François Cavanna (1923-2014) was a French writer, journalist, and humorous cartoonist. Co-founder of the satirical newspapers Hara-Kiri and later Charlie Hebdo, he is also the author of famous autobiographical works such as “Les Ritals,” about his childhood as the son of an Italian immigrant.
François Cavanna(1923 — 2014)
François Cavanna
France
5 min read
Frequently asked questions
Famous Quotes
« Dumb and nasty.»
Key Facts
- Born on February 22, 1923, in Nogent-sur-Marne, the son of an Italian immigrant bricklayer
- Co-founded the satirical newspaper Hara-Kiri in 1960 with Professor Choron
- Took part in 1970 in the creation of Charlie Hebdo after the banning of Hara-Kiri Hebdo
- Published “Les Ritals” in 1978, an autobiographical account of his childhood
- Died on January 29, 2014, in Créteil, suffering from Parkinson's disease
Works & Achievements
Co-founding of the satirical monthly “dumb and nasty” that revolutionized humor in the French press.
After Hara-Kiri was banned, Cavanna co-founded the weekly that became a symbol of free speech and satire.
Autobiographical account of his childhood as the son of an Italian immigrant in Nogent; a huge popular success.
A novel about his experience of forced labor in Germany, awarded the Prix Interallié.
An account retracing the Hara-Kiri adventure and the birth of the modern satirical press.
An autobiographical sequel continuing the cycle begun with “Les Ritals.”
A lucid and funny testimony about his Parkinson's disease, written in his final years.
Anecdotes
The child of an Italian bricklayer from the Brianza region and a Frenchwoman, Cavanna grew up on rue Sainte-Anne in Nogent-sur-Marne, in a neighborhood of Italian immigrants that he made famous in *Les Ritals*. In it, he recounts how he juggled his father's Italian dialect and the French he spoke at school.
During the Second World War, Cavanna was conscripted in 1943 by the Compulsory Work Service (STO) and sent to Germany. He worked on construction sites near Berlin under the bombing raids, an experience he would later recount in *Les Russkoffs*, winner of the 1979 Prix Interallié.
In 1960, Cavanna, together with Georget Bernier (Professor Choron), founded the magazine Hara-Kiri, which proclaimed itself “dumb and nasty.” Banned on several occasions, the monthly became the laboratory for an insolent, provocative brand of humor never before seen in the French press.
In November 1970, the weekly Hara-Kiri was banned after a headline mocking the death of General de Gaulle: “Tragic ball at Colombey: one dead.” To get around the censorship, the team immediately created a new paper, which they named Charlie Hebdo.
Afflicted with Parkinson's disease in his final years, Cavanna drew from it a lucid, self-pity-free book, *Lune de miel* (2011), in which he describes with humor his fight against “la Parkinsonne,” whom he personifies as a burdensome companion.
Primary Sources
The rital is the Italian immigrant, the one people eye with suspicion, the one who works hard and talks with a sing-song accent. My father was a rital, a bricklayer, and proud of it in his own way.
They had crammed us into cattle cars, bound for Germany, for the STO forced labour service. We didn't know what awaited us, only that we were leaving everything behind.
Tragic ball at Colombey: one dead.
Parkinson's — I call it Miss Parkinson. She moved in with me without knocking, and she has no intention of leaving.
Key Places
Suburban town near Paris where Cavanna was born and grew up in an Italian immigrant neighborhood. Central setting of his novel *Les Ritals*.
Area where Cavanna was sent to forced labor during the STO between 1943 and 1945, under Allied bombing. An experience recounted in *Les Russkoffs*.
City where Cavanna built his career as a journalist and founded the editorial teams of Hara-Kiri and then Charlie Hebdo. The heart of the French satirical press.
Town in the Val-de-Marne where François Cavanna died in January 2014, at the age of 90.