Raymond Maufrais

Raymond Maufrais (1 October 1926, Toulon – 13 January 1950) was a French journalist and explorer. He disappeared in the jungle of French Guiana; his body was never found. A court in French Guiana in 2026 declared he had died 13 January 1950, the date of his last entry in his journal.

Biography

Youth Raymond Maufrais was born in Toulon, an only child. His parents were forced frequently to send the boy away from a young age, starting when he was nine. With two comrades he climbed the wall of the children's home they lived in in the Var department; the police spent three days looking for them. He attended Rouvière school in Toulon in October 1939, where he showed promise in French and classical literature. By 1940 his father was a prisoner in Germany.

In 1942, having listened to the BBC broadcasts, he decided to flee to England but an accident in Dieppe prevented his flight and by August had returned to Toulon. He played a minor part in the French resistance, distributing newspapers, writing graffiti, and reporting troop movements. His father had, in fact, joined the resistance in June 1942, leading a group of the Armée secrète. He later joined the maquis in Périgord and worked with his father preparing landings in Provence; he was awarded the Croix de guerre 1939–1945 (with bronze star) and the Medal of French Gratitude, before he even turned 18. After liberation he joined the army, first as a war correspondent and then as a paratrooper, but finished his service before being called up. He then worked as a correspondent in Corsica, Italy, and along the Côte d’Azur. Maufrais intended to investigate. He left in June 1949, having secured an advance payment from the magazine Sciences et Voyages for writing travel reports. An attempt to build a raft failed (it fell apart, waterlogged), so instead he intended to wade downstream and then, after being rested and re-equipped, to return upstream and continue his journey. On 13 January, he left all his notes and photo equipment in a bag in a hut, keeping only a little bag with necessities and his machete. He got into the water and disappeared in the rapids, never to be seen again.

Legacy Dozens of books have been written on Maufrais, and he was the subject of four French films, most recently a 2015 production by Jérémy Banster starring Stany Coppet, who also co-wrote the film. His Aventures en Guyane is still in print.

Films Voyage au bout de la vie, dir. Philippe Jamain; Les Films de la vallée, 1994, 26 min Raymond l’intrépide. Le destin tragique des Maufrais, dir. Christian Philibert; VBC Production, 2000, 52 min Au nom du fils, dir. Philippe Jamain; Aber images, Les Films de la vallée, 2003, 52 min La vie pure, dir. Jérémy Banster, 2015.