Inside AFP

Two AFP Journalists Nominated for the Albert Londres Prize

Romain Colas, AFP journalist based in Moscow, is among the nine finalists for the Albert Londres Prize in the category for 'best reporter in the written press,’ set to be awarded at the end of November. Célia Lebur, coordinator of AFP's Digital Investigation division for Francophone Africa, has also been nominated in the ‘best reporting book’ category for the book Mafia Africa, which she co-authored. 

 

Romain Colas, 31, began his journey with AFP as an apprentice and honed his skills at the Strasbourg bureau before joining the Moscow team, where he has been stationed since 2018. With versatility that extends to video production and a writing style that is both sharp and precise, Romain Colas has immersed himself in the world of reporting in Russia much like taking a plunge into a banya.

Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, Colas has been closely observing the shifts in Russian society, from Pskov to Rostov, amid a growing atmosphere of repression, interviewing both veterans and opponents of the intervention. 

Colas’ nomination is also an indirect acknowledgment of the courage and remarkable work done under challenging circumstances by the entire team at AFP's Moscow bureau. 

Image : Romain Colas © Vladimir Kurashov

Other journalists nominated in the same category include:  

  • Julie Brafman – Libération 
  • Wilson Fache – Libération, l’Echo, Mouvement 
  • Louis Imbert – Le Monde 
  • Rachid Laïreche – Libération 
  • Célian Macé – Libération 
  • Bruno Meyerfeld – Le Monde 
  • Julia Pascual – Le Monde / M, le magazine du Monde 
  • Émilie Rosso – France 3 Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes 

 Image: Célia Lebur © Céline Niezawer/Flammarion

Célia Lebur, aged 37, worked as an AFP correspondent in Nigeria for four years before assuming her role as the head of the Digital Investigation unit of AFP for Francophone Africa in 2020. In her book, Mafia Africa — co-authored with Joan Tilouine and published by Flammarion — Lebur investigates the international expansion of "cults," criminal groups originating from the southern region of Nigeria.

Other authors nominated in the same category include:  

  • Hélène Ferrarini – Allons enfants de la Guyane (by Anacharsis) 
  • Julien Goudichaud et Nicolas Torrent –  Les Plages de l’embarquement (by Les Arènes) 
  • Anne-Sophie Jahn – Désir noir (by Flammarion)
  • Nicolas Legendre –  Silence dans les champs (by Arthaud) 

 

 

 

Image: Célia Lebur © Céline Niezawer/Flammarion

The 2023 Albert Londres Prize will be announced at the Palais des Congrès de Vichy on Monday, November 27th at 6 p.m.  

Established in 1933 as a tribute to French journalist Albert Londres (1884-1932), a pioneer of modern investigative journalism, the award annually recognises the best reporters in the written press and, since 1985, the best audiovisual reporters. Since 2017, it also added a category for best reporting book. 

Since its creation, the Albert Londres Prize has been awarded to AFP journalists five times:   

  • Patrick Meney in 1983  
  • Sammy Ketz in 1988  
  • the Moscow bureau journalists of AFP in 1995 (Isabelle Astigarraga, Boris Bachorz, Marielle Eudes, Paola Messana, Catherine Triomphe, Stéphane Orjollet, Sebastian Smith, Bertrand Rosenthal, and Jean Raffaelli)  
  • Michel Moutot in 1999 
  • Emmanuel Duparcq in 2011  
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