On the death of Persepolis author Marjane Satrapi
The French-Iranian artist Marjane Satrapi has died in Paris at the age of 56. She gained global renown for her autobiographical graphic novel Persepolis. In 2025 she was offered France's highest award, the Legion of Honour, but refused it. Satrapi was highly critical of France's refusal to grant visas to young Iranian dissidents and artists. The press pays tribute to the artist and her work.
Free and unyielding
Satrapi left her mark on the world of comics, writes the renowned French cartoonist Coco in a tribute in Libération:
“In her world, caught between darkness and light, she embodied laughter and gravity, strength of character and sensitivity, power and fragility. She was all about contrasts. ... And she was an inspiration to generations of artists, above all female ones. She showed that it was possible, that all you needed was to have something to say and never budge an inch. As a free and committed woman, with a cigarette in the corner of her mouth, she tossed the gold medal of the Legion of Honour into the bin in a cloud of smoke, with that indomitable elegance that defines the people of Iran. Satrapi had a chic, shocking, uncompromising style, as raw to the eye as the clunky shoes she wore and with which she would have gladly kicked the Supreme Leader in the backside.”
Fierce critic of empty symbols
Writer Roberto Saviano recalls in La Repubblica how Satrapi denounced the West's token gestures following the death of Mahsa Amini and the launch of the "Woman, Life, Freedom" movement:
“The European left mobilised, social media were flooded with messages of solidarity and celebrities marched with their hair uncovered. Satrapi viewed all this with suspicion. What she saw was symbolic support without consequences: no real pressure on governments, no change in visa policies, no material support for dissidents attempting to leave Iran. Communication replaced action and passed itself off as such.”
She still had so much to say
Satrapi's work Persepolis remains relevant to this day, Dagens Nyheter writes:
“For Satrapi, it was important to show that Iranians are people just like everyone else. In times of mutual demonisation, this is an essential task. You get to know the life of young Marjane and her world intimately – you cry and laugh with her. She never lets you forget that democracy begins with women's rights, and that this struggle must be waged ceaselessly. Persepolis is one of the most frequently banned books in the United States. Marjane Satrapi would have had much more to say.”