France: disappearance of Pierre Rabhi, writer and figure of agroecology

Pierre Rabhi, in 2010 in Paris.

AFP - FRANCOIS GUILLOT

Text by: RFI Follow

1 min

The writer and philosopher Pierre Rabhi, co-founder of the Colibris movement, died this Saturday, December 4 at the age of 83, Agence France-Presse learned from his son.

Author in particular of

Towards happy sobriety

, sold in more than 460,000 copies, this militant of the environmental cause died of the consequences of a cerebral hemorrhage.

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Pierre Rabhi was " 

a prophet of the earth and an activist who has tirelessly preached all his life for a sober existence and for agroecology

 ", writes AFP.

Born in 1938 at the gates of the Sahara, in French Algeria, he was very early entrusted to a family of settlers, in order to provide him with better education.

At the start of the war, he went to mainland Paris, then to Ardèche, where he took root from 1961.

He meets Michèle at the factory.

She is the executive secretary, while he is planning his return to the land, in a desire to “ 

disalienate 

” because, he says, “

 we were not born to produce

 ”.

He multiplies manual trades to buy a farm.

Short-lived presidential candidate

Pierre Rabhi is one of the pioneers of agroecology, without pesticides and chemical fertilizers.

A method applied since the 1980s in sub-Saharan Africa.

He goes there many times, and befriends Thomas Sankara, or even the violinist Yehudi Menuhin.

In 2002, it was during an ephemeral candidacy for the French presidential election finally won by Chirac, that he became better known.

He co-founded the Colibris movement with the militant writer Cyril Dion.

Each time his numerous works meet with success.

Starting with his plea,

Towards happy sobriety

, sold more than 460,000 copies since its publication in 2010.

In the latter part of his life, Pierre Rabhi divided his time between interviews, running his foundations, lecturing and writing his books.

A pioneer of agroecology, Pierre Rabhi was a thinker and writer who was committed to protecting our planet.

I send all my thoughts to his family and loved ones.

https://t.co/J8CBk3fNrS

- Anne Hidalgo (@Anne_Hidalgo) December 4, 2021

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