Christophe Ayad is a French journalist known for his deep reporting on international affairs, particularly the Middle East and Africa.

Born on August 27, 1968, in Strasbourg, Ayad spent part of his childhood in Sudan, which shaped his early interest in global politics. He studied at the Institut d’études politiques de Paris (Sciences Po) and later trained at the Centre de formation des journalistes in Paris. These formative years gave him both the academic grounding and practical skills to pursue a career in international reporting.

Ayad began his career at Libération in 1990, first as a sub-editor and later as a correspondent in Cairo from 1994 to 1999. He covered Middle Eastern and African affairs extensively, earning acclaim for his investigative work. In 2004, he won the prestigious Albert Londres Prize for his reporting on Rwanda and Iraq, and in 2010 he received the award for best grand reportage for a feature on Gaza’s zoo.

In 2011, Ayad joined Le Monde, where he became head of the international desk in 2014 before transitioning to the role of grand reporter in 2018. His reporting continues to focus on conflict zones and geopolitics, with recent work on the Middle East. He is also the author of several books, including Géopolitique de l’Égypte (2002), Reporter de frontières (2012), and Géopolitique du Hezbollah (2024), reflecting his long-standing expertise in the region.