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Plantu in 2015

Jean Plantureux (born March 23, 1951, in Paris), who goes by the professional name Plantu, is a French cartoonist specializing in political satire. His work has regularly appeared in the French newspaper Le Monde since 1972.

Early life

Jean Plantureux received his Baccalaureate from Lycée Henri-IV in 1969. Though he initially intended to pursue the study of medicine, he soon gave this up and moved to Brussels, where he enrolled in drawing courses at the École Saint-Luc.

Early professional career

Plantu returned to Paris and attempted to sell his cartoons to the French daily newspapers. He was hired by Bernard Lauzanne of Le Monde and his first cartoon, about the Vietnam War, was published on October 1, 1972. In 1974, Claude Julien, then-director of Le Monde Diplomatique, also began publishing Plantu's drawings.

In 1980 Plantu began to work with Le Journal Phosphore, a relationship which would continue until 1986. In 1982, André Laurens and Claude Lamotte, respectively the director and editor in chief of Le Monde, asked him to begin drawing cartoons for the Sunday edition of the newspaper. In September 1987, Plantu appeared on the television show Droit de Réponse, with Michel Polac, on TF1.

In 1985, the head of Le Monde, André Fontaine, started to publish Plantu's cartoons daily, saying that this would return political satire back to its former standing as a French tradition.

1985 – 1995

In 1988 Plantu received the Mumm prize for his cartoon "Gordji chez le juge", followed by a prix de l'humour noir in 1989. In 1991, Plantu began to publish a comic in the weekly magazine L'Express, which allotted him its entire third page every week.

In 1991 Plantu met Yasser Arafat during a showing of his cartoons in Tunis. Arafat liked Plantu's cartoons so much that he drew a Star of David on a Plantu cartoon, colored it in and signed it. The following year, Plantu traveled to Israel and met Shimon Peres, whom he convinced to sign the cartoon as well. This was the first time that signatures from both the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Israeli government had been affixed to the same document.

1995 - 2000

Le Monde changed its methodology in 1995, causing Plantu to lose control over the subject matter of his cartoons. In 1996, Plantu had a showing of his cartoons and sculptures at the Cour de cassation (French Supreme Court) in Paris. Later that year he received the Spanish Gat Perich (International Caricature Prize). Some of his drawings and sculptures were auctioned at the Hôtel Drouot in Paris, and he received exposure in Argentina through the Alliance Française of Buenos Aires.

In 1997 Plantu opened a gallery in Khartoum, Sudan. In Budapest, the president of the Hungary, Árpád Göncz, inaugurated an exhibit of Plantu and Gabor Papai. He also opened a new gallery at the French Arts centre of Mexico City. Finally, a collection of his work was exhibited at CRAC in Valence, France.

In 1998 a stamp worth three French francs was produced by the French postal service, with the proceeds dedicated to Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders). A total of 8.5 million stamps were produced. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, UNESCO published several foreign collections illustrated by Plantu. His drawings were translated into Chinese, Japanese, Ukrainian, and other languages. That same year he opened a gallery at the French Institute of Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

In 1999, Plantu opened a gallery at the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka. Some of his drawings were exhibited in Iran at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Teheran; in the Hotel of Rohan; at the Museum Jean-Jaurès de Castres; and at the French Arts centre of Singapore.

In September 2000 a controversy arose involving the distribution of a Plantu drawing showing Jacques Chirac copulating with a sleeping Marianne. An exhibit of Plantu and Daumier written by curator Cyril Dumas opened in the Museum of Yves Brayer les Baux de Provence. The exhibition described traits shared by both caricaturists. Another installation opened that year at the French Arts centre in Yaoundé, Cameroun.

2001 - present

Plantu's art was featured in the Festival of the Caricature in Ankara in 2001. In 2002, he met United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, to discuss an upcoming international conference of news cartoonists in Paris. A thesis was published by Rémi Pézerat entitled "La signification politique des dessins de Plantu (1972-2000)"(The Political Significance of the Cartoons of Plantu (1972-2000)). Plantu celebrated the publishing of his 15,000th cartoon and his thirtieth anniversary with Le Monde, and launched his own website.

In 2003 an exhibit of his drawings was opened at the Carnavalet Museum. Toward the end of the year another exhibit opened at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina in Egypt, as well as a street exhibition in Angers, France.

In 2004 his drawings were shown to the French National Assembly in February, and his 40th book, Ils pourraient dire merci! was published.

On February 3, 2006, he responded to the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy by publishing a drawing in the first page of Le Monde representing Muhammad using many copies of the sentence "I may not draw Muhammad".

In 2009, another controversy occurred when the group America Needs Fatima launched a vast e-mail campaign against Plantu because of a drawing on Jesus distributing condoms, instead of loaves of bread, to poor people in Africa.

In 2015, his cartoon, which shows an IDF soldier firing his gun at Palestinian civilians, joined by a stereotypical religious Jew, depicted with a long beard, hat and coat, and even a rifle on his shoulder made a serious scandal and rose emotions on a 'Blood libel' accusation against Israeli Jews.

Bibliography

• Plantu: Drôle de peuple – Komisches Volk! Dessins sur l'Allemagne – Politische Karikaturen zu Deutschland. (exhibition catalogue with political cartoons about Germany, bilingual: French-German) Schaltzeit Verlag, Berlin 2011. ISBN 978-3-941362-11-6

External links

• The official Plantu Site
• Plantu Interview at Toons Mag
• Plantu American Lecture Series
• 750 page pdf "La signification politique des dessins de Plantu (1972-2000)" (French)

References

United Federation of Cielago
Flag
Capital	Carthag
Official languages	Persian
Ethnic groups (2026)	38.9% Azeri 35.5% Baluchi 22.4% Persian 3.2% Others
Religion (2026)	53.1% Shia Muslim 46.3% Sunni Muslim 0.6% Others
Government	Unitary Republic
Legislature	Legislature of Cielago
Independence
• Proclamation of Cielago	9 August 2023
Area
• Total	217,336 km2 (83,914 sq mi)
Population
• 2027 estimate	4,936,000
GDP (PPP)	2027 estimate
• Total	$164.40 billion
Time zone	UTC+3:30
Date format	dd/mm/yyyy
Drives on	left

Cielago, officially the United Federation of Cielago, is a sovereign nation in Southern Asia. The nation is north of the equator and borders the Indian Ocean in the southern region of the country. Spanning 217,336 sq. kilometers, Cielago is primarily mountainous, with the exceptions of the fertile plains of the southeast and the coastal region in the southwest. While the nation is not landlocked and has the port city of Carthag, the city of Arrakeen also maintains access to the Gulf of Oman through the Gabrick river. However, this access relies upon the nation of Habbanya, which controls the Gabrick river further downstream. As of 2027, the estimated population is 4,936,000. The city of Carthag is the nation’s largest city and serves as the capital.

The population of approximately 4,936,000 is mainly concentrated between three urban areas. The southern region of Arsunt is Cielago’s only coastal region and is home to the port city of Carthag, which is the largest population and economic hub in the country. The city accounts for 63.8 % of Cielago’s GDP of 164.4 billion USD and has primarily grown through the sale of oil to western nations. This market has been capitalized upon as many other splinter nations from the former country of Iran were sanctioned by western governments for ongoing human rights abuses and thus prefer to trade with the relatively stable market in Cielago. At the base of the northern mountains lies the city of Sietch Tabr, which specializes in textile production and copper mining. Finally, in the southeast, along the navigable Gabrick river, lies the city of Arrakeen. Bordering the fertile plains of the southeast region, the city of Arrakeen has prospered with the ability to ship grain products directly into the Gulf of Oman.

The nation of Cielago resides in what was historically eastern Iran. Following the Iranian civil war and subsequent collapse of 2023, the region became a safe haven for “neo-Shia Muslims” who - while still traditional - opposed the harsh restrictions and enforcement of Shia law imposed by the former Iranian government. This migration then led to the region’s traditional Baluchi ethnicity intermixing with the Azeri and ethnically Persian ethnic groups from northwestern Iran. While tensions between ethnic groups initially resulted in tension - especially given that the Baluchi are Sunni Muslims, the mutual defense of the burgeoning Cielago in the Iranian civil war fostered a communal, national identity and helped to ease ethnic divisions. As a result, modern-day Cielago is Muslim with 53% of the population identifying as Shia Muslim and 46% as Sunni Muslim. Ethnically, the nation is dominated by Azeris (38.9%), with large populations of Persians and Baluchi as what are now the ethnic minorities in the state.

Government and politics

The government consists of a unicameral legislative, a presidential executive, and an independent judicial branch. The nation follows a decentralized model of federalism and as such most power lies with the local governments rather than the federal government. Although Cielago is a multi-party democracy, only the executive is elected on the federal level, with judges being appointed by the executive and approved by the legislative and members of the legislative being appointed by province legislatures to represent their province’s interests.

The executive of Cielago is a president elected through a national popular vote, who then serves a term of 8 years with a term limit of three terms. The president serves as the commander and chief of the military and has the authority to declare war (though this can be vetoed by the legislative). The president is also responsible for “guiding the national directive” (i.e., building plans for national development), managing the federal bureaucracy, appointing federal judges, and representing the nation of Cielago in international matters. Campaigning for presidential office occurs over a set period of time in the four months prior to the election. Campaign funding is equally allocated from a pool of federal funds for candidates who meet a minimum of 8% in preliminary polling. Additionally, party primaries are not allowed within the state of Cielago. Snap elections caused by votes of no confidence will follow this same format though the time for campaigning will be cut to two months (as to minimize disruptions to the flow of government).

The legislative branch of the federal government is made up of a unicameral legislature that consists of legislators that are appointed yearly by the local legislatures in the nation’s provinces. These appointments are determined by a vote in the province’s legislature utilizing the proportional system of single transferable votes. There are thirteen provinces in the nation of Cielago and ninety-two members in the federal legislature. Every province has a minimum of three legislators, with the remaining fifty-three legislators being apportioned proportionally to the province’s population. The roles of these appointed legislators are to vote on legislation pertaining to national policy, facilitate cooperation between regions, and amend the constitution with a ⅔rd vote when needed.

The legislative branch serves as a check upon the power of the other branches of government within Cielago. The legislature controls the budget of the nation, can veto presidential plans (with 65% of the legislature), can veto judicial interpretations of Shia law (with 51% of the legislature), and holds the power to impeach the president and federal judges. Additionally, a bipartisan committee of the legislature must approve supreme court nominees with a ⅔rd vote. However, perhaps more powerful than the aforementioned checks on the executive branch is the power of the legislature to trigger a snap presidential election through a no-confidence vote. With a no-confidence vote in which higher than 48% do not have confidence in the current president, a national election is triggered. It is worth noting that the current president can run in the election and that a year must pass before another no-confidence vote can be called. Finally, it must be noted that this election does not reset the regularly scheduled election cycle based on presidential terms.

The federal judicial system of Cielago is split into five federal districts and consists of federal trials courts, federal district appeals courts, and the Supreme court of Cielago. The federal districts serve as the legal authority within their designated region, with courts located in the city of Carthag (for the south), Arrakeen (for the east), Sietch Tabr (for the north), the midlands, and the west of the nation. Federal courts are responsible for upholding and interpreting the constitution of Cielago. They are also responsible for ruling upon matters that involve the government or are between governmental bodies within the nation. Additionally, the Supreme Court of Cielago holds the power to rule laws or actions taken by the executive or legislatures as unconstitutional. Judges are appointed by the executive branch and must be approved by a ⅔rd majority in a legislative committee. When appointed, federal judges serve for life.

The five federal districts are also partially responsible for ensuring that provinces and local authorities are following rulings on federal law. To ensure this, the judicial branch maintains its own independent police force to combat corruption and, if necessary, enforce federal law independently of local forces.

In addition to the federal court’s role in secular law, the federal courts are also responsible for the implementation and interpretation of Shia religious law. As per the founding principles outlined in the constitution of Cielago, judges are to seek interpretations that “maintain the spirit of religious law while seeking to minimize any restrictions of citizens’ civil liberties.” Though the federal courts do have their own police force, this force is explicitly not allowed to be used with regard to implementations of religious law, given the past history within the region and the resulting revolution in 2023.

Federalism in Cielago is divided into three levels of government - federal, regional, and local. The federal government consists of the executive, a unicameral legislative, and a judicial branch that, as a government, handles legal consistency, religious law, internal cooperation, overarching planning, issues regarding national defense, international trade, and international relations. The vast majority of power is vested within the legislatures of the provinces, which are democratically elected and specialize in issues retaining to their region’s needs. It is worth noting that these provinces can not make international agreements or trade deals independent of the federal government. However, these province legislatures appoint the federal legislative and thus hold considerable power over the federal government. Finally, there are local governments spread throughout the nation of Cielago.

Economy

Just as the population of Cielago is mainly concentrated around its three cities, so are the nation’s economic activities. In the south, the economy is focused upon harvesting and exporting oil from the vast oil fields in the region. In the north, the city of Sietch Tabr serves as the region’s economic hub, with a thriving textile market and the facilities to support the numerous copper mines in the surrounding mountains. Finally, the city of Arrakeen in the east serves as a hub for the fertile farmlands in the region and ships crops down the Gabrick river for export. Overall, in theory, the national economy is intended to be a free market economy; however, in practice, the governments of many provinces run or indirectly control valuable enterprises and markets. This control has led to Cielago’s economic development and economy being generally an extractive system (especially in the vital copper and oil sectors). Finally, while in isolation, the economies of these provinces are moderately successful; they lack diversification and are disconnected from one another.

Demographics & Religion

The nation of Cielago resides in what was historically eastern Iran. Following the Iranian civil war and subsequent collapse of 2023, the region became a safe haven for “neo-Shia Muslims” who - while still traditional - opposed the harsh restrictions and enforcement of Shia law imposed by the former Iranian government. This migration then led to the region’s traditional Baluchi ethnicity intermixing with the Azeri and ethnically Persian ethnic groups from northwestern Iran. While tensions between ethnic groups initially resulted in tension - especially given that the Baluchi are Sunni Muslims, the mutual defense of the burgeoning Cielago in the Iranian civil war fostered a communal, national identity and helped to ease ethnic divisions. As a result, modern-day Cielago is Muslim with 53% of the population identifying as Shia Muslim and 46% as Sunni Muslim. Ethnically, the nation is dominated by Azeris (38.9%), with large populations of Persians and Baluchi as what are now the ethnic minorities in the state.