Élise Lucet
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Élise Lucet (; born 30 May 1963) is a French journalist and television host. Known for her
investigative journalism Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, such as serious crimes, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years rese ...
work on shows such as '' Pièces à Conviction'', '' Cash Investigation'' and ''
Envoyé spécial ''Envoyé spécial'' (English: Special correspondent) is a French television weekly investigative newsmagazine show that has run on channel France 2 France 2 () is a French public national television channel. It is part of the state-owned France ...
'', she has been dubbed France's "incorruptible journalist". In 2008, she was named Knight of the
Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...
. Lucet's work for '' Cash Investigation'' garnered her and her crew around twenty international awards including a
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...
in 2017 for their investigation on the
Panama Papers The Panama Papers ( es, Papeles de Panamá) are 11.5 million leaked documents (or 2.6 terabytes of data) that were published beginning on April 3, 2016. The papers detail financial and attorney–client information for more than 214,488 ...
.


Early years

Élise Lucet was born in
Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of ...
,
Seine-Maritime Seine-Maritime () is a department of France in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the northern coast of France, at the mouth of the Seine, and includes the cities of Rouen and Le Havre. Until 1955 it was named Seine-Inféri ...
. Her father is a teacher and her mother a school director. She has a sister. Lucet began her career under
Henri Sannier Henri Sannier (born 7 September 1947) is a French sports journalist and television presenter. Life and career Henri Sannier was born in Puteaux in the department of Hauts-de-Seine. He graduated at the École supérieure de journalisme de Paris ...
on the
Caen Caen (, ; nrf, Kaem) is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (), while its functional urban area has 470,000,France 3 France 3 () is a French free-to-air public television channel and part of the France Télévisions group, which also includes France 2, France 4, France 5 and France Info. It is made up of a network of regional television services providing ...
in 1983. She subsequently worked for Sygma TV and the public service radio station
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 ...
. In 1990, she became the host of the ''19/20'' evening news on
France 3 France 3 () is a French free-to-air public television channel and part of the France Télévisions group, which also includes France 2, France 4, France 5 and France Info. It is made up of a network of regional television services providing ...
. In 1997, she became its lead editor.


Investigative journalism

As a
writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...
and
television producer A television producer is a person who oversees one or more aspects of video production on a television show, television program. Some producers take more of an executive role, in that they conceive new programs and pitch them to the television net ...
, Lucet hosted '' Pièces à Conviction'' from 2000 until 2011. In 2005, she left ''19/20'' to host ''13 heures le journal'' 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 2012, she began hosting '' Cash Investigation'', an investigative television programme; she has also hosted ''
Envoyé spécial ''Envoyé spécial'' (English: Special correspondent) is a French television weekly investigative newsmagazine show that has run on channel France 2 France 2 () is a French public national television channel. It is part of the state-owned France ...
'' since 2016.


Controversies

''Cash Investigation'' brought to light some controversies: * In June 2012, the
World Wildlife Fund The World Wide Fund for Nature Inc. (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the Wo ...
(WWF) sued
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 ...
to prevent broadcast of an interview of the NGO's management. The courts ruled in favour of France 2. * In October 2013, the programme revealed that the Government of France had fined the training arm of gardening company Jardiland 3.2 million euros in September 2012, with regards to fraudulent transactions concerning hundreds of false training certificates issued between 2007 and 2011. The certificates allowed Jardiland to illegally receive subsidies from professional training organisations. Jardiland announced it would bring a defamation suit against
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 (former ...
, publicly accusing the ''Cash Investigation'' report of presenting false information. In April 2015, Jardiland withdrew its suit. * In 2015,
Rachida Dati Rachida Dati (; ar, رشيدة داتي, link=no; born 27 November 1965) is a French politician who served as Member of the European Parliament, representing Île-de-France. Prior to her election, she held the cabinet post of Keeper of the Sea ...
criticised the broadcast for raising questions about a possible link between herself and the
Engie Engie SA is a French multinational utility company, headquartered in La Défense, Courbevoie, which operates in the fields of energy transition, electricity generation and distribution, natural gas, nuclear, renewable energy and petroleum. ...
corporation (formerly GDF-Suez). * In 2015, Élise Lucet took part in a demonstration by the collective named "Informer n’est pas un délit" (English: Informing is not a crime) against a proposed French law about trade secrets, an amendment to the ''Loi pour la croissance, l'activité et l'égalité des chances économiques'' (Law for growth, activity and equality of economic opportunity), known as the "Loi Macron". She opposed the measure because it would hamper the production of broadcasts like ''Cash Investigation''. A book was published in 2015. * After the 2 February 2016 broadcast of ''Produits chimiques, nos enfants en danger'' (Chemical products, our children in danger), the
Association française pour l'information scientifique Association may refer to: *Club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal *Trade association, an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry *Voluntary associatio ...
(AFIS; French Association for Scientific Information) issued a press release claiming that the documentary misled viewers. It cited a summary written by the
European Food Safety Authority The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is the agency of the European Union (EU) that provides independent scientific advice and communicates on existing and emerging risks associated with the food chain. EFSA was established in February 2002, ...
, briefly referred to at the beginning of the show, which stated: "More than 97% of foods contain pesticide residues within legal limits; 54.6 of these contain no detectable trace". Several weeks later the AFIS returned to the subject, in a more detailed article, ''Comment les téléspectateurs ont été abusés par 'Cash Investigation. * In July 2016, the ''
Conseil supérieur de l'audiovisuel The (, ''lit.'' ''Superior Audiovisual Council''), abbreviated CSA, was a French institution created in 1989 whose role was to regulate the various electronic media in France, such as radio and television. The creation of the was a measure foun ...
'' (France's media regulatory body), at the request of members of the
National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...
, published a decision relating to the file of investigation on pesticides. The board "regretted that journalists misrepresented that a study by the European Food Safety Authority had revealed that 97% of foodstuffs contained residues of pesticides" and asked France Télévisions to "respect their obligations regarding rigour in the presentation and processing of information". In October 2016, the EFSA published its new annual report on pesticide residues in foods. Following the controversy, it changed the technical terms of its report: this time there is no question of detection limit (LOD) in pesticide residues but of limit of quantification of pesticide residues (LOQ). * In October 2016, the first deputy to the Mayor of Nice,
Christian Estrosi Christian Paul Gilbert Estrosi (born 1 July 1955) is a French sportsman and politician who has served as Mayor of Nice since 2017, previously holding the office from 2008 to 2016. A former professional motorcyclist, he served as a government m ...
, contradicted an investigation's claims relating to the cost and the use of the
Allianz Riviera Allianz Riviera (also known as the Stade de Nice due to UEFA and FIFA sponsorship regulations) is a multi-use stadium in Nice, France, used mostly for football matches of host OGC Nice and also for occasional home matches of rugby union club To ...
, a newly built stadium. A dedicated website was made to back Estrosi's counter-claims. Lucet and Estrosi vigorously opposed each other at the end of the show. * In March 2017, the Conference of Bishops of France complained about the "accusatory methods of the show's journalists" when pressed on issues of pedophilia in the Catholic Church; and that they had not talked much about the "recent measures taken by the Church to prevent and punish these acts". Lucet went to the Vatican to try to talk to
Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...
.


Viewership

Her pugnacity and daring attitude are appreciated by spectators. Her show regularly achieves record viewership numbers for a news programme; she was elected favourite TV host of France in October 2017.


Career


Television

* 1983–1986: journalist on FR3 Caen * 1987: journalist on Sygma TV * 1987–1988: regular guest on ''La Marche du siècle'' 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 ...
* 1988–2005: host and editor of ''19/20'' on
France 3 France 3 () is a French free-to-air public television channel and part of the France Télévisions group, which also includes France 2, France 4, France 5 and France Info. It is made up of a network of regional television services providing ...
* 1994–2000: host and editor of ''Science 3'' on
France 3 France 3 () is a French free-to-air public television channel and part of the France Télévisions group, which also includes France 2, France 4, France 5 and France Info. It is made up of a network of regional television services providing ...
* 2000: host of the documentary ''Viols d'enfants : la fin du silence ?'' on
France 3 France 3 () is a French free-to-air public television channel and part of the France Télévisions group, which also includes France 2, France 4, France 5 and France Info. It is made up of a network of regional television services providing ...
* 2000–2011: host of '' Pièces à Conviction'' on
France 3 France 3 () is a French free-to-air public television channel and part of the France Télévisions group, which also includes France 2, France 4, France 5 and France Info. It is made up of a network of regional television services providing ...
* 2002: host of ''Quand je serai président'' on
France 3 France 3 () is a French free-to-air public television channel and part of the France Télévisions group, which also includes France 2, France 4, France 5 and France Info. It is made up of a network of regional television services providing ...
* 2005–2016: host and editor of '' 13 heures'' 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 ...
* 2008: host of ''À nos 100 ans !'' 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 ...
* 2012–present: host of '' Cash Investigation'' 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 ...
* 2016–present: host of ''
Envoyé spécial ''Envoyé spécial'' (English: Special correspondent) is a French television weekly investigative newsmagazine show that has run on channel France 2 France 2 () is a French public national television channel. It is part of the state-owned France ...
'' 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 ...


Film


Accolades

The audiovisual club of Paris awarded her the 2014 Laurier of the TV magazine for ''Cash Investigation''. The same year, she won the yearly International Press (Television) Grand Prize for "her entire career in international news and for excellence and courage in the treatment of international issues in ''Cash Investigation''". Anti-corruption association Anticor later awarded Lucet its 2015 Ethics Price.


Personal life

Lucet and Martin Bourgeois, an antiquarian, were married in 2006. They had a daughter, Rose. Bourgeois died of
leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ' ...
in 2011.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lucet, Elise 1963 births Living people 21st-century French journalists French women journalists French television journalists French investigative journalists Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur Women television journalists 21st-century French women