Élisabeth Lévy (born 16 February 1964) is a French journalist, polemicist, essayist and editor in chief of '' Causeur''.

Biography

She was born in

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

, the daughter of a general practitioner and a pharmacist, both of whom were of Sephardic Jewish ancestry. She grew up in

Épinay-sur-Seine Épinay-sur-Seine (, literally ''Épinay on Seine'') is a commune in the Seine-Saint-Denis department, in the northern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. The church of Notre-Dame-des-Missions-du-cygne d'Enghien, ...

and studied at

Sciences Po Sciences Po () or Sciences Po Paris, also known as the Paris Institute of Political Studies (), is a public research university located in Paris, France, that holds the status of ''grande école'' and the legal status of . The university's unde ...

. She worked for the

Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse (; AFP) is a French international news agency headquartered in Paris, France. Founded in 1835 as Havas, it is the world's oldest news agency. With 2,400 employees of 100 nationalities, AFP has an editorial presence in 260 c ...

(AFP) and for ''

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 by Jeune Afrique Media Group. It is the most widely read pan-African magazine. It o ...

''. She later joined ''L’Événement du jeudi'', and ''

Marianne Marianne () has been the national personification of the French Republic since the French Revolution, as a personification of liberty, equality, fraternity and reason, as well as a portrayal of the Goddess of Liberty. Marianne is displayed i ...

'' and, after being dismissed by

Jean-François Kahn Jean-François Kahn (; 12 June 1938 – 22 January 2025) was a French journalist and essayist. Biography published on evene.fr Life and career Family Jean-François Kahn was born in the commune of Viroflay in Seine-et-Oise, a former depar ...

in 1998, began writing for ''

Le Figaro () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It was named after Figaro, a character in several plays by polymath Pierre Beaumarchais, Beaumarchais (1732–1799): ''Le Barbier de Séville'', ''The Guilty Mother, La Mère coupable'', ...

''. In 2005, ''Le Premier Pouvoir'', a programme she presented on

France Culture France Culture () is a French public radio channel and part of Radio France Radio France () is the French national public radio broadcaster. Stations Radio France offers seven national networks: *France Inter — Radio France's "generalist ...

devoted to media analysis, was cancelled. Guests had included

Jean Baudrillard Jean Baudrillard (, ; ; – 6 March 2007) was a French sociology, sociologist and philosopher with an interest in cultural studies. He is best known for his analyses of media, contemporary culture, and technological communication, as well as hi ...

, and

Peter Sloterdijk Peter Sloterdijk (; ; born 26 June 1947) is a German philosopher and cultural theorist. He was a professor of philosophy and media theory at and Rector from 2001 to 2015 of the University of Art and Design Karlsruhe. He co-hosted the German tel ...

. In 2007 she co-founded ''Causeur'', a magazine whose annual losses are offset by support from far-right stakeholders like Gérald Penciolelli.

Controversies

Climate change denial

During a heated discussion with Claire Nouvain on

CNews CNews (; stylised as CNEWS, formerly i>Télé) is a French free-to-air opinion channel launched on 4 November 1999 by Canal+. It provides 24-hour national and global news coverage. It is the second most watched news network in France, after ...

, where Lévy is a regular guest, she vaunted her skepticism as a healthy scientific posture concerning the role of humanity in global warming.

Proximity to Great Replacement theorists

In 2017, she interviewed

Alain Finkielkraut Alain Luc Finkielkraut (; ; born 30 June 1949) is a French essayist, radio producer, and public intellectual. Since 1986, he has been the host of ''Répliques'', a talk show broadcast weekly on France Culture. He was elected a Fellow of the Ac ...

, concerning

Renaud Camus Renaud Camus (; ; born Jean Renaud Gabriel Camus on 10 August 1946) is a French novelist and conspiracy theorist. He is the originator of the far-right "Great Replacement" conspiracy theory, which claims that a "global elite" is colluding again ...

's Great Replacement theory and in 2021 published a two-part interview with Camus himself. In September 2021, the cover of ''Causeur'' showing a picture of five Black or mixed-ancestry babies captioned "Smile, you're great-replaced" was a reference to this

conspiracy theory A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that asserts the existence of a conspiracy (generally by powerful sinister groups, often political in motivation), when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * ...

. The cover sparked a wave of indignation, inspiring condemnation from the

MRAP Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle (MRAPV), also known as MRAP vehicle, is a type of armoured personnel carrier that is designed specifically to withstand land mines, improvised explosive device (IED) attacks, and ambushes to save troops' li ...

and many politicians, including former interior minister

Christophe Castaner Christophe Castaner (; born 3 January 1966) is a French politician who served as Minister of the Interior from 16 October 2018 to 6 July 2020 under President Emmanuel Macron. He had been elected in 2017 for a three-year term as chairman (''délég ...

Élisabeth Moreno Élisabeth Moreno (born 20 September 1970) is a French-Cape Verdean businesswoman and politician who served as Minister Delegate for Gender Equality, Diversity and Equal Opportunities at the Prime Minister's Office in the government of Prime Min ...

, the Minister for Gender Equality, Diversity and Equal Opportunities, called it "unabashed racism" and announced that the government had alerted the Paris prosecutor's office.

Prostitution

In October 2013, ''Causeur'' published a petition in favor of prostitution called the "Manifesto of the 343 bastards" to fight against a bill aiming to penalize clients of prostitution. She defended the title as a humorous way of treating a serious issue (it was a play on a ''

Charlie Hebdo ''Charlie Hebdo'' (; ) is a French satirical weekly magazine, featuring cartoons, reports, polemics, and jokes. The publication has been described as anti-racist, sceptical, secular, libertarian, and within the tradition of left-wing radicalism ...

'' political cartoon about the 1971

Manifesto of the 343 The Manifesto of the 343 Women () is a French petition penned by Simone de Beauvoir, and signed by 343 women, all publicly declaring that they had had an illegal abortion. The manifesto was published under the title, "" (), on 5 April 1971, in iss ...

Kosovo war

In 2000, she contested the number of casualties by

Serbians The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian Cultural heritage, ancestry, Culture of Serbia, culture, History of Serbia, history, and Serbian lan ...

during the

Kosovo War The Kosovo War (; sr-Cyrl-Latn, Косовски рат, Kosovski rat) was an armed conflict in Kosovo that lasted from 28 February 1998 until 11 June 1999. It ...

Books

All in French. *

Malek Boutih Abdelmalek "Malek" Boutih (; born 27 October 1964) is a French retired politician and activist who served as a member of the National Assembly from 2012 to 2017, representing the Essonne department. He previously was the Socialist Party's Nati ...

(coauthor), ''La France aux Français ? Chiche ! : un entretien mené par Élisabeth Lévy / Malek Boutih'', Paris, Fondation du 2-Mars et Éditions Mille et une nuits, coll. « Essai », 2001, 97 p. (ISBN 2-84205-564-0) *''Les maîtres censeurs : pour en finir avec la pensée unique'', Paris, Librairie générale française, coll. « Le livre de poche » (no 15282), 2002, 408 p. (ISBN 2-253-15282-X) – Prix François-Victor-Noury de l’Institut de France. *Lucien Israël (author) (pref. Alain Besançon), ''Les dangers de l’euthanasie : entretiens avec Élisabeth Lévy / Lucien Israël'', Paris, Éd. des Syrtes, 2002, 153 p. (ISBN 2-84545-051-6) * Philippe Muray (coauthor), ''Festivus festivus : conversations avec Élisabeth Lévy / Philippe Muray'', Paris, Fayard, 2005, 485 p. (ISBN 2-213-62129-2) *

(coauthor) and

Rony Brauman Rony Brauman (born 19 June 1950) is a French physician specializing in tropical diseases and a former president of ''Médecins sans frontières'' (Doctors without Borders) He was one of the early members of Médecins sans frontières, and was ...

(coauthor), ''La discorde : Israël-Palestine, les Juifs, la France : conversations avec Élisabeth Lévy / Rony Brauman, Alain Finkielkraut'', Paris, Mille et une nuits, 2006, 375 p. (ISBN 2-84205-812-7) *''Le premier pouvoir : inventaire après liquidation'', Paris, Climats, 2007, 164 p. (ISBN 978-2-08-120068-5) * ''Notre métier a mal tourné : deux journalistes s’énervent'', Paris, Mille et une nuits, 2008, 232 p. (ISBN 978-2-7555-0041-7) *

Robert Ménard Robert Ménard (; born 6 July 1953) is a French politician and former journalist who has served as Mayor of Béziers since 2014. He co-founded the Paris-based international NGO Reporters Without Borders, which he led as its general-secretary ...

(coauthor), ''Les Français sont-ils antisémites ?'', Paris, Éditions Mordicus, 2009, 103 p. (ISBN 978-2-918414-16-2) *''La gauche contre le réel'', Paris, Fayard, 2012, 319 p. (ISBN 978-2-7555-0041-7) *''Les rien-pensants'', éditions du Cerf, 2017

In popular culture

* ''Il n'y a personne dans les tombes'', by

François Taillandier François Taillandier (born in 1955, Clermont-Ferrand, France) is a French writer portraying the French contemporary society. Life Henri Vernes, creator of Bob Morane, fired a passion the 12-year-old Taillandier was not going to give up. In 1968 ...

, Stock, 2007 *''Une belle époque'', by

Christian Authier Christian Authier, born 1969 in Toulouse, is a French writer and journalist. He has a master's degree in history from the University of Toulouse II and a degree from the Institut d'études politiques de Toulouse. His second novel, ''Les Liens dé ...

, Stock, 2008: as Isabelle Laval *''Ticket d'entrée'', by Joseph Macé-Scaron, Grasset, 2011 : as Sarah Berg

References

External links

Articles sur Causeur.fr
{{DEFAULTSORT:Levy, Elisabeth 1964 births Living people People from Marseille Conservatism in France French women journalists French magazine editors French women magazine editors French political writers French people of Algerian-Berber descent French people of Algerian-Jewish descent Sciences Po alumni Le Figaro people Polemicists