Present in the French audiovisual landscape since the 1960s, the famous interviewer notably chaired the Europe 1 station and the France Télévisions group.
He will have marked the French media for more than half a century. Jean-Pierre Elkabbach died on Tuesday October 3, at the age of 86, franceinfo learned from those around him, confirming information from Paris Match. Renowned for the pugnacity of his interviews, the political journalist was also the boss of France Télévisions, Public Senate and Europe 1.
Born in Oran, it was in Algeria that he began his career as a correspondent for RTF in his hometown. In 1961, he was appointed to Paris, where his career took off, before reaching heights in the following decades. First a journalist within the ORTF, he left radio for television in 1970, where he presented the news on La Une then de la Deux.
Many twists and turns in his career
Three years later, he was appointed head of information at Antenne 2. Known for his Giscardian sympathies, he was ousted from the television channel after the victory of François Mitterrand in the 1981 presidential election. One year later, he arrived on Europe 1, where he became antenna director then the following year deputy general director.
The following decade, Jean-Pierre Elkabbach returned to the small screen on La Cinq, first, then at France 3. He quickly became CEO of France 2 and France 3. The journalist left his post in 1996, after unfortunate revelations : he would have signed contracts for hundreds of missions of francs to the presenters and producers of France 2.
Far from putting an end to his career, however, this affair brought him back to Public Senate, which he would direct for nine years, and to Europe 1, of which he would also take over the reins. His end of career will see him arrive on CNews. It is first advisor to Vincent Bolloré after being ousted from Europe 1 in 2017, after 29 years in the same position. It was on the Canal+ group’s news channel that he made his comeback behind a microphone, five years later, to conduct weekend interviews.
His interviews made media history
During his long career, the native of Oran has interviewed the most notable personalities of the last fifty years. In addition to all the Presidents of the Republic since Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, sHis microphone has included Yasser Arafat, Mikhail Gorbachev, Nelson Mandela, Fidel Castro, Bill Clinton, George Bush and Vladimir Putin.
>> Five cult moments from Jean-Pierre Elkabbach on radio and television
His most memorable interview, however, remains one of his skirmishes with Georges Marchais.“It’s extremely unpleasant to talk to you.”had singularly thrown at him the secretary general of the French Communist Party in the middle of the legislative elections of 1978. The very famous invective “Shut up Elkabbach!” However, it was never spoken on set, but popularized by Thierry Le Luron.
Another of his lines had become cult. “What color do you prefer for the wall?” he said to André Vallini, on Europe 1, to begin his interview, in 2015. Slightly taken aback, the Secretary of State for Territorial Reform then stammered, before “JPE” explained to him that “the wall” in question was the one on which “to shatter” his reform, according to him.
At the end of 2022, Jean-Pierre Elkabbach published his memoirs in a book, The Shores of Memorywhere he looked back on his childhood, his journey and his many encounters. “This book is not my will, but I want to leave a trace”, he declared then. His last tweet, published on the social network X on August 19paid tribute to his “Friend”General Jean-Louis Georgelin.