The Presses Universitaires de France and Frémeaux & Associés present a biography of Jean Zay, explained and analyzed by Olivier Loubes, a historian specializing in the nation, the political imagination, cinema, and education in France. Seventy years after his assassination by the Milice, Jean Zay entered the Panthéon in 2015, joining the great figures of French republican history. Yet his name remains unfamiliar to many French people. A member of the Popular Front and a left-wing Radical, Jean Zay served as Minister of National Education and Fine Arts from 1936 to 1939. He was one of the boldest architects of France’s cultural and educational modernization. In just a few years, he initiated reforms whose influence can still be felt today. His remarkable life, brutally cut short by political hatred and antisemitism, lies at the heart of some of the major memory debates surrounding the twentieth century. Long caricatured and exploited by the far right, his legacy has lost none of its relevance. His commitment to education, culture, democracy, and the Republic continues to shed light on contemporary debates. Through his writings, speeches, and public actions, this book invites readers to rediscover a visionary statesman whose ideas and struggles resonate with striking relevance today. 3 CD audiobook, in French.
Claude COLOMBINI FRÉMEAUX

CD1 - LES INITIATIONS - 1904-1936 : JEAN ZAY, UNE FIGURE MÉCONNUE PANTHÉONISÉE - L’ÉCRIVAIN - L’AFFAIRE DREYFUS - UN ÉCOLIER ET LYCÉEN À LA PLUME PATRIOTIQUE - UN DISCOURS PACIFISTE COMPLEXE - LE DROIT DE VOTE DES FEMMES

CD2 - LE MINISTRE, L’ACTION - 1936-1940 : LE JULES FERRY DU FRONT POPULAIRE - DÉMOCRATISER L’ÉCOLE - EXPÉRIMENTER DANS L’ÉDUCATION - IMPULSER UNE POLITIQUE CULTURELLE - LE FESTIVAL DE CANNES - LES ATTAQUES ANTISÉMITES

CD3 - PERSÉCUTION ET RÉSISTANCE - 1940-1944 : L’ARRESTATION - UN PROCÈS POUR L’OPINION - L’INCARCÉRATION - L’IMPACT DES LOIS DE VICHY - LES OEUVRES D’ÉVASION RÉDIGÉES EN PRISON - UN ÉCRIVAIN RÉSISTANT.

DIRECTION : OLIVIER COQUARD, PRODUCTION : CLAUDE COLOMBINI FRÉMEAUX POUR PUF-FRÉMEAUX