Daniel Bilalian (10 April 1947 – 14 May 2025) was a French journalist, news anchor and television presenter. He presented for Antenne 2, which was later renamed

France 2 France 2 () is a French free-to-air public television channel. The flagship channel of France Télévisions, it broadcasts generalist programming including news, entertainment (such as dramas, films, and game shows), factual programmes, and sp ...

. During his tenure at the channel, he presented many different shows from 1976 to 1991 and from 1994 to 2004. In 2004, he became the sports director of

France Télévisions France Télévisions (; stylized since 2018 as ) is the French national public television broadcaster. It is a state-owned company formed from the integration of the public television channels France 2 (formerly Antenne 2) and France 3 (form ...

. In 2016, he ceased appearing on television and became a municipal councillor for

Neuilly-sur-Seine Neuilly-sur-Seine (; 'Neuilly-on-Seine'), also known simply as Neuilly, is an urban Communes of France, commune in the Hauts-de-Seine Departments of France, department just west of Paris in France. Immediately adjacent to the city, north of the ...

Life and career

Daniel Bilalian was born in Paris on 10 April 1947 to an

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

father, Krikor Bilalian, and a French mother, Maria Culliver. His father, an

farmer, was orphaned by the

Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily t ...

and fled Turkish-controlled Armenia during it, becoming a refugee in France in the late 1920s. Initially working as a farm laborer and then as an apprentice with a fellow Armenian, he eventually established a tailoring shop with his wife, Maria Cuvillier, a Frenchwoman from the

Pas-de-Calais The Pas-de-Calais (, ' strait of Calais'; ; ) is a department in northern France named after the French designation of the Strait of Dover, which it borders. It has the most communes of all the departments of France, with 890, and is the ...

region. Naturalized as a French citizen in 1945 by General

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free France, Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Re ...

for "services rendered," Krikor became deeply integrated into French society. "Passionate about politics", he inspired his son’s path toward journalism. He attended

Lycée Jacques-Decour In France, secondary education is in two stages: * ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 14. * ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for students between ...

and Cours Vauvenargues in Paris for school. After studying law at the

University of Lille The University of Lille (, abbreviated as ULille, UDL or univ-lille) is a French public research university based in Lille, Hauts-de-France. It has its origins in the University of Douai (1559), and resulted from the merger of three universities ...

, he became a journalist at the '' L'Union de Reims''. Beginning in 1971, he was a regional correspondent for the ORTF, before joining the national editing staff of Antenne 2, where he became a main reporter before presenting ''Antenne 2 midi''. He presented some daily news in 1976. He presented the ''Journal de 13 heures'' from 1979 to 1981 and went back to ''Antenne 2 midi'' in 1982 before he alternated presenting the ''Journal de 20 heures'' with Bernard Rapp in 1985. He was then replaced by Claude Sérillon. After being absent for two years, he came back in 1987 to present the daily news on weekends until 1990. He also presented ''Stars à la barre'' and then ''Dossiers de l'écran'', retitled ''Mardi Soir'', until 1991. He returned to presenting the daily news on

in 1994 on the ''Journal de 13 heures''. In September 1995, he became the presenter of the ''Journal de 20 heures''. After his departure from this post in September 1997, he presented the daily news during the week. He was replaced by Claude Sérillon in August 1998. After an absence, he came back once again to present the ''Journal de 13 heures'' from September 2001 to July 2004. In July 2004, he was named sports director of

. In 2005, the ouster of Pierre Salviac surprised the rugby section of the sports service, and in 2009 one of its successors. In January 2010, the sports journalists challenged the changes to the editorial and management methods that were judged dangerous. In April 2010, the majority voted no confidence against him, reporting his management and reproaching him for not working on the editing. In 2016, he caused controversy with comments he made during the 2016 Summer Olympics opening ceremony. In October 2016, he stopped appearing on television and moved to

, where he became a municipal councilor. He died on 14 May 2025 aged 78 following an illness.

Personal life

Bilalian married Christine de Précigout on 14 January 1971, with whom he had a daughter. He then divorced Christine and married Frédérique Renimel in 2020.

Bibliography

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Distinctions

In July 2005, Bilalian was honoured with the

Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

References

External links