Michel Droit
Encyclopedia
Michel Droit was a French novelist and journalist. He was the father of the photographer Éric Droit (1954–2007).
in April 1945. He took on a career as a press, radio and television journlist after the Second World War and at the 1960s he was the preferred television interviewer of général de Gaulle
.
His first novel, Plus rien au monde, dates to 1954. In 1964, he won the Grand prix du roman de l'Académie française
for his Le Retour
. On 6 March 1980, on the same day as Marguerite Yourcenar
, he was elected as a member of the Académie française
, replacing Joseph Kessel
.
He wrote a polemic against a reggae adaptation of La Marseillaise
as "Aux armes et cætera
" by Serge Gainsbourg
, reproaching him for "provoking" a resurgence of anti-Semitism
and thus making things difficult for his "co-religionists". Droit was attacked for this position by the MRAP.
He got into legal difficulties as a member of the CNCL, a television regulator set up in the 1980s, but this was thrown out of court with the help of his lawyer Jean-Marc Varaut
.
He accidentally killed one of his companions on a safari in Africa.
He is buried in the Passy Cemetery
.
Life
After studying at the Faculté de Lettres de Paris and at Sciences-Po, he joined the army in 1944 and was wounded near UlmUlm
Ulm is a city in the federal German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the River Danube. The city, whose population is estimated at 120,000 , forms an urban district of its own and is the administrative seat of the Alb-Donau district. Ulm, founded around 850, is rich in history and...
in April 1945. He took on a career as a press, radio and television journlist after the Second World War and at the 1960s he was the preferred television interviewer of général de Gaulle
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969....
.
His first novel, Plus rien au monde, dates to 1954. In 1964, he won the Grand prix du roman de l'Académie française
Grand Prix du roman de l'Académie française
Le Grand Prix du Roman is a French literary award, created in 1918, and given each year by the Académie française. Along with the Prix Goncourt, it is one of the oldest and most prestigious literary awards in France...
for his Le Retour
Le Retour (novel)
Le Retour was a 1964 novel by Michel Droit, published by Éditions Julliard and winning the Grand Prix du roman de l'Académie française for 1964....
. On 6 March 1980, on the same day as Marguerite Yourcenar
Marguerite Yourcenar
Marguerite Yourcenar was a Belgian-born French novelist and essayist. Winner of the Prix Femina and the Erasmus Prize, she was the first woman elected to the Académie française, in 1980, and the seventeenth person to occupy Seat 3.-Biography:Yourcenar was born Marguerite Antoinette Jeanne Marie...
, he was elected as a member of the Académie française
Académie française
L'Académie française , also called the French Academy, is the pre-eminent French learned body on matters pertaining to the French language. The Académie was officially established in 1635 by Cardinal Richelieu, the chief minister to King Louis XIII. Suppressed in 1793 during the French Revolution,...
, replacing Joseph Kessel
Joseph Kessel
Joseph Kessel was a French journalist and novelist.He was born in Villa Clara, Entre Ríos, Argentina, because of the constant journeys of his father, a Lithuanian doctor of Jewish origin. Joseph Kessel lived the first years of his childhood in Orenburg, Russia, before the family moved to France...
.
He wrote a polemic against a reggae adaptation of La Marseillaise
La Marseillaise
"La Marseillaise" is the national anthem of France. The song, originally titled "Chant de guerre pour l'Armée du Rhin" was written and composed by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle in 1792. The French National Convention adopted it as the Republic's anthem in 1795...
as "Aux armes et cætera
Aux armes et cætera (album)
Produced by Philippe Lerichomme, Aux Armes et cætera is the thirteenth album by Serge Gainsbourg, released in the early spring of 1979. It was recorded in Kingston, Jamaica, with some of the island's best reggae musicians as well as members of the I Threes, Bob Marley's backup chorus which includes...
" by Serge Gainsbourg
Serge Gainsbourg
Serge Gainsbourg, born Lucien Ginsburg was a French singer-songwriter, actor and director. Gainsbourg's extremely varied musical style and individuality make him difficult to categorize...
, reproaching him for "provoking" a resurgence of anti-Semitism
Anti-Semitism
Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
and thus making things difficult for his "co-religionists". Droit was attacked for this position by the MRAP.
He got into legal difficulties as a member of the CNCL, a television regulator set up in the 1980s, but this was thrown out of court with the help of his lawyer Jean-Marc Varaut
Jean-Marc Varaut
Jean-Marc Varaut was a French lawyer....
.
He accidentally killed one of his companions on a safari in Africa.
He is buried in the Passy Cemetery
Passy Cemetery
The Passy Cemetery is a famous cemetery located at 2, rue du Commandant Schlœsing in Passy, in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, France.-History:...
.
Works
- De Lattre Maréchal de France, Pierre Horay, 1952 (livre sur Jean de Lattre de TassignyJean de Lattre de TassignyJean Joseph Marie Gabriel de Lattre de Tassigny, GCB, MC was a French military hero of World War II and commander in the First Indochina War.-Early life:...
) - André Maurois, Éditions universitaires, 1953 (livre sur André MauroisAndré MauroisAndré Maurois, born Emile Salomon Wilhelm Herzog was a French author.-Life:Maurois was born in Elbeuf and educated at the Lycée Pierre Corneille in Rouen, both in Normandy. Maurois was the son of Ernest Herzog, a Jewish textile manufacturer, and Alice Herzog...
) - Plus rien au monde, Prix Max Barthou, Ferencz, 1954
- Jours et Nuits d’Amérique, Georges Nizet, 1954
- Visas pour l’Amérique du SudSouth AmericaSouth America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
, Gallimar, 1956 - Pueblo, Julliard, 1957
- J’ai vu vivre le JaponJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, Fayard, 1958 - Panoramas mexicainsMexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, Fayard, 1960 - La Camargue, Prix Carlos de Lazerme, Benjamin Arthaud, 1961
- Le RetourLe Retour (novel)Le Retour was a 1964 novel by Michel Droit, published by Éditions Julliard and winning the Grand Prix du roman de l'Académie française for 1964....
, Grand Prix du roman de l'Académie françaiseGrand Prix du roman de l'Académie françaiseLe Grand Prix du Roman is a French literary award, created in 1918, and given each year by the Académie française. Along with the Prix Goncourt, it is one of the oldest and most prestigious literary awards in France...
, Julliard, 1964 - Les Compagnons de la Forêt-Noire, Julliard, 1966, Tome 1 de la série "le temps des hommes"
- La Fille de l’ancre bleue, Solar,1967
- L’Orient perdu, Julliard, 1969, Tome 2 de la série "le temps des hommes"
- L’Homme du destin, Larrieu-Bonnel,1972
- La Ville blanche, Julliard, 1973, Tome 3 de la série "le temps des hommes"
- La coupe est pleine, France-Empire, 1975
- La Mort du connétable, Julliard, 1976, Tome 4 de la série "le temps des hommes"
- Les Feux du crépuscule, Plon, 1977
- Les Clartés du jour, Plon, 1978
- Le Lion et le Marabout, Plon, 1979
- Les Lueurs de l’aube, Plon, 1981
- Une plume et un micro, Plon, 1982
- Et maintenant si nous parlions de l’Afrique du SudSouth AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, Plon, 1983 - Une fois la nuit venue, Plon, 1984
- Lettre ouverte à ceux qui en ont plus qu’assez du socialisme, Albin Michel, 1985
- La Rivière de la guerre, Julliard, 1985
- Le Fils unique, Plon, 1988
- Le Rendez-vous d’Elchingen, Plon, 1990
- Nous parlerons de Rome, Le Fallois, 1992
- Le Temps d’apprendre à vivre, Le Rocher, 1993
- Le Temps qui tient au cœur, Le Rocher, 1996