Didier François (known as "Rocky") is a French journalist. He has been a war reporter since September 1985. He has covered most of the conflicts in Africa, in the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

, in the

Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

and in the Middle East. for the French daily

Libération (), popularly known as ''Libé'' (), is a daily newspaper in France, founded in Paris by Jean-Paul Sartre and Serge July in 1973 in the wake of the protest movements of May 1968 in France, May 1968. Initially positioned on the far left of Fr ...

and for

Europe 1 Europe 1, (''Europe un'') formerly known as Europe nº 1, is a privately owned radio station created in 1955. It was owned and operated by Lagardère News, a subsidiary of the Lagardère Group, it was one of the leading radio broadcasting s ...

radio. He was a political activist and trade unionist during his studies.

Biography

Education

After having received the best part of his primary education in Africa, he took Philosophy, History, Geopolitics and Strategic Affairs at the

University of Paris The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...

Pantheon-Sorbonne. He received the Memorial Fellowship of the

German Marshall Fund of the United States The German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) is a non-partisan American public policy think tank that seeks to promote cooperation and understanding between North America and the European Union. Founded in 1972, through a gift from the We ...

. He was also an auditor of the 62nd National Session of the Institute of Advanced Studies in National Defense (

Institut des hautes études de défense nationale An institute is an organizational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes ca ...

Activities

Through the 1970s Didier was actively involved in the Revolutionary Communist League., Then in the 1980s he served on the National Bureau of UNEF-ID (students’ union). In 1984 together with

Julien Dray Julien Dray (born 5 March 1955 in Oran, French Algeria) is a French politician. He is a member of the French Socialist Party, member of the regional council of Île-de-France and was a member of the National Assembly of France between 1988 and ...

and

Harlem Désir Harlem Jean-Philippe Désir (; born 25 November 1959) is a French politician who served as leader of the Socialist Party (PS) from 2012 to 2014. First widely known as a community activist and as the first president of SOS Racisme in the 1980s, ...

he created

SOS Racisme SOS Racisme () is a politically left-wing international movement of anti-racist NGOs. The oldest chapter of SOS Racisme was founded in 1984 in France, and it has counterparts in several other European countries or regions. Its Norwegian branc ...

., He is credited for having coined the society slogan "Don't touch my pal".

Journalistic career

He began journalism with Matin de Paris of 1 September 1985. He covered international news and specialized in the conduct of armed conflicts in Africa, Central America and the Middle East. When these subjects were not so active, he joined the Central Press Agency (ACP) as a reporter and followed the war in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

or between

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

and

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

. In June 1989, he took the job of a correspondent in South Africa, where he covered the fall of

apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

for Libération. In July 1991, he joined the Paris office of the newspaper as a

war correspondent A war correspondent is a journalist who covers stories first-hand from a war, war zone. War correspondence stands as one of journalism's most important and impactful forms. War correspondents operate in the most conflict-ridden parts of the wor ...

. He then continued as a permanent special envoy to the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

during the August 1991 coup, then to Bosniain July 1992. He followed the day-to-day collapse of the Soviet empire and the break-up of the

. He was in Moscow from October 1994 to cover the first war in

Chechnya Chechnya, officially the Chechen Republic, is a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia. It is situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe, between the Caspian Sea and Black Sea. The republic forms a part of the North Caucasian Federa ...

. He successively took the job of a permanent special envoy to

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

in 1999, to

Gaza Gaza may refer to: Places Palestine * Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territory on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea ** Gaza City, a city in the Gaza Strip ** Gaza Governorate, a governorate in the Gaza Strip Mandatory Palestine * Gaza Sub ...

in 2000, to Afghanistan from September 2001 and to Iraq from January 2003. Didier was appointed a Jerusalem correspondent in the summer of 2005. He covered the war in

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

before being shot in Gaza on 17 December 2006. At the end of his convalescence, on 1 April 2007, Didier François joined Europe 1 radio as a reporter to covers international news, including the

Arab Spring The Arab Spring () was a series of Nonviolent resistance, anti-government protests, Rebellion, uprisings, and Insurgency, armed rebellions that spread across much of the Arab world in the early 2010s. It began Tunisian revolution, in Tunisia ...

, as well as Defense and Terrorism issues. He notably accompanied the French forces in foreign operations in Afghanistan,

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

or Iraq, for Europe 1 and for

Paris Match ''Paris Match'' () is a French-language weekly gossip magazine. It covers major national and international news along with celebrity lifestyle features. ''Paris Match'' has been considered "one of the world's best outlets for photojournalism". ...

. On 6 June 2013, he was kidnapped by the

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS occupied signi ...

north of

Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...

, where he was investigating the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime.«Aubenas : Didier François est un journaliste de plain-pied»
Europe1.fr, 6 août 2013 He was released on 19 April 2014 at the same time as his fellow prisoner, photographer Edouard Elias and two other French colleagues also taken hostage in the region. Since his release, Didier François has resumed his activities as Grand reporter on Europe 1 radio.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:François, Didier 20th-century French journalists Radio France people * 21st-century French journalists Living people Year of birth missing (living people)