Gilles Caron
Gilles Caron was a French photojournalist born on 6 July 1939 in Neuilly-sur-Seine and disappeared in 1970 in Cambodia.
He is known worldwide for his iconic images of the events of 1966 to 1970, including the Six Day War, the Biaffran War, May ’68 in Paris and the Battle of the Bogside in Northern Ireland. He is also known for his portraits of film stars and politicians.
Today, his photographic collection is showcased by the Gilles Caron Foundation.
Gilles Caron was a French photojournalist born on 6 July 1939 in Neuilly-sur-Seine and disappeared in 1970 in Cambodia.
In 1958, attracted by journalism, he studied journalism for a year at the École des hautes études internationales in Paris. He then planned a career as an antique dealer, but it was to hitchhiking that he dedicated himself.
Between 1961 and 1962, Gilles Caron had to do his military service in Algeria in the middle of the war of independence. The collection of letters « J’aurais voulu voir » (I would have liked to see) bears witness to his sensitivity and experience during the Algerian war. Refusing to obey certain orders, he spent two months in prison.
On his return from Algeria, Gilles Caron began his career with Patrice Molinard, a fashion and advertising photographer. In 1965, he joined APIS, (Agence Parisienne d’Informations Sociales). He shoots films, photographs celebrities and galas, and some events in French political life. In 1966, he had his first success illustrating the lead article in France Soir on the Ben Barka affair. It was during this period that he met Raymond Depardon, a photographer from the Delmas agency. At the end of the year, with Hubert Henrotte, Léonard de Raemy, Jean Monteux and Hugues Vassal, they founded the Gamma agency.
It is within the Gamma agency that Gilles Caron carried out his greatest photoreportages. 1967 marks a turning point. He follows Sylvie Vartan to Israel for the launch of a clothing brand. Following his instinct, Gilles Caron returns a few days later to Israel. It was the beginning of the Six-Day War and it was his first reportage in a conflict zone. Gilles Caron’s reportage covered the main events of the war, including the battles of Jerusalem, Gaza and Sinai. He also captured powerful and moving images of the lives of Palestinian refugees, the destruction of Jerusalem’s Maghreb neighborhood and the emotions of Israeli soldiers in Jerusalem city. His reportage is published in newspapers and magazines around the world, providing a rare and comprehensive visual insight into this blitzkrieg. In addition to this, Caron’s work has been praised for its aesthetic quality, composition and ability to capture the essence of war with compassion and humanity, despite the horrors of violence.
From then on, Gilles Caron was sent to international conflict zones. At the end of 1967, Gilles Caron travels through Vietnam. He documents the realities of war, deportation, refugee camps, prostitution, the wounds and suffering of American soldiers. He also found himself in the fighting, notably in the middle of the Battle of Đắk Tô. These images are published in the international press, becoming for some emblematic images of the Vietnam War.
The year 1968 is marked by his coverage of May 68, the Biafran war, and the official trips of General de Gaulle to which Gilles Caron is invited to photograph.
Caron’s work on May ’68 captured key moments of the student and worker revolt, from the occupation of the Nanterre faculty, to the demonstrations in support of General de Gaulle. He photographs the clashes with the riot police, the barricades, the occupations of the faculties, the workers’ demonstrations and also life in Paris during those troubled days. At the same time, he portrayed media and political figures, members of the opposition and members of the government. Amongst others, he painted the portrait of Daniel Cohn-Bendit facing a CRS in front of the Sorbonne on 6 May 68. This image became an icon of May 68. Caron’s work on May ’68 is also important for the way he documented the aspirations and hopes of French youth and workers at the time.
That same year Caron went to Biafra three times, photographing the ravages of war, including the famine that affected millions of people, the atrocities, the mass exodus, the presence of foreign mercenaries. His reportage raised international awareness of the humanitarian crisis in Biafra. He also highlighted the limitations and failures of the international food aid system. Some of these photographers show an aesthetic of war, suffering and death. For the first time, Gilles Caron questions and shares his concerns about the professional practices of photojournalists.
In 1969, Gilles Caron covered the Battle of Bogside in Northern Ireland. Many experts consider this to be his most accomplished work, both in the documentary aspects of the event and in the aesthetic aspects of his photographs. Caron’s photographs of the Battle of the Bogside provide an insight into the violence that gripped Derry and marked the beginning of 30 years of violent conflict in Northern Ireland.
In Chad, Gilles Caron is arrested by the army in the company of Robert Pledge, with Raymond Depardon and Michel Honorin. They were reporting on the rebellion of the Toubous against the central government. This time, Gilles Caron testifies that he was close to death and expresses for the first time a desire to stop photo-reporting.
Urged by the Gamma agency, Gilles Caron goes to Cambodia the day after the deposition of Prince Norodom Sihanouk by General Lon Nol. On April 5, 1970, he disappeared with his driver and an interpreter near the town of Svay Rieng on road n°1 which links Cambodia to Vietnam in an area controlled by Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge. Gilles Caron was just 30 years old.
Today, his photographic collection is showcased by the Gilles Caron Foundation.
The Gilles Caron Foundation is a non-profit organisation dedicated to the preservation and promotion of the work of Gilles Caron and other photojournalists. The foundation was established in 2007 by Marianne Caron, Gilles Caron’s wife, and is based in Geneva, Switzerland.
The main mission of the foundation is to preserve Gilles Caron’s photographic legacy and make it accessible to the public. This includes preserving his archives, organising exhibitions of his work and publishing books and other materials that present his photographs.
Overall, the Gilles Caron Foundation aims to honour the memory of Gilles Caron and to promote the importance of photojournalism as a means of documenting history, raising awareness and promoting social and political change.
