Philippe Labro died on June 4, 2025, at the age of 88. The same day as Nicole Croisille, another prominent figure in the French cultural scene. An emotional coincidence for those who closely follow the fates captured by popular culture. But it is in Montauban, where he was born in 1936, that the journey of a man with a thousand lives begins. From childhood, he dreams of writing. His parents, recognized as Righteous Among the Nations, instill in him a moral rigor and a taste for commitment. In this southern family, words matter, actions too.
An average but passionate student, Labro develops a fascination for the United States at a very young age. In 1954, thanks to a Fulbright scholarship, he boards the Queen Mary and discovers a multifaceted, fascinating, and sometimes contradictory America. He studies at Washington and Lee University in Virginia. This journey forever marks his worldview. He returns transformed, with a signet ring bearing the arms of Lexington on his ring finger, a symbol of a destiny forged abroad. He understands that journalism is not just about reporting: it is also about translating the world’s heartbeat.
A reporter at the heart of contemporary history
Back in France, he makes numerous attempts to break into the press. He briefly collaborates with Agence France-Presse and the Figaro Littéraire. In 1959, Pierre Lazareff, the legendary head of France-Soir, spots him and entrusts him with a biography of Al Capone. It is the beginning of a trajectory that will lead him to the major stages of world news.
During the 1960s, Labro covers international news with a unique perspective. In 1963, he is in Dallas during the assassination of John F. Kennedy. He witnesses the panic, interviews the witnesses, and delivers a rare account. He becomes one of the few French journalists heard by the Warren Commission. He later publishes On a tiré sur le Président, a precise and dense investigative book, still cited today.
In Algeria, Vietnam, Cuba, Labro observes the world with curiosity and critical distance. He quickly understands that pure objectivity does not exist. But loyalty to the facts does. At 24, he already knows that journalism is about writing history live.
A filmmaker influenced by American codes
Alongside his journalism career, Labro tries his hand at cinema. In 1969, he directs Tout peut arriver, an initiatory film loosely inspired by his years of study in the United States. The young Fabrice Luchini makes his debut there. Labro follows up with thrillers that will mark the 1970s: Sans mobile apparent, L’Héritier, L’Alpagueur.
He directs Jean-Paul Belmondo, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Yves Montand, male figures he likes to set in motion in plots mixing crime, social critique, and political action. His films are marked by a concern for rhythm, sharp dialogues, and very graphic staging. American cinema, from Don Siegel to Sidney Lumet, is a constant reference.
A man of letters, radio, and television
Labro writes tirelessly. He pens songs for Johnny Hallyday, including Oh! ma jolie Sara, but also for Jane Birkin. He publishes more than twenty works, ranging from novels to autobiographies and personal reflections. Among them, L’Étudiant étranger, winner of the Interallié Prize in 1986, and Un été dans l’Ouest, which explores the intimate landscapes of his American youth.
He leads RTL in the late 1980s, then co-founds Direct 8 with Vincent Bolloré. On the small screen, he invents a form of slow and cultured television, where words take precedence. His show L’Essentiel chez Labro, broadcast until 2025, welcomes writers, artists, thinkers. Without effects or clashes, he gives time for ideas to emerge.
A figure of French memory
Labro is a discreet memorialist. Until the end, he fills his Moleskine notebooks with quotes, memories, unfinished sentences. He believes in the power of words, in their slow maturation. In Tomber sept fois, se relever huit, he offers a rare testimony on depression. Moreover, he addresses the fragility of intimate balances. Furthermore, he expresses the desire to rebuild.
He has known illness, doubts, silences. But he has always preferred sharing to posturing. His work is that of a man who sought to understand, rather than to convince. His pen, elegant and precise, remains a guide for future generations.
A most admirable journey
Philippe Labro leaves a lasting mark. In the French audiovisual landscape, in literary memory, and in the world of journalism. He embodied a form of insatiable curiosity, combined with true moral rigor. A man who loved America, but who never stopped scrutinizing French fragilities. A journalist, a filmmaker, a writer, a radio man.
He died of cancer in Paris in the spring of 2025. Indeed, he had closed the page of a 20th century he had recounted with passion. France loses an essential witness of its era. A sharp eye, a deep voice, an intact curiosity.
