site.btaFrench Cartoonist Plantu to Unveil His Exhibition in Sofia

Renowned French cartoonist Plantu will visit Bulgaria to unveil an exhibition of his works on December 7 at the French Institute in Sofia, the organizers told BTA. The exhibition will be followed by a debate titled "Europe Facing Its Demons", during which Plantu will be joined by Bulgarian animator, illustrator and cartoonist Hristo Komarnitski, poster artist and director Teodor Ushev, political scientist Dimitar Ganev, and journalist Svetoslav Ivanov.

"In this particularly difficult year, in which the pandemic continues, and in which war is once again raging on the European continent, the French Institute in Bulgaria continues to organize events that pose questions to society," said the French Institute. Their exhibition "Our Europe, free, democratic, sustainable" will be followed by a debate open to the general public entitled "Europe facing its demons" and organized around the work of Plantu.

Plantu started gaining popularity in 1972, when his work was first published in the French daily Le Monde. Since then, his cartoons on political, social, environmental, economic, national and international affairs have been published on the frontpage of the newspaper, for 50 years, until April 2021. "He is a discreetly influential personality, attentive to the world and committed to causes," the French Institute said. He founded Cartooning for Peace in 2006 with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, an international NGO that defends the freedom of expression worldwide.

Jean Plantureux, known by his professional name Plantu, was born in 1951 in Paris. He initially intended to pursue the study of medicine, however two years later he gave this up and moved to Brussels, where he studied under Herge. In 1991, he started working for the weekly L'Express. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1998, UNESCO published several foreign collections illustrated by Plantu. Famous people, who have had their likenesses caricatured by Plantu include Jacques Chirac, Nicolas Sarkozy, and Pope Benedict XVI.