Philippe Tesson, journalist and literary columnist, died on the night of February 1, 2023 at the age of 94. With a very full career, the man was a figure in the Parisian literary world.
He was a journalist, columnist and even theater director. Philippe Tesson died on the night of Wednesday February 1, 2023 at the age of 94, after a long life dedicated to letters. The journalist took his last breath “peacefully and surrounded by his children”, at his home in Chatou, in the Yvelines, announced his family this Thursday, February 2 at the Figaro.
Philippe Tesson, figure of journalism
Philippe Tesson began his impressive career at the newspaper Combat at the age of 30, in 1958. But if there is one press title with which the man was inseparable, it is Le Quotidien de Paris. The man had founded the newspaper and taken the head in 1974 until the stop of the publication twenty years later. Philippe Tesson has also written for Le Canard Enchaîné, Le Point and Le Figaro Magazine, a title in which he wrote a column on theatre, a subject that had always fascinated him, as much as writing. Philippe Tesson also described himself as “a writer of the moment” as a journalist.
It is at his side that many journalists and editorialists have trained. Among famous names we can mention Catherine Pgard, Claire Chazal, Jean-Marc Sylvestre or Eric Zemmour.
Journalist but also editorialist and columnist
In the 1990s, the journalist moved from the pages of newspapers to television sets by becoming a columnist for channels such as Paris Première, France 3 or France 2. His columns were most often literary. This love for letters was illustrated in journalism but also in the theater since Philippe had become director of the Poche-Montparnasse theater in the 6th arrondissement of Paris. So many hats that made the nonagenarian a figure in the Parisian literary world.
This attraction for culture is a large part of the heritage that Philippe Tesson leaves to his children, who evolve in the same circle. The journalist was the father of writer Sylvain Tesson and journalist Daphné Tesson.
Philippe Tesson and resolutely political positions
By the press titles in which he passed but also by his very committed and often decided personal positions, Philippe Tesson held very political postures. Le Quotidien de Paris was a newspaper that supported the Giscard camp and opposed the socialism of François Mitterrand, despite the amiable relationship the two men had before the 1960s. Before that Philippe Tesson had fiercely opposed the policies of Charles de Gaulles before having a more nuanced opinion on the general. In recent years, Philippe Tesson had presented himself as an unwavering supporter of Emmanuel Macron in 2017, also describing himself as “resolutely right-wing”. “At 90, we are no longer on the left. Even Mélenchon will change,” he laughed in remarks reported by The Parisian.