Acting

Francis Jeanson

Francis Jeanson, born in Bordeaux on July 7, 1922, and died in Arès on August 1, 2009, was a French philosopher, notably known for his support of the FLN during the Algerian War. During World War II, after studying philosophy at the Faculty of Arts in Bordeaux, he escaped through Spain to avoid forced labor in Germany (STO) and joined the Free French Forces in 1943. A reporter for the newspaper Alger républicain in 1945, he met Albert Camus. Sartre entrusted him with the editorship of the journal Les Temps Modernes from 1951 to 1956. It was Jeanson himself who wrote the review of The Rebel, which definitively soured the relationship between Sartre and Camus. He became friends with Emmanuel Mounier, who in 1948 opened the doors of the journal Esprit to him, a journal then characterized by a certain "pro-communist" stance, and who facilitated his entry into the post-war intellectual circles. Mounier also brought him onto the reading committee of Éditions du Seuil and recommended him to its literary director, Paul Flamand. When Mounier died in March 1950, Albert Béguin, who was preparing the launch of the "Écrivains de Toujours" (Writers of All Time) collection at Seuil, left the publisher for the journal Esprit. Jeanson was chosen to succeed him as head of this popularization series. The ambition to disseminate culture to the widest possible audience would gain momentum thanks to him. Between 1951 and 1956, more than 30 titles appeared in "Écrivains de Toujours".