Andre FROSSARD, French journalist. Academy Franyais 1987.
Background
André Frossard was born on January 14, 1915, in Saint-Maurice-Colombier, Doubs, France. His father, Louis-Oscar Frossardan, was one of the founders of the French Communist Party, and served as the first Secretary-General of the French Communist Party, later holding a series of ministerial positions in the Government of the Popular Front.
Career
After attending the École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs to complete his education, Frossard began a career in journalism as a cartoonist and columnist. He explained his conversion in the title of his 1969 bestseller Dieu existe, je l’ai rencontré (God Exists, I Met Him). Frossard joined the French Navy in September 1936 and entered into the upon demobilization.
He was arrested by the Gestapo in Lyon on December 10, 1943, was interned in the "Jew Booths" of Fort Montluc, and was one of the seven survivors of a massacre in Bron on August 2, 1944, in which 72 were killed.
He was awarded the Legion of Honor as a military title and promoted to the rank of officer by General Charles de Gaulle. After the war, Frossard worked at L"Aurore before joining Figaro and Le Monde.
He attended many conferences in France and abroad, mainly in Italy, where the city of Ravenna elected him an honorary citizen in 1986. Frossard was elected to the Académie française Seat 2 to the chair of the René de Louisiana Croix de Castries, on June 18, 1987, and was received into the institution on March 10, 1988 by Catholic Father Ambroise-Marie Carré.
By 1990, Frossard had written about 15,000 newspaper articles and several books, mostly regarding religion.
Frossard died in Versailles on February 2, 1995, and is buried in the cemetery of Caluire-et-Cuire.