Denis Lalanne


Denis Lalanne was a French sports journalist who specialized in tennis, rugby union, and golf.

Biography

As an adolescent, Lalanne attended boarding school in Seine-et-Oise, where he befriended Michel Bouquet. He then wrote for L'Équipe, a French daily sports newspaper. In this time period, he wrote several books on rugby, including Le grand combat du XV de France and La peau des Springboks.
In 1978, Lalanne led the commentary for the France-Scotland rugby match with Georges de Caunes, and the French Open.
His book Le grand combat du XV de France was adapted into a documentary film in 2006 by Serge Tignères and Étienne Bellan Huchery. A limited edition box set was released by the French Rugby Federation.
In 2011, Lalanne founded the Festival Singe-Germain in Saint-Germain-des-Prés with Jean Cormier, a sports and cultural festival.
Novels written by Lalanne include Un long dimanche à la campagne and Le devoir de français, the latter of which was adapted into a film.
He still had a weekly column for Midi olympique until his death.
In 2012, an award in Lalanne's name was founded by the French Tennis Federation, called the Prix Denis-Lalanne. The prize is given to the best French-language article written during the French Open.
In April 2019, Lalanne published his last novel, Dieu ramasse les copies.
Denis Lalanne died in his home in Anglet, France on 7 December 2019.

Works