Overview
- The tribute production Balavoine ma bataille opens January 14 in Alençon, an initiative led by his brother Guy with contributions from former bandmates.
- Le Parisien reports that photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand had ceded his seat in the Paris–Dakar helicopter that crashed on January 14, 1986, killing all five on board.
- The victims included singer Daniel Balavoine, rally founder Thierry Sabine, journalist Nathalie Odent, sound engineer Jean‑Paul Le Fur, and pilot François‑Xavier Bagnoud.
- In a new interview, sister Claire Balavoine says he feared flying and felt pressured to board the aircraft, framing her comments as personal recollection rather than new official findings.
- The coverage revisits his outspoken profile, including a televised 1980 confrontation with François Mitterrand, alongside his Paris–Dakar-linked humanitarian program to deliver water pumps.