“Farewell friend, farewell colleague, hello artist”, François Coudert is dead, France 3 is in mourning

The hardest thing to write: François has died. He was part of the large family of France 3 journalists. A bereaved family which pays tribute to him today.

The first words come to me from the editorial staff of France 3 in Saint-Etienne, François has been the editor-in-chief since September 1, 2023. Françoise Boissonnat and the entire team wanted to write this word.

“You had a rotten sense of humor, but at least we had a laugh! On this one, in addition to being rotten and not funny, it sucks. Shooting you away in the middle of the night, frankly, that’s not done . You were my buddy, my friend and our colleague. You remember that we were called “Papa and Maman”, that on set we introduced ourselves by saying “Sylvain-Sylvette”, because no one believed when we said it. “François and Françoise” We worked, a lot all over France and for a while in St-Etienne It wasn’t every day the land of happiness, but with Claire, Sandrine, Damien, Catherine, Vincent, Anthony, Fatima, Stéphanie,! Philippe and Lise-Marie, we made a great team. We loved your great shirts, your surprise babies, your way of keeping difficult things at bay, your modesty, your chosen vocabulary, your love of more or less beautiful things This morning. , we is all here, sad, together. We think of you, in short, we loved you and we already miss you.

Anthony remembers a cameraman and a field reporter, “he loved it.” His first significant experience as a cameraman “it was the mass grave of Sebrenica, in 1995, in the former Yugoslavia”.

Stéphanie, presenter of our regional newspapers, holds back her “deadpan humor, sometimes schoolboy. A frank character, without filter, natural. He was unbeatable on Saint-Etienne”, his city of heart. “Always with a smile, as much with your eyes as with your mouth.”

Véronique, head editor, tells me that the last time she saw him, he showed her photos of his children. “He was proud of it”. “In his eyes, there was always this spark of kindness, it was a joy to be with him.”

Our regional director, Jacques Paté, spoke with him again, two days ago, to finalize the organization of the 25th anniversary of the local edition of Saint-Etienne, on December 17. “I can still hear his enthusiasm to celebrate the event with his entire team. I am deeply moved. He was a committed journalist and editor-in-chief who was always active in the field. He was keen to bring the news to life of his city on our airwaves I think of him, his family and our teams whose grief is immense.

Pierre-Olivier Belle, is deputy editor-in-chief in Clermont-Ferrand, where François remained stationed for almost five years. IHe sent me this message.

“There were often croissants or sweets in his morning hands… François came to the France 3 Auvergne editorial office every morning, like a schoolboy eager for discoveries and ready to join in on all the good things! We spent five years together, barely three meters separated us and as soon as I looked up, it was his face that was there, overlooking the office opposite… Sometimes immersed in his screen, sometimes ready to start a conversation! there discussion, debate and controversy He also loved the arts and the questions that cross them… Unstoppable on the fine arts of St-Etienne, of Paris or elsewhere. Inexhaustible also on the Great and the little stories… By. -above all, François was inexhaustible about his family, Karine, his parents and his many children… Love like an inexhaustible well. So, I simply tell you, meeting a guy like him changes your life.

For another of his colleagues in Clermont, he was “more than a deputy, it was a vision of current events in story mode: small and large”. Still according to him, “François will also remain the accomplice of fruitful pseudo-intellectual exchanges according to television news, which brought together the phrasing of Serge Reggiani with the sky blue of Hooper. François… Escaped forever from now on… Farewell my friend”he thus ended his missive.

When I met him for the first time, it was in 1995. He had just joined France 3, in Strasbourg. He was producing reports for a cross-border edition, entitled “Triangle”. A sharp and offbeat look at current issues between France, Switzerland and Germany.

François joined Saint-Etienne as Grand Reporter in 2002 before moving into management at Clermont-Ferrand in 2017. Appointed deputy editor-in-chief at Saint-Etienne in 2023, he was one of those tireless, imperturbable characters. Adventurer and cultured, he never missed a good word.

After reading one of my articles about my open heart surgery, he called me to tell me about his experience following a coma. He then said to me: “you like me, we now know that life is fragile, let’s make the most of it”.

To his loved ones, his children, his family, we send all our most sincere condolences.