Audrey Pulvar

Personal life

Audrey Pulvar’s childhood was spent in Fort-de-France, enjoying the benefits of a rich cultural environment and becoming immersed in politics. Her father, Marc Pulvar, mathematics’ teacher, was National Secretary of the Martinican Separatist Movement (that he also founded) and Secretary of Martinican Central Workers' Trade Union Confederation. Her mother is a social worker.

Education

From the age of 14 years, Audrey Pulvar lived between her island and mainland France. Although most of her education took place in mainland France, she received her secondary school diploma in the Caribbean before moving back to mainland France (Rouen), and getting a graduate degree in Economics (University of Rouen). She continued her studies at the École supérieure de journalisme de Paris] (ESJ) which she left in 1994. She then joined Édouard Balladur's presidential election team.

Career

Then she joined the Antilles Television staff as an intern during her training at ESJ. She was hired afterwards as a photojournalist and from 1995 was the evening news’ anchorwoman. Finally, in 1999, she became deputy editor in chief of the channel while continuing as anchorwoman. She stayed there until April 2002, when Jean-Claude Dassier hired her on the satellite continuous news channel LCI as freelance journalist. Starting from December she simultaneously worked on TV5.

In November 2003, she became regional television news presenter of France 3 Marseille. After some replacements on national television, she hosts Soir 3 by Louis Lafarge’s side from September 2004. First black woman to present a television news on a terrestrial French channel, she refuses to see it as a symbol and to take the lead.

From September 2005, still on France 3, she hosts the evening television news, the 19/20. Besides, she presents special programmes such as the third edition of Les Victoires du jazz -along with Pierre Lescure -, or Français, à coeur et à cris in May, 2006. Late 2008, Audrey Pulvar is among the rare "well-known" people working in France 3 to join the protest against the prohibition of advertising on France Télévisions. Since 2006, she is also the presenter of a monthly magazine named Parlez-moi d'ailleurs, spread on the parliamentary channel. In July, 2009, while she quits France 3, Audrey Pulvar joins the continuous information channel i>Télé in order to present a programme from 6:00 to 8:00 P.M. all the week long, as well as a political interview on Sundays. Laurent Bignolas becomes her successor on France 3, to go on with the 19/20 news. After the departure of Nicolas Demorand, who left the early morning radio show of France Inter, Audrey Pulvar takes possession of the time slot from 6 to 7 A.M. and gives her program a "prominent place for international news" according to the radio Deputy Director, Philippe Val. Simultaneously, she continues to collaborate with i>Télé but chooses to reduce her program length to only one hour, from 7:00 to 8:00 P.M. Later on in November, 2010, the i>Télé managers prefer to suspend her from antenna for the sake of journalism ethics, in reaction to her partner's political commitment. Indeed, Arnaud Montebourg officially claims he is candidate for the presidential election in 2012. Hence he stands for that position among the Socialist Party. A couple of weeks later, she finally puts an end to the polemic around that dismissal by coming back on air. She is in charge of a 10 minutes-long non-political interview at 7:40 P.M. which is afterwards cancelled at the end of the year. In January, 2011, France Inter decides to remove her 7:50 A.M. interview. But still, she continues to lead the 6/7 A.M. slot and is being offered by the radio station an all new column at 8:37. Late January, 2011 Audrey Pulvar returns on i>Télé in order to present a debate upon social issues without any political guest: Arrêt sur l'info. She leaves the channel on July, 2011.

In September 2011, Pulvar appeared on the Saturday night talk show, On n'est pas couché on France 2 with Natacha Polony, which is hosted by the popular TV personality Laurent Ruquier.

After being fired from the Ruquier's talk show, Pulvar is now appearing in the daily talk show Le Grand 8 on D8

Marriage and family

Pulvar has a daughter born in 1997. She lived with the chef Alain Passard from 2008 to 2009.

Then until November 2012, her partner was the French politician Arnaud Montebourg, former deputy chief secretary of the French Socialist Party, and after May 2012, Minister of Industrial Renewal in the Ayrault government.