SAD NEWS: Beloved presenter d!es at home as president leads tributes
The presenter spent six decades working across radio.
Philippe Bouvard has d!ed aged 96 (Image: Getty)
French journalist and radio host Philippe Bouvard has d!ed at the age of 96. The veteran presenter passed away at his home in Cannes on August 24. One of the most recognisable voices in French broadcasting, Bouvard enjoyed a radio career spanning six decades before announcing his retirement in January 2025. Born in Coulommiers in 1929, Bouvard began his career working as an office boy at the French newspaper Le Figaro in 1952. He went on to become a journalist and columnist, publishing more than 30,000 articles and 50 books.
He later joined the newspaper France-Soir before working at several other major French publications. Alongside his work in print, he began building a career in broadcasting, eventually joining the radio network RTL. There, he created the daily entertainment programme Les Grosses Têtes in 1977, which quickly became one of the most popular shows in French radio history.
Bouvard was one of the most recognisable voices in French broadcasting (Image: Getty)
He presented the show for 37 years before Laurent Ruquier took over in 2014.
Bouvard also built a successful television career, presenting Le Petit Théâtre de Bouvard on Antenne 2 from 1982 to 1987. The sketch show helped launch the careers of numerous well-known French comedians, including Muriel Robin, Pascal Légitimus and Mimie Mathy.
When Bouvard announced his retirement in 2025, Régis Ravanas, Managing Director of RTL Radio in France, praised the broadcaster for having “revolutionised radio”.
Meanwhile, Gauthier Hourcade, Director of Programming, described him as “a cultured pioneer of humour on the airwaves” who had a “lively, independent and impertinent spirit”.
French President Emmanuel Macron has led the tributes, saying that France has “lost a free spirit”.
French President Emmanuel Macron has led tributes to Bouvard following his de@th (Image: Getty)
In a post on X, Macron penned: “Philippe Bouvard will have accompanied generations of French people with his voice, his wit, his freedom of tone, and his humor -this quintessentially French taste for the witty remark.
“France loses a free spirit, a Grosse Tête. Thoughts to his family, his loved ones, and all those who listened to him and loved him.”
French TV host Michel Drucker also paid tribute to the “exceptionally talented” broadcaster, telling RTL that Bouvard was “a man of many talents: an author, a writer, a tireless worker, someone who knew this profession inside out” who will no doubt “leave an indelible mark”.
Reflecting on his decades-long relationship with radio listeners shortly before his retirement, Bouvard said that speaking to his audience meant “giving them a part of yourself”.
Bouvard spent much of his life living in the hills above Cannes with his wife, Colette. He is survived by his wife, two daughters and grandchildren.
