Every year the editors of Paris Match organize a lunch on a beach near Perpignan. Roger Thérond, the director of Paris-Match used to welcome his friends and colleagues there.

Since his death in 2001, this beach has become a place of pilgrimage where we pay tribute to the person who best knew the “Match spirit,” as we honor the man who for half a century brought French photojournalism to its peak. It was the place you had to be, and invitations were hard to come by.

Far from Paris and the pressures of news and deadlines, Roger loved to catch up with “his boys” like a naval captain before the attack. It was a kind of communion with his troops to give them courage.

Roger insisted that everyone from the team—journalists, administrators, ad department—come together every year. They fought just as hard as we did for the paper, only their battles were more discreet.

Every year, “the boss” was accompanied by his wife and three daughters, a sign of respect and friendship toward these devoted men and women who surrounded him at work. The somewhat solemn meal brought everyone together in this wild countryside of dunes bathed in the singular autumn light reflected by the sea.

Roger found serenity and tranquility there, and it felt good.
Chris Laffaille a former news director at Paris-Match, found restaurant where the magazine’s annual party is held every year.