“I like to discover unique words”

The Papotin is a funny adventure. Make our mouths water…

Its printed version was born in 1989 from the imagination of its founder, Driss El Kesri. An educator at the Antony day hospital (Hauts-de-Seine), Driss worked with people with autism spectrum disorder to whom he wanted to give access to culture. In The Papotin meetings, the television version, the spirit is the same. Emmanuel Macron, Christiane Taubira, the singer Angèle and the actress Virginie Efira took part.

The place that inspires you to create?

The Maison des Métallos, in Paris, where the team of Papotin every Wednesday morning. It’s a time of joyous disorder! It's wonderful to see all these atypical journalists imagining the articles to come. Our newspaper is dotted with caricatures, poems and incredible discoveries.

Music that makes you happy?

I set up an experimental music group with young people from Antony hospital, where I work as a psychologist. The music resonates very strongly in me. I am an amateur guitarist and luthier. It was actually when he saw me on stage that Driss offered me to take care of the Papotin .

Your latest crush?

The book Believe in wild animals, by ethnologist Nastassja Martin (Ed. Gallimard). She recounts an extraordinary experience: her face-to-face encounter with a bear in the mountains of Kamchatka, in Russia. I wish the team could meet her.

A quality that you would be proud to pass on?

The sense of listening! Know how to hear a singular word. Discover its relevance and beauty. Then make these discoveries accessible to the public.

A person who was important in your family?

My mother introduced me to psychoanalysis, which led me to the study of psychology. The link with disability was made on the ground when I met the team of Papotin. A real shock for me.

For what cause would you mobilize?

I act on a daily basis so that difference is accepted more as an asset than as a limitation.

The beauty that will save the world?

The unexpected of beings who are on edge. Many of our journalists are enigmas. I like to be seen as outstanding designers, poets and musicians.