Claire Koç

Claire Koç (born Çigdem Koç, 1983 Tunceli) is a French journalist and writer.

Life
Claire Koç's family comes from the Alevi branch of Islam. She was born in Anatolia and took refuge in France. She lived in Rennes then Strasbourg. Her mother was a housekeeper while her father is a worker. She studied foreign languages at the University of Strasbourg.

Koç is a journalist-presenter for France Télévisions. She commented on the vote of the Turkish community abroad in favor of the re-election of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in May 2023.

The publication of her book in 2021, Claire: the first name of shame, led to death threats from pro-Erdogan activists,  and she was placed under police protection. She filed a complaint against these activists,  and she received support from political figures such as Rachid Temal and Valérie Boyer.

In the book, she describes her emancipation and her assimilation into French culture despite her family context  and integration difficulties. She is one of a number of immigrants such as Sonia Mabrouk, Rachel Khan and Ismaël Saidi. Le Monde compared their experience to that of the Dutch Lale Gül.

In 2023, her book  recounted her conversion to Catholicism,  which began in September 1989, when she entered a church and saw the face of the Virgin Mary.