Frédéric Mitterrand (21 August 1947 – 21 March 2024) was a French actor, screenwriter, producer, and politician who served as Minister of Culture and Communication of France from 2009 to 2012 under President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Early life and career

Born in Paris, he was the nephew of François Mitterrand (1916–1996), who was the

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from 1981 to 1995, and the son of engineer Robert Mitterrand (1915–2002) and Édith Cahier, the niece of Eugène Deloncle, the co-founder of " La Cagoule". Owing to his family heritage, Mitterrand acquired Tunisian citizenship in 1995. He was openly bisexual. Mitterrand attended the Lycée Janson de Sailly in Paris and studied history and geography at the Paris West University Nanterre La Défense, and political science at Sciences Po. He taught economics, history, and geography at EABJM from 1968 to 1971. In 1978, he was a film critic at ''J'informe''. From 1971 to 1986, he ran several

art film An art film, arthouse film, or specialty film is an independent film aimed at a niche market rather than a mass market audience. It is "intended to be a serious, artistic work, often experimental and not designed for mass appeal", "made prima ...

cinemas in Paris (Olympic Palace, Entrepôt, and Olympic-Entrepôt). He also had roles in a number of films, and in the 1980s was active as a producer and director in TV productions. Mitterrand also penned a monthly column for '' Têtu''. In June 2008, Mitterrand was appointed the director of the French Academy in Rome by President Nicolas Sarkozy, and was appointed to the French government a year later as the Minister of Culture and Communications, a role he would hold for the remainder of Sarkozy's time in office.

Controversy surrounding ''The Bad Life''

Mitterrand's novel '' The Bad Life'' (), which mixed autobiographical and fictionalised elements, was the source of significant controversy. In the book he detailed his "delight" whilst visiting the male brothels of

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, and wrote ..."I got into the habit of paying for boys ... The profusion of young, very attractive and immediately available boys put me in a state of desire I no longer needed to restrain or hide." Mitterrand's writings were applauded for their honesty at time of release, but resurfaced in a different light four years later following his defence of

Roman Polanski Raymond Roman Thierry Polański (; born 18 August 1933) is a Polish and French filmmaker and actor. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Roman Polanski, numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, three Britis ...

, who had been detained in Switzerland and awaiting

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to face American charges for sexually abusing a minor. On 5 October 2009, Marine Le Pen quoted sections of the book on French television, accusing him of having sex with underage boys and engaging in " sex tourism", demanding that Mitterrand resign from the government. He was also criticised by then- Socialist Party spokesman Benoît Hamon, who stated that "as a minister of culture, he has drawn attention to himself by defending olanski and he has written a book where he said he took advantage of sexual tourism. To say the least, I find it shocking." On the other hand, he received support from a close aide to Nicolas Sarkozy who said the French President backed his Culture Minister, describing the controversy around him as "pathetic". The novel's mixture of fact and fiction complicated his defense; while Mitterrand insisted that book was not an autobiography, the publisher described it as a "novel inspired by autobiography", and was similarly described as an "autobiographical novel" by the

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. In his own defence. Mitterrand stated, "Each time I was with people who were my age, or who were five years younger – there wasn't the slightest ambiguity – and who were consenting", and that he uses the term "boys" loosely, both in his life and in the book. He also declared, "I condemn sexual tourism, which is a disgrace. I condemn paedophilia, which I have never in any way participated in."

Death

Following a year-long illness, Frédéric Mitterrand died from cancer on 21 March 2024, at the age of 76.

Filmography

;Actor * 1960: ''Fortunat'' * 1992: ''La collection secrète de Salvador Dalí'' by Otto Kelmer * 1997: ''Mon copain Rachid'', by Philippe Barassat * 1998: '' Que la lumière soit'', by Arthur Joffé * 2001: '' Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain'' by Jean-Pierre Jeunet ;Director * 1981: ''Lettres d'amour en Somalie'' * 1984: ''Paris vu par… vingt ans plus tard'' * 1995: '' Madame Butterfly'', adaption of the Puccini opera ;Producer * ''Les Aigles foudroyés'', documentary * ''Mémoires d'exil'', documentary * ''Fairouz'', documentary, 1998 * ''Je suis la Folle de Brejnev'', 2001 * '' FARAH: The Last Empress'', documentary 2009

Publications

* ''Tous désirs confondus'', Actes Sud, 1988, new ed. 2009 * ''Mémoires d'exil'', Robert Laffont, 1990, * ''Destins d'étoiles'' – tomes 1, 2, 3, 4 – Fixot, 1991–1992 * ''Monte Carlo: la légende'', Assouline, 1993 * ''Une saison tunisienne'', sous la direction de Frédéric Mitterrand et Soraya Elyes-Ferchichi, Actes Sud, 1995 * ''L'Ange bleu: un film de Joseph von Sternberg'', Plume, 1995 * ''Madame Butterfly'', Plume, 1995 * ''Les Aigles foudroyés – la fin des Romanov des Habsbourg et des Hohenzollern'', Pocket, 1998 * ''Un jour dans le siècle'', Robert Laffont, 2000 * '' La Mauvaise Vie'', Robert Laffont, 2005 * ''Lettres d'amour en Somalie'', Pocket, September 2006 * ''Maroc, 1900–1960 Un certain regard'', avec Abdellah Taïa, Actes Sud, 2007 * ''Le Festival de Cannes'', Robert Laffont, 2007 * ''Le désir et la chance'', Robert Laffont, 2012 * ''La récréation'', Robert Laffont, 2013

Honours

National honours

* France: Former Chancellor Officer of the Order of the Legion of Honour * France: Former Chancellor Officer of the National Order of Merit * France: Former Chancellor Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters, 1st Class

Foreign honours

* Monaco: Knight Officer of the Order of Cultural Merit * Romanian Royal Family: Knight Commander of the Order of the Crown * Romanian Royal Family: Knight of the Royal Decoration of the Cross of the Romanian Royal House

References

External links

*
(In French) A passage from Mitterrand's autobiography, "La Mauvaise Vie"
(Edition Robert Laffont, 360 p., 2005), pages 293 à 307. publisher LeMonde.Fr {{DEFAULTSORT:Mitterrand, Frederic 1947 births 2024 deaths Male actors from Paris French bisexual male actors Bisexual male politicians Bisexual male writers Bisexual screenwriters French bisexual men French bisexual writers French bisexual politicians French male film actors French film directors French film producers Ministers of culture of France French male screenwriters French television presenters French television producers French LGBTQ film directors LGBTQ television directors French LGBTQ screenwriters 21st-century French LGBTQ people François Mitterrand Lycée Janson-de-Sailly alumni Sciences Po alumni Officers of the Order of Cultural Merit (Monaco) Officers of the Ordre national du Mérite Recipients of the Order of the Crown (Romania) Commanders of the Order of the Crown (Romania) Commandeurs of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres 20th-century French male writers 21st-century French male writers 21st-century French politicians University of Paris alumni Mitterrand family Deaths from cancer in France