The aim of Stéphane Lagoutte's photo-reportage project is to show the slavery that is ravaging Mauritanian society, as it is in many countries that sit on the boundary between Arab and African societies. The grant awarded to the project by the Jean-Luc Lagardère Foundation is a source of "psychological support". To complete the project, the young photographer intends to make two journeys to Mauritania, each lasting two months, as well as spending time in Senegal and Mali.

He is no stranger to travel. After taking a two-year undergraduate diploma in maths and physics, followed by a degree in plastic arts specializing in photography, his passion took him from Havana to Djakarta via Romania, Syria, Turkey and Silesia. He worked on a wide variety of subjects, and found his work appreciated and taken up by publications as diverse as National Geographic France, Libération, L'Express, Femme and Le Monde 2.
"When I was little, I used to get up in the night to take photographs of Paris," Stéphane recalls. Later, he travelled far and wide, to meet other people and talk with them, as well as to explode some myths, as is the case with the reportage on women in Iran he is currently working on.

Suffering also exists on our own doorstep, and in 1998 he changed tack to concentrate on social issues. It is a difficult area, full of sharp contrasts – particularly when, as the reality of the job demands, you have to turn your talents to Mercedes, Club Med, Disney and even the art market at Sotheby's at the same time. Never mind. Sans toits ni droits (No roof, no rights), a photo-reportage on housing and immigration in Paris and the surrounding region was shown at the Visa pour l"image festival in Perpignan in 2002. "Everything is linked to everything else. You carry people's suffering with you. There is humanity there." So that is where you will find Stéphane Lagoutte, too.

Achievements since winning the grant

In 2004 Stéphane Lagoutte took part in Regards sur 10 nouvelles capitales européennes (Views of ten new European capitals) on the Champs-Elysées. A number of his photographs were shown at the Rencontres d’Arles exhibition from 4 July to 17 September 2006.
Stéphane Lagoutte is also one of the authors of Vivre le Sport, a beautiful book produced at the instigation of the Jean-Luc Lagardère Foundation and published jointly with Editions du Chêne in September 2006. For each book sold, two euros will be given to the non-profit organization Foot Citoyen for the promotion of citizenship values in football.

In 2007,  publication of portfolios in Le Monde 2 on the campaign for the presidential elections in Mauritania and in L'Equipe Magazine : subject :  24 Hours of Le Mans for Motorcycles.

Stéphane Lagoutte will be at the 2007 Visa pour l'image in Perpignan (1st - 16 september) with his report : Présidentielle en Mauritanie