Journalist Georges Pernoud, creator and presenter of Thalassa magazine on France 3, passed away on Monday, January 11, 2021 at the age of 73.
Starting his career as a cameraman at ORTF in 1968, he took part in two expeditions of volcanologist Haroun Tazieff to the Congo and Ethiopia. In 1973, driven by his love of adventure, he took part in the Whitbread sailing race. This initiatory experience, recounted in his first book, reveals to him this passion for the sea that will never leave him.
Two years later, he created Thalassa, a show dedicated to the sea, on the FR3 channel, which has since become France 3. It quickly became a must-see Friday evening event for many families. We all have in mind the mythical generic of the show, heralding exotic and instructive evenings.
For more than forty years, millions of French people gathered in front of the small screen, carried by the talent of storyteller Georges Pernoud who presents the show from 1980 to 2017. Every week they discover new horizons and get acquainted with the marine world.
A formidable mediator between the French and the sea, Georges Pernoud tirelessly honoured the mission of public broadcasting. Thalassa’s reports are distinguished by their power of escape and their pedagogical character. Two of them even won the Albert London Prize, "The Great Schpountz," in 1992 and "The Lords of Behring," in 1996.
An exceptional journalist and presenter, he is remembered as a man of insatiable curiosity who changed the way we look at our planet.
Roselyne Bachelot-Narquin, Minister of Culture, sends her deepest condolences to her family and loved ones.