Hugo Clément

Hugo Clément (born 1989, in Strasbourg, France) is a French journalist, author, and documentary filmmaker. He is best known for his work in investigative journalism and his efforts to raise environmental awareness in France.

Early life
Clément was born on 7 October 1989 in Strasbourg before the family moved to a suburb of Toulouse, both his parents are university professors. He attended lycée Bellevue, in Toulouse where he obtained his Baccalauréat, he later joined an Hypokhâgne preparatory class at lycée Rive Gauche. In 2008, he was admitted to Sciences-Po Toulouse.

During his studies he worked as a freelancer for La Dépêche du Midi as well as for the regional editorial team of 20 minutes, in 2009 Clement was awarded the François Chalais Prize for young reporters. In 2010 he joined the Lille School of Journalism from which he graduated in 2012, receiving the Jean d'Arcy bursary which also included a contract with French public TV channel France 2.

Career
After joining France 2 as a journalist, he gained recognition for his notable coverage of the 2014 fire at the Maison de la Radio. In 2015, he provided coverage of the chase for the perpetrators of the Charlie Hebdo shooting, the april 2015 Nepal earthquake and the Brétigny-sur-Orge train crash.

At the end of 2015 Clément left France 2 for Le Petit Journal then in 2016 followed Yann Barthes to Quotidien on TMC and TF1. In 2017 he left Quotidien for French pop-culture publisher Konbini. In 2019 he returned to France 2.

Bangumi (who produces Quotidien) announced in mid-November 2017 that Hugo Clément would leave the show during the last show before the winter break at the end of December. The latter will join Konbini, where he will devote himself to political news through video editing. It remains active until mid-2019.

In December 2018, in collaboration with the L214 association, he presented a video shot in a slaughterhouse that kills racehorses after their equestrian career is over, including Pariflash, a known trotter who won more than €170,000 in races.

Positions
Clément became known for his reporting style and his positions on social and environmental issues, having produced documentaries covering topics like climate change, biodiversity, and plastic pollution.

He is the author of Comment j'ai arrêté de manger les animaux (How I Stopped Eating Animals), where he shares his experience as an activist vegan, Journal de guerre écologique (Ecological War Journal), recounting his meetings with environmental activists, and, in 2023, Le théorème du Vaquita (The Vaquita Theorem). In addition to his journalistic work, Clément actively supports organisations such as WWF and Greenpeace and campaigns for ecology and animal protection.

Jean-Yves Le Drian
A controversy broke out after the 2015 French regional elections. This year, the Minister of Armed Forces Jean-Yves Le Drian cumulated his ministerial function and his presidency of the regional council of Brittany, when he had publicly promised not to hold office.

Hugo Clément is sent to Rennes to question the minister on this subject. Accusing the journalist of filming his home and thereby compromising his safety and that of his family, Jean-Yves Le Drian publicly stated, "Le Petit Journal crossed the yellow line."

The journalist responds by defending the minister’s accusations, stating that he did not film the home, but only the soldiers posted in front of it, and as part of the Vigipirate plan—after showing them his press card.

Burkina Faso
On November 19, 2017, he announced via Twitter that the convoy of the delegation carrying Emmanuel Macron then on the move in Burkina Faso was curbed by a hundred individuals. The information turns out to be false, he deletes his tweet and apologizes in the process.

Nassira El Moaddem
At the beginning of December 2017, journalist Nassira El Moaddem accused Hugo Clément and Martin Weill of making a hoax, which she describes as «harassment», and of having, through a group, given him the nickname «Saddam» which she considers «racist», when they were students together in 2012 at the Lille School of Journalism.

An official in charge of the school, contacted by Libération, as well as the former director of the time, Marc Capelle,  confirm the facts even if no sanction had been taken.

« Grand débat des valeurs »
In April 2023, Hugo Clément took part in the «Grand débat des valeurs» of the far-right weekly Valeurs actuelles, in a discussion with the president of the Rassemblement national (RN) Jordan Bardella.

According to Le Parisien, Hugo Clément is widely criticized by the left and environmentalists after his participation in this debate. The rebellious France MP Nadège Abomangoli accuses him of ecofascism and the Europe Ecology MP The Greens Aurélien Taché accuses him of being an ecologist guarantor to the far right.

Conflict of interest
Among the people who participated in the financing of its media Vakita is the group Artémis founded by François Pinault but also Mediawan (whose founders are Pierre-Antoine Capton, Xavier Niel and Matthieu Pigasse).

In an interview for The Informed, Hugo Clément indicates that “Xavier, Marc (Editor’s note: Simoncini) or Jacques-Antoine, may sometimes use private planes, it is their choice, but they put their networks, their notoriety and their financial means at the service of many environmental fights [...] exemplars. I’m not either. But they change, and they commit, when they might decide to do nothing.”

In February 2024, he exhibited with Nagui chicken corpses on the esplanade of Trocadero in Paris, to denounce the practices of intensive breeding.

In June 2024, he was sued by Willy Schraen for defamation. Hugo Clément had called him «mafia brandishing the threat of civil war to prevent any regulation of his activity».

Personal life
Clement has a child with 2006 French beauty pageant titleholder Alexandra Rosenfeld.