Hala Léa Salamé, known as Léa Salamé (; born 27 October 1979), is a Lebanese-born French journalist.

Early life

Hala Léa Salamé is the daughter of

Ghassan Salamé Ghassan Salamé (; born 1951) is a Lebanon, Lebanese academic who currently serves as the Minister of Culture since January 2025. He previously served in the same position from 2000 to 2003. He was the Dean of the Paris School of International Af ...

, former Lebanese Minister of Culture and former special advisor to UN Secretary-General

Kofi Annan Kofi Atta Annan (8 April 193818 August 2018) was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh secretary-general of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. He was the founder a ...

; her mother, Mary Boghossian, of Armenian descent, is the sister of diamond dealers Jean and Albert Boghossian. She escaped war in Lebanon with her family, settled in Paris at age 5 and obtained French nationality at age 11. Léa Salamé studied law at Panthéon-Assas University and

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 spent a year at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

, where she was injured in the

11 September 2001 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

Career

Salamé began her career as an intern on La Chaîne parlementaire with Jean-Pierre Elkabbach. In September 2006, she started working for newly created French international news TV channel

France 24 France 24 ( in French) is a French state-owned publicly funded international news television network based in Paris. Its channels, broadcast in French, English, Arabic and Spanish, are aimed at the overseas market. Based in the Paris suburb ...

. Salamé joined i>Télé in late 2010 and hosted a political show in the context of the

2012 French presidential election Presidential elections in France, Presidential elections were held in France on 22 April 2012 (or 21 April in some overseas departments and territories), with a second round Two-round system, run-off held on 6 May (or 5 May for those same territ ...

. Starting in September 2011, she hosted the evening news with Marc Fauvelle and in September 2012, a political debate programme. The next year, she hosted ''Ça se dispute'' with Éric Zemmour and Nicolas Domenach as commentators. In August 2014, Salamé succeeded Natacha Polony in the duo of commentators which she formed with Aymeric Caron, then with Yann Moix, in

Laurent Ruquier Laurent Hugues Emmanuel Ruquier (; born 24 February 1963) is a French television presenter, radio host and comedian. He is also a lyricist, writer, columnist and impresario; he has been co-owner and general manager of Théâtre Antoine-Simone B ...

's show, ''

On n'est pas couché ''On n'est pas couché'' was a French talk show broadcast on France 2 on Saturdays at 11 p.m. and hosted by Laurent Ruquier. It was produced by Ruquier and Catherine Barma. It first aired on 16 September 2006; after fourteen seasons, it ended on ...

'', aired on

France 2 France 2 () is a French free-to-air public television channel. The flagship channel of France Télévisions, it broadcasts generalist programming including news, entertainment (such as dramas, films, and game shows), factual programmes, and sp ...

. In May 2016, she announced that she would leave to host a political show with David Pujadas starting in September 2016, in the context of the

2017 French presidential election Presidential elections were held in France on 23 April and 7 May 2017. Incumbent president François Hollande of the Socialist Party (France), Socialist Party (PS) was eligible to run for a second term, but declared on 1 December 2016 that he wo ...

. Since August 2014, Salamé has hosted the 7:50 a.m. interview in

France Inter France Inter () is a French public radio channel and part of Radio France. It is the successor to Paris Inter, later known as France I, and created as a merger of the France I and France II networks, first as RTF Inter in October 1963, then ren ...

's morning show. Since December 2015, she has also conducted high-profile interviews in the French edition of '' GQ''. On 14 April 2016, as she interviewed President

François Hollande François Gérard Georges Nicolas Hollande (; born 12 August 1954) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2012 to 2017. Before his presidency, he was First Secretary of the Socialist Party (France), First Secretary of th ...

with David Pujadas in the programme ''Dialogues citoyens'' on

, Léa Salamé replied to President Hollande, who was making a comment on refugees, "Are you joking?", which triggered many reactions on social media. Wit
Les Arènes
Salamé published her first book,
Strong Women
, a series of 12 intimate interviews around female power, originally conducted as a podcast in the summer of 2019, in which she revealed her "pantheon of femininity". In the summer of 2019, she hosted a podcast called

at France Inter, revolving around female individuality in relation to power and femininity, as seen in the fields of publishing, literature, film, business, and sports. In the book, Salamé revealed her role models: Leïla Slimani
Chloé Bertolus

Christiane Taubira Christiane Marie Taubira (; born 2 February 1952) is a French politician who served as Minister of Justice of France in the governments of Prime Ministers Jean-Marc Ayrault and Manuel Valls under President François Hollande from 2012 until 20 ...

, Laure Adler,

Élisabeth Badinter Élisabeth Badinter (née Bleustein-Blanchet; born 5 March 1944) is a French philosopher, author and historian. She is best known for her philosophical treatises on feminism and women's role in society. She is an advocate of liberal feminism ...

, Béatrice Dalle, Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, Bettina Rheims, Sophie De Closets,

Amélie Mauresmo Amélie Simone Mauresmo (; born 5 July 1979) is a French former professional tennis player, tennis coach, and tournament director. She was ranked as the world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for 39 weeks. Maur ...

, Anne Méaux and the comediennes of Delphine Horvilleur.

Awards

* "Woman of the year 2014" by the French edition of '' GQ'' * "Best interviewer of the year 2015" (Prix Philippe-Caloni)

References

https://www.amazon.com/Femmes-puissantes-AR-ANTHOL-PRESS-L%C3%A9a-Salam%C3%A9/dp/B083WCSMX8 {{DEFAULTSORT:Salame, Lea 1979 births Living people French people of Armenian descent French people of Lebanese descent Lebanese emigrants to France Naturalized citizens of France Radio France people Sciences Po alumni Paris 2 Panthéon-Assas University alumni New York University alumni Lebanese women journalists Lebanese journalists French television journalists Writers from Beirut French women television journalists Survivors of terrorist attacks French expatriates in the United States