Jean Daniel

Jean Daniel Bensaid (21 July 1920 – 19 February 2020) was a French journalist and author. He was the founder and executive editor of Le Nouvel Observateur weekly now known as L'Obs.

Daniel was born in Blida, Algeria, as the youngest of 11 children. His father, Jules Bensaid, was a flour miller. Jean Daniel attended the University of Algiers before the Second World War. During the war, he was part of a resistance group that aided the liberation of Algiers, and he participated in the Normandy landings as part of the Free French forces led by Philippe Leclerc. Following the war, Daniel attended Sorbonne University (studying philosophy) and worked for Félix Gouin as a speechwriter.