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Born in Haute-Savoie and a graduate of the École Normale Supérieure (rue d’Ulm) and ESCP Business School, he began his career as a political journalist, working for “Le Point”, Europe 1, and then “L’Express”, which he led from 2006 to 2016. Today, he is a commentator for BFM, Radio J, Actu J, Radio Classique, and “Franc-Tireur”. He has authored around twenty political essays and a dozen plays.
As an actor, he has appeared in several films and television series and performed in some sixty plays initially with the Théâtre de l’Archicube (the troupe of the École Normale Supérieure alumni association) and later as a professional starting in 2008. His credits include “La Main passe” by Georges Feydeau, performed at the Théâtre Michel and on tour. He has acted in several shows co-written with Marc Jolivet. He directed “Présents parallèles” by Jacques Attali, starring Marianne Basler, Jean Alibert, and Xavier Gallais, at the Théâtre de la Reine Blanche. From 2017 to 2024, he performed in as well as his own plays at the Théâtre de Poche-Montparnasse: “Le Tour du théâtre en 80 minutes”, “Cabaret Mai 68”, “Moâ, Sacha!”, “Le Grand Théâtre de l’Épidémie”, “Mozart mon amour”, and “Offenbach et les Trois Empereurs”. He portrayed Georges Mandel in “L’un de nous deux” by Jean-Noël Jeanneney (with Emmanuel Dechartre, directed by Jean-Claude Idée) at the Théâtre Montparnasse; Voltaire in “Questions sur l’Encyclopédie” (directed by Jean-Claude Idée) on tour; Javert in “Les Misérables” (adapted from Victor Hugo) on tour; François Mitterrand in “Élysée” by Hervé Bentégeat (directed by Jean-Claude Idée) at the Théâtre du Petit Montparnasse; and Paul Morand in “Mademoiselle Chanel en hiver” by Thierry Lassalle (directed by Anne Bourgeois) at the Théâtre de Passy.
In 2021, alongside Pauline Courtin, he founded the Compagnie Christophe Barbier, an ensemble dedicated to bringing together the dramatic and lyric arts. The aim is to develop a form of musical theatre by creating original productions that blend writing and song, while also shining a light on forgotten eras of French stagecraft golden ages of comedy and music. The company is dedicated to reviving a lost heritage and bringing back to life major figures from the history of the performing arts. Productions created in this spirit include “Mozart, mon amour”, “Offenbach et les Trois Empereurs”, and “Choses vues... et chantées! – Les voix de Victor Hugo” (the latter having been recorded for the Aparté label).
Born in 1967 in Haute-Savoie, Christophe Barbier attended the “khâgne” preparatory classes at the Lycée du Parc in Lyon, followed by the École Normale Supérieure (Rue d’Ulm), where he earned a master’s degree in History (with a thesis titled “The Election Campaign of Jean-Louis Tixier-Vignancour in the 1965 Presidential Election”). He subsequently obtained a specialized master’s degree in Infomedia from the École Supérieure de Commerce de Paris (ESCP).
After working at “Le Point” (1990–1995) and Europe 1 (1995–1996), he joined “L’Express” as editor-in-chief of the politics desk, before being appointed deputy editorial director in 2000, editorial director in 2006, and subsequently deputy managing director in 2011. In October 2016, he stepped down from these roles to become a commentator for “L’Express” and Altice Média Group outlets (BFMTV, RMC, i24, etc.), as well as an editorial advisor to the executive management of the Express Group.
He has also served as a daily interviewer and political commentator on BFM Radio, Europe 1, i-Télé, and LCI, returning to i-Télé from 2011 to 2016 (covering editorials, political interviews, and the "zap" segment). He is currently an editorial advisor and commentator for “Franc-Tireur” and BFMTV, a daily political interviewer and theater critic for Radio J, a columnist for “Actu J”, and a commentator on Radio Classique. He appears regularly on the programs “C dans l’air” (France 5) and “Les Grosses Têtes” (RTL).
He is the author of:
Les derniers jours de François Mitterrand (Grasset, 1998, 4 reprints, the
latest in 2016), La comédie des Orphelins ou les vrais fossoyeurs du gaullisme
(Grasset, 2000), La Saga Sarkozy (L'Express, 2007), Maquillages, les politiques sans fard
(Grasset, 2012), Rêvons!, with Marc Jolivet, (Flammarion, 2013), le Dictionnaire
amoureux du théâtre (Plon, 2015), Deux présidents pour rien (Presses de la
Cité / L’Express, 2017), Les derniers jours de la gauche (Flammarion, 2017),
La citadelle assiégée (Plon, 2018), La République des traîtres
(Tallandier, 2018, collaborative work), Le Monde selon Sacha Guitry (Tallandier, 2018), Macron sous les masques
(Observatoire, 2019), Les perdants magnifiques (Tallandier, 2020), Les Tyrannies de l’Epidémie
(Fayard, 2021), Le Monde selon Georges Feydeau (Tallandier, 2021), Le Monde selon Molière
(Tallandier, 2021), In Search of the Lost Hero: Racine vs. Corneille (Fayard, 2022),
A People of Anger (Fayard, 2024), Me, Jean-Luc M (Grasset, 2024), Hitler’s Watch
(novel) (Editions StudioFact, 2025)
He is also the author of several plays:
The Élysée War Will Not Take Place, or The Garombert Impromptu (Grasset, 2001), a play in
four acts and alexandrine verse, performed at the Comédie Caumartin in December 2001, at the
Théâtre Trévise in March–April 2002, and at the Olympia in April 2002
A History of the Comédie-Française, directed by Muriel Mayette and performed at the Comédie-Française from May to July 2012
Maths Emoi, directed by Muriel Mayette and performed at the Théâtre du Rond-Point in 2013.
All of Theater in 33 Minutes, a one-man show performed in 2015 and 2016 at Brive, Arcachon, Le Mans, Paris, La Flèche, Boulogne...
Le Dictionnaire amoureux du théâtre, performed at the 2017 Avignon Festival
Le Tour du Théâtre en 80 minutes, performed at the Théâtre de Poche Montparnasse and on tour since November 2017.
Cabaret Mai 68, performed at the Théâtre de Poche Montparnasse from May to July 2018.
Moà, Sacha, performed at the Théâtre de Poche Montparnasse from April to July 2019.
Choses vues, based on the work of Victor Hugo, performed at the Théâtre de Poche Montparnasse from January to March 2020
Le Grand Théâtre de l’Épidémie, performed at the Théâtre de Poche Montparnasse in September and October 2021
Mozart, mon amour, performed at the Théâtre de Poche Montparnasse from April to December 2023
Together with Claude Posternak and Gérard Miller, he wrote Marc Jolivet’s show for the 2012 presidential election: Tout ce que vous devez savoir avant d’aller voter. Performances took place at the Salle Gaveau in Paris.
He also co-wrote the show Rêvons! with Marc Jolivet, inspired by their book which was performed around thirty times between 2013 and 2016, notably at the Salle Gaveau.
He performed Nous, présidents! with Marc Jolivet during the 2017 presidential election, at La Fontaine d’Argent in Aix-en-Provence and Salle Gaveau, then at the Théâtre du Chien qui Fume during the 2017 Avignon Festival, and on tour until July 2019.
Together with Denis Chaloyard, he wrote Le mystère Raffarin (Image et Compagnie; broadcast on France 3, 2003) and collaborated on several documentaries directed by Serge Moati: Mitterrand à Vichy, Je vous ai compris! – De Gaulle, l’autre guerre, and Changer la vie – Mitterrand 1981.
He played the role of Chris in Doutes, chronique du sentiment politique, a film by Yamini Lila Kumar, alongside Benjamin Biolay, Suliane Brahim (of the Comédie-Française), and Lara Guirao (released November 13, 2013). He made appearances in the series L’État de Grâce (Pascal Chaumeil, 2006) starring Anne Consigny, and for which he also served as a political consultant as well as Profilage (2015), Munch (2018) with Isabelle Nanty, and Magellan (2019) with Jacques Spiesser. He portrayed Pierre Brossolette on screen in the TV movie “Les Espions du Général” on France 3 (2020) and Alain Peyrefitte in the series “De Gaulle, l’éclat et le secret” on France 2 (2020).
After founding and co-directing the Yilderim company in Haute-Savoie (1984–1989), he directed the student troupe at the École Normale Supérieure (1989–1991). Since 1992, he has been co-director and stage director of the Théâtre de l’Archicube, the troupe associated with the École Normale Supérieure alumni association with which he has staged and performed in around sixty plays. In 2022, he founded the Compagnie Christophe Barbier with Pauline Courtin, a company dedicated to musical theater productions.
In the autumn of 2016, he directed “Présents parallèles” by Jacques Attali at the Théâtre de la Reine Blanche, featuring Marianne Basler, Jean Alibert, and Xavier Gallais. He has acted in all the shows he wrote for the Théâtre de Poche (Le Tour du Théâtre en 80 minutes, Cabaret Mai 68, Moâ, Sacha, Choses vues, Le grand Théâtre de l’Epidémie, Choses Vues… et chantées! Les voix de Victor Hugo, Mozart, mon amour, Offenbach et les Trois Empereurs), as well as the role of Georges Mandel in L’Un de nous deux by Jean-Noël Jeanneney at the Petit Montparnasse (2019–2021), the role of François Mitterrand in Elysée at the Petit Montparnasse (2022), and the role of Paul Morand in Mademoiselle Chanel at the Théâtre de Passy (winter 2023 and 2024).
