Roger Gicquel

Roger Gicquel

Born: February 22, 1933
Died: March 6, 2010
in Thiers-sur-Thève, Oise, France
Roger Gicquel (22 February 1933 in Thiers-sur-Thève in the Oise department – 6 March 2010 in Plouër-sur-Rance in the Côtes-d'Armor) was a French journalist. He presented the 20 hour Journal on the TV channel TF1 from 1975 to 1981.

During the 1950s, Gicquel began a career in acting. He was also a flight attendant on the airline UAT from 1953 to 1960 before moving into journalism.

He started at the Parisien libéré in Seine-et-Marne in 1961. He started work at the Coulommiers office. On 8 December 1962, he married at Boissy-le-Châtel on the road to Coulommiers. Roger Gicquel sent his reports from his Citroën 2CV. He regularly socialised with his colleagues in the local press from the Freedom of Seine-et-Marne and Country Briard newspapers whom he met at "The Modern" Inn in Saint-Cyr-sur-Morin. Then the newspaper asked him to create the Normandy Morning as a local edition of the Parisien for the Upper Normandy region. He also wrote for other local publications in Elbeuf and Les Andelys, as well as in those of Évreux, Louviers, and Vernon.

In 1971, he left Normandy Morning to become a consultant for two years for the information service at UNICEF. Then he served as chief information officer for ORTF.

Encouraged to move to radio by Roland Dhordain, founder of France Inter, Roger Gicquel joined the station and created a press review that he presented from 1968 to 1973. He also became Chief Reporter in 1969.

In 1975, he became the news presenter on the 20 hours Journal at TF1 despite his lack of television experience. In competition with France 2 TF1 asked him to "Personalise the Information to better differentiate ourselves and retain the loyalty of the public". Each evening, Roger Gicquel began his report by an editorial in which he gave his opinion. This personalisation, which subsequently appeared outdated, was the trademark of Roger Gicquel's appearances on television, watched nightly by millions of French people. Inspired by the TV journalist Walter Cronkite, the news presenter at the American channel CBS News, He claimed his independence from political influence and his freedom of speech: "I maintained that the audience should be able to watch the journal and hear of a tidal wave in the Ganges delta even without images rather than see the birth of a calf in an aquatic zoo in Tokyo". Ladislas de Hoyos, the star presenter of the weekly journal on TF1 from 1990 to 1991, also followed the same approach.

He was particularly famous for his opening sentence on the 20 hour Journal on 18 February 1976: "France in fear".

This underlined the emotion caused by the kidnapping and death of a small boy Philippe Bertrand at Troyes by Patrick Henry. This saying was diluted, however, because a few minutes later, he clarified that this fear is a feeling which we must not give up. ...

Source: Article "Roger Gicquel" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.

Movies for Roger Gicquel...

L'Âge d'or de la pub
Title: L'Âge d'or de la pub
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: June 2, 2023
Type: Movie
bee
La TV des 70's : Quand Giscard était président
Title: La TV des 70's : Quand Giscard était président
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: January 7, 2022
Type: Movie
In May 1974, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing became President of the Republic and wanted to bring about a new era of modernity. One of his first decisions was to break up the ORTF with the creation of three new television channels: TF1, Antenne 2 and FR3. Three new public channels but autonomous and competing. It is a race for the audience which is engaged then, and from now on the channels will make the war! This competition will give birth to a real golden age for television programs, with variety shows in the forefront. The stars of the song are going to invade the living rooms of the French for their biggest pleasure. This unedited documentary tells the story of the metamorphosis of this television of the early 1970s, between freedom of tone, scandals, political intrigues and programs that have become mythical.
bee
Happiness Is in the Field
Title: Happiness Is in the Field
Character: Charles, l'animateur
Released: December 6, 1995
Type: Movie
Francis, the boss of a small plumbing supply company, is harassed by tax collectors, striking employees, and an impossible wife and daughter. His only joy is sharing lunch with his friend Gerard. Then a TV show called "where are you?" shows a woman from Gers who is searching for her husband who disappeared 28 years ago. The lost husband looks like an identical twin of Francis...
bee
Title: À bout portant
Character: Self
Released: December 16, 1968
Type: TV