The funeral of journalist Jean-Pierre Elkabbach, who died this Tuesday, October 3 at the age of 86, will take place soon, as will a tribute at the headquarters of France Télévision.
Jean-Pierre Elkabbach died this Tuesday, October 3, at the age of 86. After a shower of tributes, the time to say goodbye to him will take place very soon. This monument to journalism “will be buried on Friday at 4 p.m. in the Montparnasse cemetery”, according to a relative of the family who spoke on BFM TV on Wednesday.
Jean-Pierre Elkabbach was also president of France Télévision, recalls the public audiovisual group in a press release. The main headquarters building, located in Paris, will be named “Maison Jean-Pierre Elkabbache” and a ceremony will be given in his honor on Monday October 9 at 10 a.m., in the presence of Emmanuel Macron.
Although the causes of his death have not been confirmed, this great media man had recently experienced health problems. While Actu recalled at the start of the year that the journalist had a sarcoma removed three years ago, BFMTV reported that he had undergone surgery this summer. Since then, those around him told the 24-hour news channel, his health has continued to deteriorate. He was the victim of a fall on Sunday October 1st.
Born on September 29, 1937 in Oran, Algeria, this great media man left his mark on the history of French radio and television. Haïm Jean-Pierre ElKabbach, his full name, made his debut in the 1960s on RTF radio in Oran. He then continued his career in the largest French newsrooms, including France Inter, Europe 1 and Antenne 2. As a political journalist, he interviewed, for almost half a century, numerous political figures and a good number of heads of state.
Recently, after being ousted from Europe 1 in 2016, he made his comeback on CNews in September 2019 with his show called “Sans detours”, broadcast on Sundays at 7 p.m. In 2021, following the takeover of Europe 1 by the Bolloré group, Jean-Pierre Elkabbach returned to the radio to host the major weekend morning interviews. The journalist finally retired in the summer of 2022, wishing in particular to devote himself to his memoirs.
A famous phrase, “shut up Elkabbach”, is now associated with the political journalist who died on October 3, 2023. While many people associate it with a 180 interview on the Antenne 2 channel, with the secretary general of the PCF Georges Marchais, it had, in reality, been imagined by the comedian Thierry Le Luron who then caricatured this interview. This formula was then used by Elkabbach himself for the title of one of his books, released in 1992.
However, Marchais and Elkabbach have already exchanged arms, notably during the legislative elections in 1978 on Europe 1: “Listen to Elkabbach! I think it’s a sufficiently serious evening… If you think that my place is not desirable since the right has won, I’m giving way to the right and going elsewhere. They ask me elsewhere, I can go there. Because it’s extremely unpleasant to discuss with you” The son of the former secretary general, Olivier Marchais, however, assured that they “liked each other a lot. They were perhaps the two best enemies. There was a lot of respect between them.”
