As we all know, the city of Paris went through the worst kind of nightmare on Friday just as most of us on the East Coast were leaving work for the weekend.
Victims included everyone from journalists and lawyers to foreign exchange students and rock fans–and, as AdAge noted yesterday, the agency world was affected as well.
Two current Publicis employees and one former staffer were among the 129 killed so far in the attack, and Valérie Henaff, CEO of Publicis Conseil in Paris, shared the news on Saturday, tweeting: “Publicis Conseil is in mourning. A great man is gone. Regards to all who loved him.”
Publicis Conseil est en deuil.Un très grand Monsieur est parti.Amitiés à tous ceux qui l’aimaient. Ils sont nbreux. https://t.co/HUOutn2S57
— Valérie Hénaff (@ValerieHenaff) November 14, 2015
That notice concerned senior copywriter Fabrice Dubois, who was one of the victims killed by the terrorists who took over the Bataclan venue. Friends and colleagues have created a fundraising campaign for his wife Alexia.
Paris papers later announced that Yannick Minvielle, who spent nearly five years as CD at RED/Publicis and sang in a local rock band, was also killed while attending the show at Bataclan on Friday night. RED copywriter Guillaume Hannion tweeted an urgent and widely shared plea for help regarding Minvielle’s whereabouts after the attacks, but his family waited more than 24 hours before learning that he had passed. He leaves behind a 7-year-old son.
Finally, François-Xavier Prévost also died at the Bataclan. He was 29 and recently became Chef de Publicité or head of advertising at digital shop LocalMedia after holding various digital strategy positions at Havas Media in Paris. Today, Pittsburgh media outlets noted that Prévost was also a foreign exchange student who once worked as an intern for the Pittsburgh Riverhounds, a professional soccer team.
Various parties throughout the ad industry have voiced their support for the Publicis organization following the tragedy.
Our thoughts with families of Fabrice Dubois @PublicisConseil & Yannick Minvielle of @PublicisGroupe who lost their lives in #ParisAttacks
— Saatchi London (@saatchilondon) November 16, 2015
Une minute de silence pour Yannick Minvielle et Fabrice Dubois et tut la França. On y vá faire face à la terreur.
— Cacá Ferreira (@ricardo7k) November 16, 2015
L’hommage de @RemiBabinetBETC à Fabrice Dubois et aux victimes du 13 Novembre https://t.co/ZQeBiDMENc
— BETC Paris (@BETCParis) November 16, 2015
(The “Peace for Paris” image was created by designer and illustrator Jean Jullien.)