Journalist Jean Daniel, co-founder of "Nouvel Observateur", died Thursday at the age of 99. At the microphone of Europe 1, the former Minister of Foreign Affairs Hubert Védrine pays tribute to the man who was "much more than a journalist", and invites to read and re-read Jean Daniel, whose "no idea is out of date".

INTERVIEW

He had devoted his whole life to journalism. Jean Daniel, co-founder of Le Nouvel Observateur, died on Thursday. Hubert Védrine, former Minister of Foreign Affairs, pays a heartfelt tribute to this committed journalist, who, according to him, has played a considerable role for peace in the Middle East.

>> Watch all of Raphaëlle Duchemin's programs in replay and podcast here

"Incredibly brave"

"I am very sad of his death," says Hubert Védrine, who claims to have stayed in touch with Jean Daniel until the end. "He is a huge character who disappears, he is much more than a great journalist", he affirms about the one who founded the Nouvel Observateur with Claude Perdriel in 1964. He signed the editorials there until 'in 2008. A newspaper positioned on the left, engaged in the battles of the time, such as abortion and feminism. In the Nouvel Observateur , he opens his pages to intellectuals and writers.

"He has been incredibly brave on Middle East issues," said the former minister. "He has always held a balanced position, tackling extraordinary taboos," he said. "I invite you to reread The Jewish Prison , a reflection on what it means to be Jewish. All these questions of identity, nation, memory, which the contemporary left had forgotten on the way," explains Hubert Védrine. Jean Daniel, a Jew born in Algeria, has written extensively on these questions, linked to the identity of peoples. "None of his ideas are out of date. Now is the time to read it, read it again," said the former diplomat on Europe 1.

"He acted like a statesman"

"On the Middle East as on European questions, what he says is totally relevant," further explains his friend Hubert Védrine. "It is very current when we see the way Europeans are questioning themselves today".

The presidents of the Republic consulted him, listened, let themselves be influenced by his ideas. "He behaved like a statesman. In the world of journalism, he was guided by the ethics of responsibility, and not of conviction," concludes Hubert Védrine, admiring the man he describes as "malicious ".