He made the announcement to his listeners during his weekly show on Sunday.
“The time has come for me to become a listener again and stop being a speaker. »
— A quote from Michel Désautels, presenter of the Sunday program Désautels
He took the opportunity to reaffirm his love for radio. My mother always said radio, especially Radio-Canada, was her school. And we can say that it was the same for me.
You have to admit that [la radio] has changed a lot over time, he added. […] What hasn’t changed, however, is my enjoyment of radio.
Radio-Canada’s Director General of Information, Luce Julien, took the opportunity to pay tribute to him in a press release. Michel Désautels is literally a radio giant, she said. He is recognized for his phenomenal career, immense talent as a host, communicator and journalist, in international, national or regional politics, sports and culture.
Long and successful career
Michel Désautels began his career as a journalist in Toronto in 1972, first as a freelancer, then as a host.
1981 marked the start of the Quebec, Canadian and international news program Le Point, in which the young journalist presented reports and interviews with fellow journalists Gil Courtemanche, Daniel Pinard and Jean-François Lépine.
Also in the 1980s, he made his name as the host of a homecoming metropolitan show at the helm of the Montreal Express.
He has also hosted special radio reports for Radio-Canada at several Olympic Games.
In 2003 he was assigned to the afternoon show Désautels on Radio-Canada’s Première Chaîne, where he was heard for 10 years.
A stroke forced him to take a break of several months in 2012. On Sundays he took over the microphone of the program Désautels, which he presented from 2013.
Michel Désautels also made a name for himself on the small screen, most notably for his role on the Quebec soap opera Rue de l’Anse in the 1960s, then in the 1990s as host of the daily talk show Studio libre and the competition for young directors La course destination monde.
He is also the author of three books: Pierre Gauvreau – Les trois temps d’une paix (1997), the novels Smiley (1998) and Next week, I want to die (2000).