# Death of Visa pour l’image founder Jean-François Leroy

> Live situation record from CLSTR: https://clstr.news/situations/death-of-visa-pour-limage-founder-jean-franois-leroy
> Updated: 2026-09-05T20:05:47.000Z. Sources: 7. Developments: 2.

Jean-François Leroy, the founder and longtime director of the international photojournalism festival Visa pour l’image, died at the age of 69 on August 31 in Paris following a battle with cancer.

Leroy, who established the Perpignan-based festival in 1989, was a former Sipa Press photographer and editor-in-chief of Photo Magazine. He was credited with transforming the event into a premier global gathering for press photography. Festival director Delphine Lelu described him as the ‘soul’ of the event and noted his advocacy for journalistic integrity and human-made imagery over content driven by artificial intelligence.

His death occurred at the start of the festival’s 38th edition. Leroy had recently been working on a book of interviews concerning the evolution of photojournalism, a field currently facing challenges such as the digital revolution and the decline of photo agencies.

## Timeline

### 2026-09-05: Jean-François Leroy, co-founder of Visa pour l’image, dies

Jean-François Leroy, co-founder of the Visa pour l’image photojournalism festival in Perpignan, has died at the age of 75.

2 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/jean-franois-leroy-co-founder-of-visa-pour-limage-dies

### 2026-08-31: Jean-François Leroy, founder of Visa pour l’image, dies at 69

Jean-François Leroy, founder of the prestigious Visa pour l’image photojournalism festival, has died at 69 after a battle with cancer.

5 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/jean-franois-leroy-founder-of-visa-pour-limage-dies-at-69

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Cite as: Death of Visa pour l’image founder Jean-François Leroy. CLSTR, https://clstr.news/situations/death-of-visa-pour-limage-founder-jean-franois-leroy