Gérard Lebovici

Radical French publisher, film producer, friend and financial supporter of Guy Debord, born. Radicalised during the events of May 1968, he frequented libertarian circles, founding Editions Champ Libre in 1969 and, following a meeting in 1971, formed a close association with Debord, republishing 'The Society of the Spectacle' and financing his film of the same name. Champ Libre also republished some classic revolutionary tracts and radical writers such as Bakunin and Landauer. He later bought up the Studio Cujas, a cinema located in the Latin Quarter of Paris, which became a centre for Situationist cinema. He also became fascinated by the libertarian character of Jacques Mesrine, adopting Mesrine's daughter Sabrina after his death in 1979 and planned in 1984 to republish his autobiography 'L'Instinct de Mort' (Killer Instinct). He was shot and killed on March 5 1984 in what many see as a police-inspired assassination.