Who is André Abbe: biography of the photographer and journalist

But where does André Abbe's almost boundless intellectual curiosity come from? Perhaps because he was born in Roquebrune/Argens during the Provence Landings in August 1944. Just as he was about to take his first swing, the village doctor was reluctant to come to his assistance as the first shells rang out all around. It was surely from these moments that André's determination to forge ahead, come what may, was born.

Born into a farming family, he left the well-trodden path at adulthood. This was back in the days when it was still possible to travel almost as far as the Far East, or across the Sahara to Mali or Niger in randomly cobbled-together cars. Since then, his travels have never ceased. Nor have his peregrinations across the whole of Occitanie and the regions of Europe. Each stop is an opportunity for profoundly rich human encounters. Over the years, he accumulated a wealth of photographic documentation. Today, his collection numbers almost 100,000 slides, 13,000 of which have already been digitized.

Parallel to his travels, he began working as a professional journalist, contributing to various publications in both French and Provençal. He soon became a producer at Radio France in Marseille, then at France 3, where he contributed to the magazine Vaqui. He also made a number of documentaries in Occitan, including a very fine piece on Fernando Pessoa's heteronyms.

He also found time to publish a number of books, including two lavishly illustrated ones on the transhumance he made on several occasions from Roquebrune/Argens to the high mountain pastures of the Alpes Maritimes and Haute-Provence.

The time has now come for André Abbe, with the help of his son François, to put in order and make the most of the immense fund of documentation that has been constantly enriched over the years. All this while listening to the Baroque music he has always loved.

Daniel Bizien

January 2024