Serge De Beketch
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Serge André Yourevitch Verebrussoff de Beketch (born 12 December 1946,
Tours Tours ( ; ) is the largest city in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabita ...
,
Indre-et-Loire Indre-et-Loire () is a department in west-central France named after the Indre River and Loire River. In 2019, it had a population of 610,079.France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, died 6 October 2007 Clichy,
Hauts-de-Seine Hauts-de-Seine (; ) is a department in the Île-de-France region of France. It covers Paris's western inner suburbs. It is bordered by Paris, Seine-Saint-Denis and Val-de-Marne to the east, Val-d'Oise to the north, Yvelines to the west and ...
) was a French journalist, story writer for cartoons and writer linked to the extreme-right. He was also the co-founder of '' Radio Courtoisie'', where he directed a Wednesday evening broadcast up until his death, and was a founder and host of the ''Libre Journal de la France courtoise''.


Biography

De Beketch was of
Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...
origin and from a
Tatar Tatar may refer to: Peoples * Tatars, an umbrella term for different Turkic ethnic groups bearing the name "Tatar" * Volga Tatars, a people from the Volga-Ural region of western Russia * Crimean Tatars, a people from the Crimea peninsula by the B ...
lineage. His maternal grandfather was a colonel in the
French army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...
; his paternal grandfather was aide-de-camp to General
Anton Denikin Anton Ivanovich Denikin (, ; – 7 August 1947) was a Russian military leader who served as the Supreme Ruler of Russia, acting supreme ruler of the Russian State and the commander-in-chief of the White movement–aligned armed forces of Sout ...
, chief of the
White Armies The White movement,. The old spelling was retained by the Whites to differentiate from the Reds. also known as the Whites, was one of the main factions of the Russian Civil War of 1917–1922. It was led mainly by the right-leaning and conserva ...
during the
Russian Civil War The Russian Civil War () was a multi-party civil war in the former Russian Empire sparked by the 1917 overthrowing of the Russian Provisional Government in the October Revolution, as many factions vied to determine Russia's political future. I ...
. De Beketch's father, a
non-commissioned officer A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is an enlisted rank, enlisted leader, petty officer, or in some cases warrant officer, who does not hold a Commission (document), commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority b ...
in the
French foreign legion The French Foreign Legion (, also known simply as , "the Legion") is a corps of the French Army created to allow List of militaries that recruit foreigners, foreign nationals into French service. The Legion was founded in 1831 and today consis ...
was
killed in action Killed in action (KIA) is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their personnel at the hands of enemy or hostile forces at the moment of action. The United States Department of Defense, for example, ...
at the
Battle of Dien Bien Phu The Battle of Điện Biên Phủ was a climactic confrontation of the First Indochina War that took place between 13 March and 7 May 1954. It was fought between the forces of the French Union and Viet Minh. The French began an operation to in ...
, achieving ''
Mort pour la France (, ) is a legal expression in France and an honour awarded to people who died during a conflict, usually in service of the country. Definition The term is defined in L.488 to L.492 (bis) of the ''Code of Military Disability Pensions and War ...
'' status. After his schooling as an ''enfant de troupe'' (military child), de Beketch performed several jobs, including manual labour and working in a bookstore. In 1966 he started doing freelance reporting for the entertainment page of the weekly newspaper ''
Minute A minute is a unit of time defined as equal to 60 seconds. It is not a unit in the International System of Units (SI), but is accepted for use with SI. The SI symbol for minutes is min (without a dot). The prime symbol is also sometimes used i ...
''. In 1967, he joined the
Israeli Defence Force The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, an ...
at the time of the
Six-Day War The Six-Day War, also known as the June War, 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states, primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan from 5 to 10June ...
., but "the fighting went so quickly that he didn't even have time to put on his uniform". In 1970, de Beketch was hired by the ''Havas Conseil'' consultancy, where he took part in creating a media department. One-time
freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...
and member of the ''
Grande Loge de France Grande Loge de France (, abbr. GLDF) is an independent Masonic obedience based in France. Its conception of Freemasonry is spiritual, traditional, and initiatory. Its ritual is centred on the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite. It occupies a u ...
'' (then the ''Grande Loge nationale'') he quickly distanced himself from freemasonry, as he often took the opportunity to explain. From 1969,
René Goscinny René Goscinny (; ; 14 August 1926 – 5 November 1977) was a French comic editor and writer, who created the ''Asterix, Astérix'' comic book series with illustrator Albert Uderzo. Born in France to a Jewish family from Poland, he spent his chil ...
had invited de Beketch to write theatre reviews for the weekly ''
Pilote ''Pilote'' (), for a while subtitled ''the magazine of Asterix and Obelix'' (French: ''Le Journal D’Astérix et D’Obélix'' ) was a French comics magazine published from 1959 to 1989. Showcasing most of the major Franco-Belgian comics, French ...
'' magazine. Besides this, he would write various stories in
cartoon A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently Animation, animated, in an realism (arts), unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or s ...
form and prepare French versions of the American offerings
Eerie Eerie may refer to: * Feeling of creepiness * Eerie (magazine), ''Eerie'' (magazine), an American horror comic first published in 1966 * Eerie (Avon), ''Eerie'' (Avon), a 1947 horror comic * Eerie (film), ''Eerie'' (film), a 2018 Filipino horror fi ...
, Creepie and
Vampirella Vampirella () is a vampire superheroine created by Forrest J Ackerman and comic book artist Trina Robbins in Warren Publishing's black-and-white horror comics magazine ''Vampirella'' #1 (Sept. 1969), a sister publication of '' Creepy'' and ''E ...
for ''éditions Publicness''. He also worked for the international visual arts review ''Zoom''. In 1975, de Beketch left ''Pilote'' following the departure of Goscinny. He became head of information, then chief editor of ''Minute'' in 1979. He left ''Minute'' following a disagreement about the paper's new direction, and took on the role of editor-in-chief of ''National-Hebdo'' at the request of
Jean-Marie le Pen Jean Louis Marie Le Pen (20 June 1928 – 7 January 2025), commonly known as Jean-Marie Le Pen (), was a French politician, lawyer and activist. He founded the far-right National Front (now National Rally) party and served as the party's presi ...
. In 1987, de Beketch participated with Jean Ferré in creating ''Radio Courtoisie'' after having been ousted from ''Radio Solidarité''. He began a weekly "free news report" (''Libre Journal'') slot starting at three o'clock on Wednesdays, which continued until his death. In 1990, at the request of the new owner Serge Martinez, de Beketch returned to the lead editorship of ''Minute''. In 1993 he was dismissed from his functions by the editing team who had bought back the paper from Martinez and judged that de Beketch was too politically involved. De Beketch founded his own newspaper with his wife Danièle, called ''Le Libre Journal de la France courtoise'', which, contrary to popular belief, was not a written version of his radio show. De Beketch was a great friend of the journalist and novelist AD.G., whom he met in 1974 at ''Minute''. A. D. G. was inspired by de Beketch to create his character Sergueï Djerbitskine, ''alias'' Machin, alcoholic journalist and
anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...
. De Beketch died from a
streptococcus ''Streptococcus'' is a genus of gram-positive spherical bacteria that belongs to the family Streptococcaceae, within the order Lactobacillales (lactic acid bacteria), in the phylum Bacillota. Cell division in streptococci occurs along a sing ...
infection contracted in hospital while being treated for
hepatitis B Hepatitis B is an infectious disease caused by the '' hepatitis B virus'' (HBV) that affects the liver; it is a type of viral hepatitis. It can cause both acute and chronic infection. Many people have no symptoms during an initial infection. ...
. He had acquired hepatitis fifteen years earlier while being treated for
Hodgkin's lymphoma Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is a type of lymphoma in which cancer originates from a specific type of white blood cell called lymphocytes, where multinucleated Reed–Sternberg cells (RS cells) are present in the lymph nodes. The condition was named a ...
. His funeral in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
was attended by more than 2,000 people including Jean-Marie Le Pen,
Bruno Gollnisch Bruno Gollnisch (; born 28 January 1950) is a French academic and politician of the far-right National Rally (RN), formerly known as National Front. He was a member of the European Parliament and was chairman of the European Parliamentary group ...
,
Bruno Mégret Bruno Mégret (; born 4 April 1949) is a French former nationalist politician. He was the leader of the Mouvement National Républicain political party, but retired in 2008 from all political action. Youth and studies Born in Paris, Mégret stud ...
and
Jean Raspail Jean Raspail (, 5 July 1925 – 13 June 2020) was a French explorer, novelist, and travel writer. Many of his books are about historical figures, exploration and indigenous peoples. He was a recipient of the prestigious French literary awards Gra ...
.


Politics

De Beketch's family history laid the foundations for his involvement in
right-wing Right-wing politics is the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position based on natural law, economics, authority, property ...
(and later
far right Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and Nativism (politics), nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on ...
) politics. He preferred to be categorised as a "hard-line
royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gove ...
". His views became more radical over the years; thus in 1992 in a reply to Philippe Guilhaume, the former president of the
Antenne 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 ...
and FR3 TV stations, de Beketch declared himself to be neither a democrat nor a liberal. According to ''
Le Monde (; ) is a mass media in France, French daily afternoon list of newspapers in France, newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average print circulation, circulation of 480,000 copies per issue in 2022, including ...
'', "his puns oozed
antisemitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...
, and he never missed an allusion to the genocide of Jews in order to put its size into context"." De Beketch styled himself as a creationist, asserting that he didn't believe in evolution, that the world was no older than about ten thousand years and that the flood described in the bible, Noah's ark and the
tower of Babel The Tower of Babel is an origin myth and parable in the Book of Genesis (chapter 11) meant to explain the existence of different languages and cultures. According to the story, a united human race speaking a single language migrates to Shin ...
were historical facts. De Beketch advised people to read material by the
holocaust denier Denial of the Holocaust is an antisemitic conspiracy theory that asserts that the genocide of Jews by the Nazis is a fabrication or exaggeration. It includes making one or more of the following false claims: *Nazi Germany's "Final Solution" wa ...
Robert Faurisson Robert Faurisson (; born Robert Faurisson Aitken; 25 January 1929 – 21 October 2018) was a British-born French academic who became best known for Holocaust denial. Faurisson generated much controversy with several articles published in the '' ...
in order to "escape the dictats of single-mindedness" and "pickle the neurons". In his radio broadcast, he execrated the "socialist abortion state", "the occupied territories" (by which he meant the deprived multi-cultural suburbs of French cities), "the stinking Karl Zéro and his anal-whore broadcast" (using the French phrase ''anal-pute'', literally "anal-whore", a pun on Zéro's broadcasting station '' canal plus''), "crappy woodlice" (referring to journalists), "imbeciles who read ''Libé''" (referring to the
left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social ...
newspaper, ''
Libération (), popularly known as ''Libé'' (), is a daily newspaper in France, founded in Paris by Jean-Paul Sartre and Serge July in 1973 in the wake of the protest movements of May 1968 in France, May 1968. Initially positioned on the far left of Fr ...
''), "scouts" (like
Guy Bedos Guy Bedos (; né Guy René Bédos, ; 15 June 1934 – 28 May 2020) was a French screenwriter, stand-up comedian and actor (mostly known for his part in the film ''Nous irons tous au paradis''). He was a French man born in Algeria, a former Fre ...
,
Jean-Jacques Goldman Jean-Jacques Goldman (; born 11 October 1951) is a retired French singer-songwriter and record producer whose work remains hugely popular in the French-speaking world. Since the death of Johnny Hallyday in 2017, he has been the highest-grossing ...
) "who once wouldn't have even been given a Christian burial''"Radio-Courtoisie… à démontrer"'', ''Le Monde'', 4 January 1998". In 1995, de Beketch was communications director for the
Toulon Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera and the historical Provence, it is the prefecture of the Var (department), Var department. The Commune of Toulon h ...
city government, which was then led by the '' Front National'' mayor Jean-Marie Le Chevallier. He resigned after four months, assessing that the incompetence of the municipal staff damaged the ''Front Nationals image. In fact, according to another official reason for his departure at the end of his short stay, he had some health problems and it was well known that his relations with Jean-Marie Le Chevallier had changed, becoming rather bad. He was also head of the ''Patriote du Var''. In the conflict which pitted Mégret against Le Pen between 1998 and 1999, de Beketch tried in vain to adopt a conciliatory position. In his broadcasts, Beketch often defended medical therapies rejected by official bodies, such as those of
Mirko Beljanski Mirko Beljanski (27 March 1923 – 27 October 1998) was a French-Serbian molecular biologist who studied bacteria, its resistance to antibiotics and the interaction of RNA and DNA. He performed research at the French National Centre for Scientifi ...
and Loïc Le Ribault, since he believed that his own medical conditions had been helped by them.


Public polemics

On 20 November 1996 de Beketch stated on ''Radio Courtoisie'': The positions de Beketch took earned him numerous court appearances, and several convictions. He was condemned on two counts for
defamation Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making assertions ...
relating to Olivier Biffaud, journalist for ''Le Monde''. On the first count de Beketch was ordered to pay a single
franc The franc is any of various units of currency. One franc is typically divided into 100 centimes. The name is said to derive from the Latin inscription ''francorum rex'' (King of the Franks) used on early French coins and until the 18th century ...
in damages and 8,000 francs court costs. On the second count, he was ordered to pay 80,000 francs in damages as well as a similar 8,000 francs in costs for "affecting the sensitivity and dignity of the person concerned."For insulting a ''Le Monde'' journalist, Serge de Beketch and ''Radio Courtoisie'' were convicted by the ''tribunal de Paris''", ''Le Monde'' 19 June 1993"


Involvements with groups

Serge de Beketch was former vice-président of AGRIF ("General alliance against racism and for the respect of French and Christian Identity") and a member until his death. He also founded the "French Jewish and Christian friendship circle" with Bernard Antony, Alain Sanders, Jean-Pierre Cohen and Pierre Semour. In 2006, de Becketch was a signatory to "the call of the 25" a petition requesting a
presidential pardon A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the j ...
for Michel Lajoye. De Beketch was also a staunch defender of the
Riaumont Riaumont (literally meaning "royal mountain") is located on the hill of Riaumont, in the commune of Liévin, in the Pas-de-Calais ''département'' in northern France, in the former province of Artois. It refers to a Benedictine monastic communit ...
children's village.


Publications


Cartoon texts

* ''Thorkaël I. L'œil du dieu'', drawings by Loro, text by Serge de Beketch, Tury Éditions SERG, ''Classiques de l'Âge d'or'', 1976. ; reedited. Paris-Lausanne-Montréal,
Dargaud Société Dargaud (), doing business as Les Éditions Dargaud, is a publisher of Franco-Belgian comics series, headquartered in the 18th arrondissement of Paris. It was founded in 1936 by Georges Dargaud, publishing its first comics in 1943. ...
, ''Pilote'', 1982. * ''Thorkaël II. La Porte de Taï-Matsu'', drawings by Loro, text by Serge de Beketch, Tury, Éditions SERG, ''Classiques de l'Âge d'or'' 1977. ; reedited Paris-Lausanne-Montréal,
Dargaud Société Dargaud (), doing business as Les Éditions Dargaud, is a publisher of Franco-Belgian comics series, headquartered in the 18th arrondissement of Paris. It was founded in 1936 by Georges Dargaud, publishing its first comics in 1943. ...
, ''Pilote'', 1982. * ''Déboires d'outre-tombe I'', drawings by Loro, text by Serge de Beketch, Paris, Éditions du Cygne, BD Cygne, 1981. * ''Déboires d'outre-tombe II'', drawings by Loro, text by Serge de Beketch, Paris, Éditions du Cygne, BD Cygne, 1982. * with Jacques Tardi, "Un hussard en hiver", and "La voiture maudite", two short stories in four pages for ''Pilote'' 1972


Essays, pamphlets and other writings

* with Denis Maraval and Jean Piverd, ''Les Grandes Découvertes archéologiques du vingtième siècle. L'Histoire arrachée à la terre'', presented by Jean Dumont, research and text by Serge de Beketch, Denis Maraval, Jean Piverd, Genève, Famot, 1979. * with Alain Sanders, ''La Nuit de Jericho I. La Révolte du lieutenant Poignard'', Paris, ''Éditions des Vilains hardis'', 1991. * ''Dictionnaire de la colère'', collection of chronicles published in ''Le Libre Journal de la France courtoise'', Paris, ''Éditions des Vilains hardis'', 2005 270 * ''Catalogue des nuisibles'', Paris, ''Éditions des Vilains hardis'', 2006, 190 * Préface à Philippe Randa, ''Présumé coupable politique. Chroniques barbares'', vol. 4, Coulommiers, ''Éditions Dualpha'', ''Politiquement incorrect'', 2007. * ''À l'appel de Dénikine'', ed. ''Renaissance Catholique'', 2007, 310 Interventions by Serge de Beketch during ''Renaissance Catholique'', published
posthumous Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award, an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication, publishing of creative work after the author's death * Posthumous (album), ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1 ...
ly.


Documentary

* Co-direction and commentary with Patrick Buisson and Anne Sophie Druet, ''Le Pen sur le front'', Patrick Buisson, Paris, ''Édition et distribution Intervalles'', 1985. Distributed on one VHS video cassette, SECAM, colour, 1hr 15mins.


See also

* ''Le Libre Journal de la France courtoise'' * '' Radio Courtoisie'' * ''
Minute A minute is a unit of time defined as equal to 60 seconds. It is not a unit in the International System of Units (SI), but is accepted for use with SI. The SI symbol for minutes is min (without a dot). The prime symbol is also sometimes used i ...
'' * ''
Pilote ''Pilote'' (), for a while subtitled ''the magazine of Asterix and Obelix'' (French: ''Le Journal D’Astérix et D’Obélix'' ) was a French comics magazine published from 1959 to 1989. Showcasing most of the major Franco-Belgian comics, French ...
'' magazine * AGRIF * ''
Riaumont Riaumont (literally meaning "royal mountain") is located on the hill of Riaumont, in the commune of Liévin, in the Pas-de-Calais ''département'' in northern France, in the former province of Artois. It refers to a Benedictine monastic communit ...
''


References


External links


Discussion with de Beketch
about his career at ''Le Libre Journal de la France courtoise'' (2007).
Recordings and documents site in honour of de Beketch


on the ''Radio Courtoisie'' blog. {{DEFAULTSORT:Beketch, Serge De 1946 births 2007 deaths Writers from Tours, France Christian creationists French traditionalist Catholics Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery French male non-fiction writers 20th-century French journalists 20th-century French male writers