Jacques Frémontier
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Jacques Frémontier (born surname Friedman; 8 May 1930 – 7 April 2020) was a French journalist and television producer.


Biography

Jacques Frémontier, born Friedman, was
Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
and came from an
Ashkenazi Ashkenazi Jews ( ; also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim) form a distinct subgroup of the Jewish diaspora, that Ethnogenesis, emerged in the Holy Roman Empire around the end of the first millennium Common era, CE. They traditionally spe ...
Jewish family of merchants of which he was the only son. His father specialized in
mail order Mail order is the buying of goods or services by mail delivery. The buyer places an order for the desired products with the merchant through some remote methods such as: * Sending an order form in the mail * Placing an order by telephone call ...
sales on credit. He grew up on Rue du Temple in
The Marais The Marais (Le Marais ; "the marsh") is a historic district in Paris, France. It spreads across parts of the 3rd arrondissement of Paris, 3rd and 4th arrondissement of Paris, 4th Arrondissements of Paris, arrondissements on the Rive Droit ...
,
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
. During
Vichy France Vichy France (; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was a French rump state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II, established as a result of the French capitulation after the Battle of France, ...
and Occupation, his family escaped in 1940 to
Lot-et-Garonne Lot-et-Garonne (, ) is a department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of Southwestern France. Named after the rivers Lot and Garonne, it had a population of 331,271 in 2019.Villeneuve-sur-Lot Villeneuve-sur-Lot (; in the Languedocien dialect of Occitan language: ''Vilanuèva d'Òlt'' ) is a town and Communes of France, commune in the southwestern French Departments of France, department of Lot-et-Garonne. The commune was formerly name ...
, where he was hidden by a couple of grocers, to avoid the
Vichy anti-Jewish legislation Anti-Jewish laws were enacted by the Vichy France government in 1940 and 1941 affecting metropolitan France and its overseas territories during World War II. These laws were, in fact, decrees of head of state Marshal Philippe Pétain, since Parlia ...
. After the
liberation of Paris The liberation of Paris () was a battle that took place during World War II from 19 August 1944 until the German garrison surrendered the French capital on 25 August 1944. Paris had been occupied by Nazi Germany since the signing of the Armisti ...
, Frémontier entered the
Lycée Louis-le-Grand The Lycée Louis-le-Grand (), also referred to simply as Louis-le-Grand or by its acronym LLG, is a public Lycée (French secondary school, also known as sixth form college) located on Rue Saint-Jacques (Paris), rue Saint-Jacques in central Par ...
. He then attended
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 ...
and the
École nationale d'administration The (; ENA; ) was a French ''grande école'', created in 1945 by the then Provisional Government of the French Republic, provisional chief of government Charles de Gaulle and principal co-author of the Constitution of France, 1958 Constitution M ...
, which he left after two years. Frémontier began working for ''
L'Express (, stylized in all caps) is a French weekly news magazine headquartered in Paris. The weekly stands at the political centre-right in the French media landscape, and has a lifestyle supplement, ''L'Express Styles'', and a job supplement, ''RÃ ...
'' in 1954, where he wrote sections dedicated to literature, cinema, and theatre. He then left for ''Franc-Tireur'', where he covered the activity of the
French Parliament The French Parliament (, ) is the Bicameralism, bicameral parliament of the French Fifth Republic, consisting of the Senate (France), Senate (), and the National Assembly (France), National Assembly (). Each assembly conducts legislative sessi ...
. The newspaper was bought by Cino Del Duca in 1957, causing Frémontier to join ''Paris-Jour'', where he was appointed editor-in-chief of political news. He served as editor-in-chief of ''
Paris-Presse ''Paris-Presse'' was a French newspaper published in Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in ...
'' from 1961 to 1965, and then returned to ''Paris-Jour'' as director. He closely followed the events of
May 68 May 68 () was a period of widespread protests, strikes, and civil unrest in France that began in May 1968 and became one of the most significant social uprisings in modern European history. Initially sparked by student demonstrations agains ...
, and detailed the actions of the strikers in the newspaper. He left journalistic life in 1969. In 1969, Frémontier joined the
Office de Radiodiffusion Télévision Française The (; ORTF; , or French Radio and Television Broadcasting Office) was the national agency charged, between 1964 and 1975, with providing public radio and television in France. All programming, especially news broadcasts, were under strict cont ...
(ORTF) thanks to his friendship with leaders such as Jacques-Bernard Dupont, Claude Contamine, and
Jacques Thibaud Jacques Thibaud (; 27 September 18801 September 1953) was a French violinist. Biography Thibaud was born in Bordeaux and studied the violin with his father before entering the Paris Conservatoire at the age of thirteen. In 1896 he jointly won th ...
. He produced the series ''Vivre aujourd'hui'' from 1970 to 1973, where he worked with journalists such as Daniel Karlin, Michel Pamart, Paul Seban, and Marcel Trillat. He then produced ''Vivre ensemble'' with some of his former collaborators. Frémontier often called for open, democratic public television, supporting the beliefs of the
French Communist Party The French Communist Party (, , PCF) is a Communism, communist list of political parties in France, party in France. The PCF is a member of the Party of the European Left, and its Member of the European Parliament, MEPs sit with The Left in the ...
, of which he was a member. In 1975, he published the book ''Vive la Télévision, Messieurs!'', in which he wrote about his experiences in producing television programs. He carried out a sociological survey, titled ''La Forteresse Ouvrière: Renault'', which he carried out at the
Renault Renault S.A., commonly referred to as Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English), is a French Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company curr ...
factory in
Boulogne-Billancourt Boulogne-Billancourt (; often colloquially called simply Boulogne, until 1924 Boulogne-sur-Seine, ) is a wealthy and prestigious Communes of France, commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France, located from the Kilometre zero, centre of Paris ...
. It was published in 1971. He completed his doctoral thesis in 2000, supervised by Nancy L. Green, and titled ''Les Juifs communistes en France depuis 1945 : essai d'histoire orale''. Frémontier married Michèle Lagneau, who was a Knight of the
Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...
, in 1997. He died on 7 April 2020 at the
Hôpital Cochin The Hôpital Cochin () is a hospital of public assistance in the rue du Faubourg-Saint-Jacques Paris 14e. It houses the central burn treatment centre of the city. The Hôpital Cochin is a section of the Faculté de Médecine Paris-Cité. It commem ...
, in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
due to
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
at the age of 89.


Books

* ''La Colonie'' (1967) * ''La Forteresse ouvrière : Renault'' (1971) * ''Vive la télévision, Messieurs!'' (1975) * ''Portugal, Les points sur les i'' (1976) * ''La Vie en bleu, Voyage en culture ouvrière'' (1980) * ''Pied de guerre'' (1982) * ''Les Cadets de la Droite'' (1984) * ''L'Étoile rouge de David : Les juifs communistes en France'' (2002) * ''Le Nom et la Peau'' (2004) * ''La femme proscrite qui m'a sauvé la vie'' (2014)


Audiograms

* ''Musée d'art de d'histoire du Judaïsme'' * ''Le témoin du vendredi : Jacques Frémontier, réalisateur historique et blogueur octogénaire'' (2019)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fremontier, Jacques 1930 births 2020 deaths French television producers French Ashkenazi Jews Journalists from Paris People from Villeneuve-sur-Lot Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in France