Jean-Marc Raynaud

From Blog YY
April 7, 2026

Tomorrow, Wednesday, I will not be able to return to France to attend his funeral at 2:30 p.m. at the La Rochelle crematorium, but I will be thinking of him fondly:

JEAN-MARC RAYNAUD HAS LEFT TO VERIFY IF GOD EXISTS AND, IF SO, TO SOW LIBERTARIAN CHAOS IN HIS RANKS

He was a staunch atheist and deeply opposed to clericalism, which he called "the worst scourge of humanity." He dreamed of an education free from traditional indoctrination and co-founded the Bonaventure Libertarian School at the far end of the world, in Chaucre, on the Île d'Oléron. He did the same with the self-managed cooperative Les Éditions Libertaires, where he began publishing my humble writings 20 years ago, before lending a hand to multilingual social libraries in Greece, as other close friends have done in recent years.

Jean-Marc, himself an author in his books and in Le Monde Libertaire, was never at a loss for words and provoked without restraint: "In our time, we care a little too little about how people will react to what we write! What are we afraid of? Of displeasing people? I don't write to make friends, but to sincerely participate in societal debates!"

Like all of us, he wasn't perfect and had his own personality, but he never gave up on his ideals nor reduced his efforts to advance the cause. The slogan of Éditions Libertaires? "Hats off to the past! Take off your jacket to the future!"

He was also a very funny person, capable of self-deprecation and witty banter. The Ni Dieu Ni Maître prize, awarded annually by a nonconformist jury, was a moment of pure pleasure. The libertarian book fairs in Paris and Merlieux in Picardy were always occasions for joyful and convivial reunions.

I never came to present my books or films in St-Pierre d'Oléron or Marennes without spending the night at his place, taking a few steps with him on the port, nibbling on little pleasures under his big Makhnovitcha flag, before putting the world to rights until late into the night.

Jean-Marc was also Thyde: his alter ego, his love, his partner, almost his twin sister. A dynamic duo on every new project. And of course, the wonderful Bertille, who pursued the same quest. I send them both my warmest regards, as well as the members of the "Nous autres" group from the FA.

And then faces, figures, project partners, from yesterday and today, some far away, some still present, old friends sometimes gone and others returned. That's life! Jean-Marc has sworn and blasphemed so much throughout his rebellious life that, if God exists, there is cause for concern for him these days.

However, not only do I strongly doubt that the gentleman with the long beard exists anywhere, but above all I suppose that the biting humor of our unbeliever and his bon vivant attitude will soon make the saints renounce, one after the other, and lead them resolutely to apostasy.

If God exists, I pity him: Jean-Marc is already sowing libertarian chaos in his ranks!

Yannis Youlountas

---------------
Sad news
From Le Monde Libertaire
March 31, 2026

Jean Marc Raynaud died on Monday, March 30th at the hospital in Bordeaux.

His libertarian commitment began in May 1968 in Bordeaux. He became an activist with the Anarchist Federation (FA) a little later.

For JMR, having ideas and sharing them (even in controversial situations) was the bare minimum, but it mattered little if these ideas didn't lead to a project, a concrete action. He therefore actively participated, with his whole personality, in the renewal, influence, and strengthening of the Anarchist Federation in many different ways... by writing for Le Monde Libertaire or by co-creating journals such as Les Œillets Rouges and Éditions Libertaires.

But he preferred to act. As early as the 1970s, he organized a Friends of the Earth group in Charente-Maritime and demonstrated against the Blayais nuclear power plant. Later, he and the local FA group occupied the McDonald's in Rochefort and participated in the actions of GMO destroyers in his region. But it was in education that he made the greatest contribution, first through his writings, then by co-creating a self-managed daycare center, libertarian summer camps, and finally the Bonaventure school on the Île d'Oléron.

On a more festive note, he participated in the founding of the Ni Dieu Ni Maître [Neither God Nor Master] Grand Prize , a truly farcical event in Merlieux.

One of his proudest achievements was avenging Kronstadt and N. Makhno by winning the pétanque tournament organized by the French Communist Party (PCF) of St. Georges d'Oléron!

Since the word "solidarity" only had meaning in action, his home was always open, sometimes a little too open. He and his partner, Thyde Rosell, were even arrested for harboring a Basque terrorist... who was 3 years old!

In Domino, the café-tabac-newsagent lost its best customer.

And I lost even more.

Wally Sud Loire

---------------
RAYNAUD Jean-Marc
From Dictionnaire international des militant·e·s anarchistes
April 8, 2026

Born on July 19, 1947 in Rochefort (Charente-Maritime) - Died on March 30, 2026 at the Bordeaux Hospital (Gironde) — Anarchist Federation — founder of the Bonaventure school and Libertarian Publishing; administrative officer

Jean-Marc Raynaud had lived on the Île d'Oléron since 1974. His father, Jules Ernest Joseph Raynaud, born on August 20, 1915, in Rochefort, and deceased in 2004, was a carpenter. His mother, Jeannine Manusset, born on April 8, 1923, in Tonnay-Charente (Charente-Maritime), was a saleswoman at Prisunic. Both were left-leaning, but neither was involved in any political activism.

Jean-Marc Raynaud had been living with Thyde Rosell since 1986, with whom he had a daughter. After earning a degree in public law from the University of Bordeaux in 1973, he passed the competitive examination for university administrative and support staff. In this capacity, he was stationed on the Île d'Oléron from 1974 until his retirement in 2007.

Jean Barrué, in Bordeaux from 1969 to 1974, and a comrade named Sanchez, the head of the libertarian library on Rue du Muguet in that city and a member of the Bordeaux anarchist group during the same period, were the ones who sparked Jean-Marc Raynaud's activism. He joined the Anarchist Federation in 1974, in the Saintes group. He subsequently co-founded the Bakounine group in 1976 in Rochefort, and then the Nous autres group in Oléron in 2006.

At the FA and around it, Jean-Marc Raynaud was with others at the initiative of many educational projects: the Bakounine group's summer camp (1983-1986), an experience recounted in L'Échappée belle, un moment d'éducation libertaire (Ivan Davy publisher, 1986), the parental crèche, L'Île aux enfants, founded in 1990 and which still operates [2014] in Dolus-d'Oléron, the Bonaventure libertarian school (1993-2001) in Chaucre (île d'Oléron).

On the editorial front, he participated in the journal Les Œillets rouges. Cahiers de réflexion anarchiste (1986-1989) and in the creation of "L@s Solidari@s", an affinity group which has awarded the grand prize "Ni dieu ni maître" every year since 1998.

In 2002, he founded Éditions libertaires and in 2006, with Franck Thiriot, participated in launching the Club du livre libertaire (Libertarian Book Club) to promote the distribution of anarchist books. At the FA (Fédération Anarchiste), he was in charge of Éditions du Monde libertaire and participated in numerous congresses.

His activist life was marked by his arrest, along with his partner, by the anti-terrorism police on November 30, 2004, for having enrolled a three-year-old child, the son of suspected ETA militants, at the Bonaventure libertarian school and for three years sheltered. They were released without charge after four days and four nights in custody, and, in his case, two heart attacks. This ordeal led to a book: Yes, we sheltered a three-year-old terrorist…

Upon retirement, he was appointed legal manager of the Publico bookstore by the 66th Congress of the FA in Besançon (May 30-31 and June 1, 2009).

It should be noted that he was also a member of CIRA Limousin.

ARTWORK:

  • Numerous articles in the libertarian press, mainly Le Monde Libertaire from 1978 onwards.
  • With Guy Ambauves. Libertarian Education . Spartacus, Paris, 1978.
  • Contribution to: Collectif l'Échappée-belle. L'Échappée-belle: un moment d'éducation libertaire . I. Davy, Vauchrétien, 1986.
  • "Beyond Good and Evil" in: Anarchist Federation. Louise Michel Libertarian Group; Anarchist Federation. Pierre Besnard Group. From National Liberation Struggles... to Anarchism . Rue, Paris, 1985.
  • Shut your mouth at the revolution! : words and actions of libertarian education . Libertarian World, 1987.
  • “From education to the alternative” in: Experiencing education: proceedings of the Carcassonne colloquium . Libertarian creation workshop, Lyon, 1988.
  • A new entry in: Free as the air...: fifteen short stories for Radio Libertaire. Monde Libertaire, 1991.
  • With Thyde Rosell: Bonaventure: a libertarian school, why, how? . Libertarian World, 1992.
  • With Thyde Rosell: A Libertarian School in Oléron: Bonaventure, User Manual . Monde Libertaire; Bout d'ficelle (Saint-Georges-d'Oléron), 1993.
  • “From the destruction of the State to the conditions of its withering away” in: State, politics, anarchy . Libertarian creation workshop, Lyon, 1993.
  • Contribution to: Bonaventure: a libertarian school, first steps of an educational republic . Libertarian World; Libertarian Alternative (Brussels), 1995.
  • Contribution to: Anarchism, images and realities: proceedings of the Perpignan colloquium, November 1-4, 1995. Monde libertaire, 1996.
  • Testimony in: Chance and Necessity: How I Became a Libertarian . Libertarian World; Libertarian Alternative (Brussels), 1997.
  • “The Price of Freedom” in: Bonaventure Libertarian School. Flour and Bran: Educational, Pedagogical, Institutional, Sociological, Political Assessment… of the First Five Years of Operation of a Small Libertarian Educational Republic . Libertarian World & Libertarian Alternative (Brussels), 1999.
  • Unity: for a libertarian movement . Libertarian World & Libertarian Alternative (Brussels), 2000.
  • “On the Duty of Blasphemy” in: Religion is the Opium of the People . Libertarian World: Libertarian Alternative (Ixelles), 2000.
  • Contribution to: Mujeres libres, des femmes libertaires en lutte : mémoire vive de femmes libertaires dans la Révolution espagnole . Monde libertaire: Los Solidarios, 2000.
  • “The Janus Syndrome” in: Pensions . Libertarian World: Libertarian Alternative, 2002.
  • With Thyse Rosell: Yes, we sheltered a three-year-old terrorist . Libertarian Editions, 2006.
  • Exquisite Murders at the Libertarian World Bookstore . Libertarian Editions, 2009.
  • Exquisite Murders on the Island of Oléron . Libertarian Editions, 2010.
  • Exquisite Murders at the Free Thought Society . Libertarian Editions, 2011.
  • Contribution to: Wally Rosell. — In Praise of the Pass: Changing Sport to Change the World . Libertarian Editions, 2012.
  • Exquisite Murders in the Socialist Party . Libertarian Editions, 2012.
  • The Vertical of the Madman: A bloody and completely insane story of an armed revolt in a psychiatric hospital . Libertarian Editions, 2020.
  • Contribution to: The Bonaventure Libertarian School (1993-2001): history of a libertarian, secular and… free educational republic . Libertarian Editions, 2022.
  • Winter Facts and Crises of Faith . Libertarian Editions, 2023.
  • Tears in hand . Libertarian Editions, 2026.

Comments

anonymous (not verified) Sun, 04/12/2026 - 10:50

Real anarchists don't play pétanque with the French Communist Party, for fuck's sake. It's quite literally like playing football with the local police team and pretending you're abolishing the State by winning. The FCP are known for being sub-capitalists and pro-cops like since forever.

Sorry but that's fucking dumb, and a lot of these AFed seniors were always just ossified ancoms who never did anything else than publishing boring journals and occasional showing up at pickets.

GO3 Sun, 04/12/2026 - 14:06

I was a Jehovah's Witness kid who left the church and dropped out of high school to become a skate punk and join the North Austin Thrash Organization. I attended Huntington Surrey and the Fleetwood School for Gifted Children. Caring and sharing is the best way to live in my opinion. I am a bohemian.

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