Jean-Dominique Merchet (born 26 October 1959 in Besançon) is a French journalist working for the daily newspaper L'Opinion, of which he is the diplomatic and defense correspondent. He specializes in strategy, defense and military issues and often appears on radio and TV shows, notably C'est dans L'air on TV5, as a commentator.
Biography Merchet started his journalistic career as a columnist for the monthly Le Monde Diplomatique. In the 90s he joined the daily Libération, where he wrote on defense topics. Since July 2007, he has been publishing a professional blog, Secret Défense. He left Libération after the summer of 2010 to join the weekly Marianne where he held the position of deputy editor responsible for international affairs. In July 2013 he joined the newly established L'Opinion as a correspondent for diplomatic and defense issues.
He is an alumnus of the Institute of Advanced Studies in National Defence (49th session).
Merchet notably authored a biography of Caroline Aigle, the first French female fighter pilote, and Mourir pour l'Afghanistan, a book on the Afghanistan War.
Works Les Commandos Marine, co-authored with Marie Babey (photos), France Delory, Paris, 1999 Caroline Aigle, vol brisé, Jacob-Duvernet, Paris, 2007 Mourir pour l'Afghanistan, Jacob-Duvernet, Paris, 2008 Défense européenne, la grande illusion, Larousse, coll. "À dire vrai", Paris, 2009 Une histoire des forces spéciales, Jacob-Duvernet, 2010 La Mort de Ben Laden, Jacob-Duvernet, 2012 De la cavalerie aux forces spéciales. l'histoire du 13e RDP. Pierre de Taillac, 2014 Macron Bonaparte, Stock, 2017 Sommes-nous prêts pour la guerre ?, Robert Laffont, 2024
External links Secret Défense at Libération (14 July 2007 - 29 October 2010) Secret Défense at Marianne (29 October 2010 - 5 June 2013) Secret Défense at L'Opinion (from 5 June 2013)