“Une jeunesse levantine” by Michel Santi

  • 6 minute read
  • 24 June 2025
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Une jeunesse levantine by Michel Santi
Preface by Gilles Kepel

Michel Santi shares his story between Beirut, Mecca, Khomeini, Jerusalem … in a world in full questioning. We invite you to discover “Une jeunesse levantine” written by Michel Santi, economist and financial markets expert, Michel Santi is the author of reference works and a columnist for the press.

A word from the author

“In a region where borders between communities are impassable, I pulverize red lines and defy prejudice. During those seven and a half years, in search of my identity in a fragmented world, my life collided with history and impossible loves. I was not, however, traumatized by this rugged period, nor by the breathtaking, often nauseating historical figures I came across. On the contrary, I drew from it the richness and inner strength that would prove to be so many assets in my career as a man of finance.”

“Between geopolitics, historical figures and amorous infidelities… Seven years of an extraordinary life.

Michel Santi recounts a breathtaking adolescence, a privileged witness to major upheavals in the Middle East. Genesis of the conflicts that shape the region today. Rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Israel/Palestine war. Khomeini’s revolutionary Shiism and its hold on the region.

What the author has seen and experienced echoes the human dramas and geopolitical imbroglio that are still so topical.

Une jeunesse levantine is also the story of multiple, accepted transgressions.”

Autobiographical story

Son of a French diplomat and a Lebanese Christian, Michel Santi was 11 years old when the Lebanese civil war began. From Beirut to Jerusalem, via Jeddah, Paris and Teheran, Michel Santi was torn between cultures, religions and conflicts. For seven years (from 1975 to 1982), he lived an extraordinary life. He rubbed shoulders with leading figures embodying every trend in the Middle East: Prime Ministers, Princes, soldiers, militiamen or terrorists, Lebanese, Iranians, Palestinians, Israelis. The chilling episode of 1979 with Ayatollah Khomeini reflects the sometimes dangerously romantic dimension of his life.

A journey through civil war, Islamic revolution and astonishing encounters

From his pilgrimage to Mecca in the company of the future King of Arabia to his integration into the Cedar Guardians, a radical Christian group in Lebanon. His friendship with Sandy, Iskandar Safa, one of the leaders of this militia. His visit to Prince Rouge, mastermind of the 1972 Munich Olympics bombing and husband of his cousin Miss Universe 1971. His shining moment with a young man who would become Afghanistan’s Commander Massoud. His afternoon spent with Imam Khomeini in Neauphle-le-Château, who urged him to accompany him on his triumphant flight to Teheran on February 1, 79. He takes in the revolutionary’s confidences, explaining his ambitions for Iran, his vision of a reshaped Middle East, and his aversion to French-style universalism. And he talks to some of his companions, some of whom will be shot or banished by his Islamic Revolution.

A tale of intimacy and politics

A darkly handsome student in the Paris of ’81, Gilles lives in style with his Jewish partner, whose religion he almost adopts. On his return to Lebanon, in the midst of the chaos caused by the assassination of the young Christian president-elect, he abandons Gilles and flees to Jerusalem with a young soldier in the Israeli army of occupation, who has been traumatized by the massacre in the Palestinian camps. He is exfiltrated from Israel by the Mossad, who fear for his life as the city’s Arabs believe him to be a spy.

Chronology 1975-1982

April 13, 1975: Outbreak of the civil war in Lebanon, a devastating conflict that would mark the decades to come.

April 17, 1975: I’m 12 years old. My carefree childhood is shattered in an unstable world. May 1975: I leave for Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to live with my father, a French diplomat.

September 1975: Pilgrimage to Mecca, with a Prince of the Saudi royal family.

April 17 1976: I turn 13.

April 1976: I leave Saudi Arabia to join my mother in Lebanon, despite the civil war. I meet Sandy, a complex character who will play an important role in my life at the time.

May 1976: I join the Cedar Guards, a radical Christian militia. August 11 1976: The Palestinian camp of Tel el Zaatar falls. A bloody episode in the Lebanese civil war, and a milestone for the Lebanese Christian clan.

September 1976: I meet Abou Hassan, the Red Prince, mastermind of PLO terrorist operations and husband of my cousin, to whom I was close.

October 1976 – November 1977: I quit the militias, and live in seclusion at my mother’s in Beit-Meri. November 19, 1977: Anwar Sadat’s historic visit to Jerusalem, initiating the peace process with Israel.

November 19, 1977: Anwar Sadat’s historic visit to Jerusalem, initiating the peace process with Israel.

December 1977: I abruptly leave Lebanon to join my father in Turkey.

September 17 1978: Signing of the Camp David Accords between Israel and Egypt, marking the emergence of Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat as controversial figures of peace.

October 1978: Trip to Paris. October 16 1978: Special dinner with Yasser Arafat, Shimon Peres and Sandy at my cousin Georgina’s in Paris.

October 17 1978: First meeting with Imam Khomeini at Neauphle-le-Château, as he emerges as the leader of the future Islamic revolution in Iran.

January 27, 1979: Back in Paris, I visit Georgina, in mourning after the Mossad assassination of her husband Ali Hassan Salameh.

February 1, 1979: At his request, I leave with Khomeini for Iran. He returns triumphantly and establishes the Islamic Republic.

April 17 1981: I turn 18. Since the previous episode, my life has taken a new, much more traditional direction. At least, I think so.

June 1981: I leave Turkey for good to settle in Paris as a medical student. I’m married to Gilles. Life is good, and I’m definitely back on track with my classic youth.

October 6 1981: Anwar Sadat is assassinated by radical Islamists. I’m once again caught up in a Middle East that leaves me no peace of mind.

June 6 1982: Israeli operation “Peace in Galilee”, involving the gradual occupation of entire regions of Lebanon. In mid-August, it entered certain districts of Beirut, the capital.

September 11, 1982: Gilles gets me to go to Lebanon.

September 14, 1982: Assassination of Bashir Gemayel, elected President of Lebanon, plunging the country into even worse chaos than it had experienced since 1975 and the outbreak of the civil war.

September 16-18, 1982: Sabra and Chatila massacres. Gilles and I are there, along with a young Israeli soldier, his cousin, whom he introduces to me.

September 21, 1982: I flee Lebanon with the young Israeli soldier who decides to desert. We go to his country.

September 25 1982: I’m expelled from Jerusalem and decide to return, not to Paris where I had my student life, but to Geneva.

More information :

Autobiographical story. “Une jeunesse levantine” by Michel Santi – Preface by Gilles KEPEL. 276 pages – Editions Favre. 30€ or 34 Swiss francs.

About Gilles Kepel:

Gilles Kepel, born June 30, 1955 in Paris, is a French political scientist. A specialist in the contemporary Arab world and radical Islamism, he is an essayist and Professor Emeritus at the University of Paris Sciences et Lettres.

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