Guy Sitbon

Guy Sitbon , born the January 9th 1934 with Monastir, is a journalist and writer French of origin Tunisia.

Resulting from a family of Jewish Tunisian rather easy within the small local Jewish community, its family brings an religious education to him from which it is detached very quickly. In this city attached to the outside world by the only newspapers of Tunis, it very early wishes to make Journalisme its trade. As of the 13 years age, it becomes thus the corresponding room of Tunis-Evening without its persons in charge knowing his age. Adhering very young person to the Tunisian nationalist cause, it is expelled of all the colleges of the country for its political sympathies. To the 16 years age, it adheres to the Communism, marked by readings like that of the Manifeste of the Communist party, but also by the influence of an uncle assistant general secretary of the Tunisian Communist party (PCT). As soon as it is registered in letters at the Institute of the high studies of Tunis, it takes its chart with the PCT.

Corrector with Africa-Action , while publishing there some small articles, its first weapons in the militant press communisante give the opportunity to him to meet Merleau-Ponty. It is then marked enough by revolutionary criticism and of left of the Communisme which the reading of Modern times offers to him. This one is not foreign with its déniaisement Communism which, in 1955, occurred under the double shock of the voyage of Nikita Khrouchtchev with Belgrade and of the reading of the opium of the intellectuals . But there remains communist of heart and constitutes within the party, with some Moslem friends, a tendency on a nationalist basis.

It becomes acquainted with Roger Stephan with the Press of Tunisia where he is corrector of printing works. It publishes thereafter several measuring rods in France Observer when, in 1956, it is found with Paris. First-year student in political sciences, he lives then with the Moslems, militant within the General union of the Tunisian students for a nationalist cause of which he incarnates the wing communisante. But its judeity is worth personal attacks to him which lead it to leave there. There does not remain about it less one close relation of the federation of France of FLN, being defined before just like an Arab Jewish, favorable to the Nassérisme and the revolution laic baasist, and socialist. In 1957, it takes the post of sub-editor with the Nave which offers to him Hector de Galard without to be considered near to the “French liberals without interest” (Edgar Faure, Jacques Duhamel, Léo Hamon, etc) that it meets there. He is then noticed by the person in charge of the Monde with the the Maghreb to cover the installation of the FLN in Tunis.

As from June 1958, it thus ensures the correspondence of the daily newspaper Tunis. It forms, starting from 1960, the the Maghreb Circus with various western journalists (Tom Brady, Borovief of the Express train , Umbaracci of the New Economist , Josette Alia Jeune Afrique , etc). He writes also leading articles in the Press of Tunisia (1961 - 1962) and of the articles for Jeune Afrique , France Observer and Time Magazine . But independence Algérie does not lead it to remain in Algeria (March-August 1962) as collaborator of the Monde and American newspapers (like the NewYork Times ). It is there that it is recruited by Béchir Ben Yahmed, the director of Jeune Afrique , to cover the sub-Saharan North Africa and .

Of return to Paris in 1964, it enters to the foreign service of the Express train thanks to his/her friend Claude Krief. It takes part then in the preparatory meetings with France Observer even if he is skeptic on the resumption of the title. In January 1965, it integrates Nouvel Observateur as business manager. As from July 1966, it ensures the direction of the drafting of the Nouvel Adam even if its title is more fictitious than real. He then resigned of Nouvel Obs to found the literary Magazine . He ensures of it the direction until in 1970, year when, wearied by his work, he sells the title in Fasquelle. He lives then nearly one year in a community with the Denmark.

He draws a great report from it on the free love (September 1969). But having to work again, it reinstates the newspaper like Reporter in April 1972, in spite of the little of enthusiasm of Jean Daniel. To defer to the service Event , he also writes in the pages Société , for example on the sexual behavior of the French (October 23rd 1972) or on “sexology with Vincennes”, which causes many movements in faculty. He treats also various facts like the Affaire of Bruay-in-Artois (1972), in which the doubts that he expresses on the culpability of the notary make indignant Todd and Duparc so much so that its paper… following a petition of protest which they made circulate. Its relationship with the line of the newspaper on the Israeli-Arab Conflit is difficult as much insofar as it covers the Arab world in directed an enough way.

At the time of the massacre of Munich (September 1972), its sensitivity to the Arab cause shows through in the comprehension which it expresses towards the fact that “there remains nothing any more but violence” with the Palestinians to convince the Israelis “to include Israel in a laic and democratic Arab State” where they would be their brothers. In the same way, he recalls with force which if “the Israelis have a ground and a State”, “the Palestinians have neither one nor the other”. In 1973, its treatment of the Guerre of Kippour is then judged too much pro-Arabic by Jean Daniel who associates Herve Chabalier to him “to rebalance” the positions. Thereafter, one thus offers less the occasion to him to treat question.

Charged primarily with the Maghreb, it carries out several reports with the Morocco (1972, 1977 and 1979) where various articles treat Autoritarisme in Tunisia and in Algeria. It discusses even with the colonel Kadhafi in June 1973. But it is also mobilized by the political service for interviewing Michel Rocard (February 19th 1973). As from December 1974, it directly expresses its point of view in a humorous form within the framework of a chronicle (“fiction of Guy Sitbon”) from which it draws a collection in 1976. It continues however to write articles as on “the Corsica evil ”, where it calls on the separatists without to support them. In July 1978, it takes part in the debate on the Tiers-monde and the left. Refusing the use of the speech antitotalitaire for the worldwide of the third world, it stresses the character europeocentric and anachronistic of the criticism of the State in the third world. Refuting the idea that one can “separate, like does it Julliard, the people of his State”, it refuses “to yield to the mode” of the anti-state control in a platform where it affirms that “without State-nation, not language, not of culture, not of nation… only waiting of the tender to another State-nation and especially to another culture”. It rises from its positions a criticism of the new philosophers so virulent that one of its “fictions” on the subject is censured. In 1980, it publishes Romance Gagou , with the autobiographical accents which describes the changes of the Tunisian judeity and the hope broken of those which were committed building a fraternal company across all Nationalisme.

In 1982, it succeeds Franz-Olivier Giesbert as regular correspondent of the newspaper to the the United States. Among the popular readings of reviews that it reads then to improve its English, it discovers the review of Sexologie Forum , of which the part devoted to the letters of readers raises at his place an lively interest. Returned in Paris, it is inspired some for launching, in March 1984, Letter-magazine which publishes the Fantasme S of its readers and reached 80.000 specimens at the end of 1984. Refusing the offers of bringing together which proposes to him the Filipacchi group, it launches a female version of its first formula, Lettres of women , which reaches 80.000 specimens. It also launches out in the blue message services and telephonies.

It then tries not to appear publicly, like illustrates it its anonymity for its interviews with Libération or the Event of Thursday in spring 1985. It leaves also the official responsibilities for its activities to his son and his second wife Lidia Darras, assistant of the administrator of the Matin Bernard Villeneuve then direct of radio operator of the group Perdriel, Radio-Capital, in 1982. But during the summer 1985, its pornographic activities are known on the public place. the Morning estimates whereas it “weighs already more than 200.000 monthly specimens and 50 million Turnover”. It puts at this time there of availability of the Nouvel Observateur . It does not publish of them less episodically literary criticisms or articles of company. For the French presidential election of 1988, it launches the Newspaper of Uncle , newspaper humorous publishing the letters of admirors of the president and tie with 100.000 specimens.

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