Her friends knew it all along: Camille Dattée was made to be a journalist. She didn’t believe them at first, but followed their advice. It all started while she was studying for her master’s degree in history. While working as a temp at newspaper Le Point‘s subscription department, she decided to apply for an internship in the editorial offices. “I finally found my path. It was journalism or nothing!” she exclaims, still surprised by the turn of events.

Camille feels strongly that learning the trade hands-on is as good as any prestigious school of journalism. She spent nine months learning the ins and outs of the profession and now works for the Le Point as a freelance journalist. The key to being impartial, she says, “is to provide the facts, let the protagonists have their say and then leave the readers to make up their own minds.” Camille is constantly searching, trying to understand the way the world works, and it was her curiosity in this respect that led her to dig deeper into social issues.

Through her day-to-day observations, she noticed a growing number of marginalized young people and was curious to fully understand the nature and extent of the issue. She realized that some of these young people were children from well-off families who had consciously chosen to live an errant life and to reject consumer society outright, without proposing any alternatives. The Foundation grant will enable her to carry out an in-depth investigation into this issue.

Camille is now a freelance journalist with Le Point and Version Femina.

Camille Dattee wrote Les paresseuses se marient for the collection Les petits guides des paresseuses, Editions Marabout. Published in january  2007.