Raymond Bourgine

Raymond Bourgine was born on March 9, 1925, in Diégo-Suarez, Madagascar.[1] He grew up in the Réunion and Madagascar, and joined the French Army in Africa during the Second World War.[1]

In 1945, Bourgine started writing for Paris-Matin, followed by La Vie française in 1946 and Aux Écoutes de la Finance in 1947, before becoming its editor-in-chief in 1948.[1][3] In 1957, he bought Aux Écoutes de la Finance, then known as Finance, from Paul Lévy'.[1] In 1962, he launched the luxury magazine Le Spectacle du Monde.[1] In 1966, he founded the publisher Valmonde.[1] The same year, he renamed Finance Valeurs actuelles.[1][4] In 1967, he founded Le Nouveau Journal, and led the Financial and Economics Agency from 1967 to 1970.[1] He served as editor-in-chief of Valeurs actuelles until his death, when his protege François d'Orcival took over.[2][5][6][7]

A proponent of French Algeria, Bourgine supported Jean-Louis Tixier-Vignancour in 1965.[1] He supported Georges Pompidou for president in 1969.[1] Close to Antoine Pinay, he joined the Centre national des indépendants et paysans (CNIP) in 1971.[1] From 1977 to 1983, he served as member of the Council of Paris for the Rassemblement pour la République and advisor to the Mayor of Paris, Jacques Chirac.[1] He was elected to the French Senate in 1977, and again in 1986 under the leadership of Maurice Couve de Murville.[1] In 1987, he joined the senatorial organization for France-South African relations.[1] He was also a fierce champion of capitalism and free enterprise and, like his avatar Alexis de Tocqueville, he supported the freedom of the press.[1] He rejected the 1981 nationalisation legislations, and in 1985 he rejected government funding of the press.[1] He sat on the Board of Trustees of the Centre Georges-Pompidou.[1]

Bourgine died on November 29, 1990, in Paris.[1]