Alain Peyrefitte

Alain Peyrefitte

Birth : 1925-08-26, Najac, Aveyron, France

Death : 1999-11-27

History

Alain Peyrefitte (26 August 1925 – 27 November 1999) was a French scholar and politician. He was a confidant of Charles de Gaulle and had a long career in public service, serving as a diplomat in Germany and Poland. Peyrefitte is remembered for his support for partitioning Algeria amid the Algerian War. Peyrefitte served as Minister of Information from 1962 to 1966, establishing the rules of presidential debates between the two electoral rounds; and as Minister of Justice from 1977 to 1981, being involved in the affair surrounding the mysterious death of Robert Boulin in 1979. He became a member of the Académie française in 1977. On 15 December 1986, he survived an assassination attempt by members of Action Directe (AD) in front of his house. The driver of his car was killed in the bomb attack. Upon his death in 1999 he was honored by burial in Les Invalides which also houses the tomb of Napoleon and other revered national leaders. He wrote The Immobile Empire and Quand la Chine s'éveillera… le monde tremblera. Outside France he is probably best known for his book Le Mal Français (translated as The Trouble with France), which addresses the question of whether there is something unique to the French character that has caused some of the country's peculiar recurring problems. The book places his own observations and experiences as a journalist and government minister inside a panoramic view of French and European history from the medieval to the modern era. Source: Article "Alain Peyrefitte" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.

Profile

Alain Peyrefitte

Movies

Mitterrand et la télé
Mitterrand et la télé
Self (archive footage)
May 10th, 1981. François Mitterrand is elected President of the Republic. The “soviet tanks” supposedly coming upon the Champs-Élysées dressed in red, feared by some, did not march. Serge Moati takes a personal look at this episode, focusing on the relationship the president had with television, that he witnessed and played a role in.
De Gaulle, the Last King of France
De Gaulle, the Last King of France
Self (archive footage)
Charles de Gaulle, the first president (1958-1969) of the Vth Republic, France’s current system of government, left his mark on the country . He was statesman of action and has been compared to a monarch. This film depicts the general’s personality through the great events of his presidential term, at a time when the world was undergoing considerable changes.
The New Watchdogs
The New Watchdogs
Self
In 1932, the writer Paul Nizan published "The New Watchdogs" to denounce the philosophers and writers of his time who, sheltering behind intellectual neutrality, imposed themselves as true watchdogs of the established order. Today the watchdogs are journalists, editors, and media experts who've openly become market evangelists and guardians of the social order. In a sardonic manner, "The New Watchdogs" denounces this press that, claiming to be independent, objective and pluralist, makes out it is a democratic force of opposition. With forcefulness and precision, the film puts its finger on the increasing danger of information produced by the major industrial groups of the Paris Stock Exchange and perverted into merchandise.