Philippe Val

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Philippe Val (born 14 September 1952) is a French journalist, singer and comedian. He co-founded the second version of Charlie Hebdo in 1992 and served as its editor and director. He left Charlie Hebdo in 2009 and became director of France Inter, the public radio channel, a role he held until 2014. Val grew up in Neuilly-sur-Seine, the youngest of four siblings. He first gained fame as part of the comedy duo Font et Val with Patrick Font from 1970 to 1996, and he has also performed solo shows with his dog Jeff. He is a singer and pianist and released an album titled Philippe Val.

In 1991 he briefly edited La Grosse Bertha and helped relaunch Charlie Hebdo after leaving that magazine. He later became director of Charlie Hebdo in 2004 following Gébé’s death, while continuing as editor. His leadership coincided with staff changes and protests by some journalists. Val published the Muhammad cartoons from Jyllands-Posten in 2005; Charlie Hebdo was later tried for inciting hatred and was acquitted in 2007. He co-signed a petition known as Le manifeste des 12, warning about Islamist ideology. In 2008 he fired cartoonist Siné for an alleged antisemitic remark, though Siné later won a court case against Charlie Hebdo in 2010. Val resigned from Charlie Hebdo in 2009 to become director of France Inter. Some describe him as a counter-jihad activist. He led France Inter until 2014. In 2018 he drafted a manifesto against what he called a new anti-Semitism, signed by many French figures condemning antisemitic acts by some Muslims in parts of France. In 2021 he joined Europe 1 as a weekly columnist.