Journalist Michel Meyer, a leading figure at Radio France, has died

In an interview with Sud Radio that summed up his long career, he described himself in 2020 as a "complete autodidact," having only a vocational certificate in fitter and "equivalences in philosophy." Journalist and writer Michel Meyer, co-founder of France Info and correspondent in Germany for several media outlets for more than fifteen years, died Wednesday at the age of 82. His daughter announced this to AFP on Thursday, July 31.

Born in 1942 in Schirmeck in the Bas-Rhin region, Michel Meyer began his career in Strasbourg in 1966. He was a journalist and editor-in-chief at ORTF, and a permanent delegate for Antenne 2 in West Germany, the GDR, Poland, and Denmark. He was also a permanent correspondent for Radio France in Bonn and a correspondent for L'Express.

At the end of 1986, he was appointed by Roland Faure, CEO of Radio France, to head up news at the Maison Ronde. In this position, he participated in the creation of the first 24-hour news radio station, France Info, which was launched on June 1, 1987. He went on to manage Radio France Internationale (RFI) and France Bleu.

A Germanophile, he was also the author of several books, including A Dictionary of Love of Germany (Plon, 2019) and A Secret History of the Fall of the Berlin Wall (Odile Jacob, 2014). Michel Meyer was married and the father of four children.