

was a diplomat and foreign minister. After matriculating from high school when she was 16, she studied at the

Carthage High Commercial Studies Institute The Institut des Hautes Etudes Commerciales de Carthage ( ar, معهد الدراسات التجارية العليا بقرطاج) or ''IHEC Carthage'' is the first business school in Tunisia, it was founded in 1942. It is ranked as 1st busines ...

, HEC, graduating in 2002. When she was 20, she earned a master's degree at the Panthéon-Sorbonne University with a thesis on marketing (2004).

Career

After initially spending three years in Tunis as a lecturer at the HEC, in 2005 she moved to Paris where she first worked as a journalist for ''Jeune Afrique'', conducting interviews with politicians. In 2008, she was engaged by

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 ...

to become an interviewer on the pariamentary television channel Public Sénat. Despite lack of experience, she quickly made her mark. In 2013, she hosted programmes on the radio station Europe 1, in particular the popular ''Le Débat des Grandes Voix'' featuring discussions with political figures. From September 2017, she joined

Canal+ Canal+ (Canal Plus, , meaning 'Channel Plus'; sometimes abbreviated C+ or Canal) is a French premium television channel launched in 1984. It is 100% owned by the Groupe Canal+, which in turn is owned by Vivendi. The channel broadcasts several ki ...

where she was one of the hosts on the news programme ''Voix de l'Info'' on CNews. In addition to journalism, Mabrouk published her first book, the conversational ''Le monde ne tourne pas rond, ma petite-fille'' in 2017, followed by the novel ''Dans son cœur sommeille la vengeance'' in 2018. Both works deal with Islamic terrorism, one of her favourite subjects. Her opinions on wearing the

burkini A burkini (or burqini; portmanteau of burqa and bikini, though qualifying as neither of these garments) is a style of swimsuit for women. The suit covers the whole body except the face, the hands and the feet, while being light enough for swimm ...

have led to her being considered

Islamophobic Islamophobia is the fear of, hatred of, or prejudice against the religion of Islam or Muslims in general, especially when seen as a geopolitical force or a source of terrorism. The scope and precise definition of the term ''Islamophobia'' ...

, despite being from a muslim background.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mabrouk, Sonia 1977 births Living people Writers from Tunis 21st-century French journalists Tunisian journalists Tunisian women journalists 21st-century French women writers French women journalists French women television journalists Tunisian women television presenters Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University alumni Naturalized citizens of France