Francoise Giroud
(1916–2003)
GIROUD, FRANÇOISE (France Gourdji; 1916–2003), French journalist and writer. Born in Geneva, Switzerland, Giroud, an ardent polemicist, was a major figure in the political press in France. In 1953, she co-founded with Jean-Jacques Servan-Schreiber one of France's first news magazines, L'Express, which began as a weekly supplement of Les Echos, a daily newspaper specializing in economics, but soon became a mainstay of France's political landscape. Giroud's journalistic motto was "understanding quickly how things work, and helping people to understand quickly." L'Express was aimed at revolutionizing the French press by "telling people the truth," in Servan-Schreiber's words; important writers took part in the project, including left-wing thinkers like Camus and Sartre and center-right writers like Malraux and Mauriac. From the beginning, L'Express voiced strong and clear opinions against colonial wars, which were often met with censorship from the
Sources:F. Giroud, Profession journaliste, conversations avec Martine de Rebaudy (2001).
[Dror Franck Sullaper (2nd ed.)]
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