Journalist Olivier Todd, biographer of Albert Camus, died at the age of 95

He worked for various media, notably covering the Vietnam War for the weekly “Le Nouvel Observateur”.

The French journalist and writer Olivier Todd, author in particular of a acclaimed biography of Albert Camus, died at the age of 95, his son announced to AFP on Saturday, confirming information from the Monde. He died during the night from Friday to Saturday, said his son, the historian and demographer Emmanuel Todd.

Born in 1929 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, near Paris, Olivier Todd collaborated in the 1960s and 1970s with the BBC and The New Observerfor which he covered the Vietnam War, before joining L’Express in 1977, where he became deputy editor. He is also the author of several biographies, including that of the Belgian singer Jacques Brel (1984), of Albert Camus, a work which won the France Télévision literary prize and the Mémorial Prize in 1996, as well as the Literary Grand Prize of Ajaccio, and that of André Malraux (2001).

Upon the announcement of his death, journalist Bernard Guetta, close to the family, reacted on X: “Olivier Todd is dead. He was a model and like an uncle for me, but it is journalism that is in mourning.” He added: “Committed, subjective, he never claimed objectivity but he embodied like no other intellectual honesty, courage and talent, all three at the same time.”

For his part, journalist and film producer Georges-Marc Benamou expressed his thoughts on Facebook: “He was a model for me, a mentor, and also a friend Camusien. Thoughts moved.”