Tribute to Henri Mercillon (Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne)

“Study the past, if you would divine the future.”

Confucius

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I consider Henri Mercillon (1926-2011) as the first scholar of cultural economics, the economics of the arts and culture and media economics in the world (see his 1952 doctoral dissertation on the economics of cinema).

In the 1950s-1960s-1970s, he popularized in France the works of McLuhan, Kalistratov, Conant, Baumol, and of academics from other countries as well, for a truly global approach of cultural economics and the economics of culture (artworks, literature, theater, museums, opera, music, press, radio, cinema and television).

biographie henri mercillon (who's who 2025)

Source: Short biography of Henri Mercillon (05/01/1926-09/02/2011) on Who’s Who in France (whoswho.fr, page viewed in September 2025).

His colleagues and friends, Jean-Claude Casanova, Pierre Rosenberg and Pierre Grégory, paid tribute to him when he passed away in 2011 in the review Commentaire: Henri Mercillon (1926-2011) (this is a direct link to download the PDF file of the article below from cairn.info).

HOMMAG~1Download

1. His pioneering and remarkable thesis on the economics of cinema supervised by Henri Guitton (1952)

A disciple of the eminent economist Henri Guitton (Université de Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne), Henri Mercillon first gained academic recognition after his trip to the USA and the publication of his doctoral thesis on the economics of cinema (1952) as a book translated in different languages (1953). 

In Le Monde (the most prestigious French newspaper) published on December 24, 1952, Charles Serre wrote a glowing review of the doctoral thesis of the young Henri Mercillon entitled “L’industrie cinématographique AUX ÉTATS-UNIS” (“The movie industry IN THE UNITED STATES”).

The famous French economist Henri Bartoli also wrote a rave review of the first book on the economics of cinema (1953) of Henri Mercillon in Revue économique in 1955: “Mercillon (Henri) – Cinéma et monopoles. Le Cinéma aux Etats-Unis : Etude économique. [note bibliographique]“

Source : Revue économique, volume 6, n°3, 1955.

2. His university career as a professor at the most prestigious academic institutions in France (1960-1996)

Henri Mercillon started his academic career as a Collaborator (researcher) at the CNRS (Centre national de la recherche scientifique/the French National Centre for Scientific Research). He passed the “agrégation” (the very difficult and competitive examination to become a university professor) in 1960. Henri Mercillon was a Professor at the Faculties of Law and Economics of the University of Montpellier (1960-1962), of the University of Dijon (1963-1967) and of the University of Paris (1967-1970). When the University of Paris was dissolved after the events of May 1968, he chose to join the new University of Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne‘s project to build a multidisciplinary university in the social sciences (Panthéon) and humanities (Sorbonne), like most of the economists at the Faculty of Law and Economics of the University of Paris (35 out of 41, only 6 rather chose to join Université Paris II Panthéon-Assas like André Piettre, Université Paris IX Dauphine like Pierre Tabatoni or Université Paris X Nanterre like Maurice Allais). Henri Mercillon was a Professor at Université Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne from 1970 and then Professor Emeritus at Université Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne from 1992 until his death in 2011.

Source: “La corporation des économistes. Une histoire de l’ANDESE 1953-2023” de Luc MARCO (2ème édition, EDI-GESTION, 2024).

Henri Mercillon was the Director of the Sorbonne Center for the Information Economy (“Centre d’Economie de l’Information de Paris 1”) and Director of the Center for International Economics of Art Goods (“Centre d’économie internationale des biens d’art”) between 1969 and 1992.

Henri Mercillon, a renowned Professor of Economics at the University of Paris who became a very influential Professor of Management Sciences at the University of Paris 1 like Pierre Lassègue, who both contributed greatly to the development of teaching and research in management at the Sorbonne, as we shall see in the following section, taught in numerous programs at Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University, notably in the famous “DEA Cinéma, Télévision, Audiovisuel” (research Master’s degree) of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University (UFR03 Art History and Archeology) and Paris X Nanterre University, the first master’s program in cinema in France, created and directed by Jean Rouch since 1976 and then by his disciple and colleague, Claudine de France. This Master’s degree in Cinema, Television, Audiovisual offered three options at the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne:

  • Economics and Management
  • History and Theory
  • Practice and Implementation

Source: Les formations à la recherche en communication [article in Réseaux. Communication – Technologie – Société] by Fanny Carmagnat, 1990.

Ecole du Louvre: Passionate about arts and museums, Henri Mercillon was also teaching at the prestigious Ecole du Louvre (famous school of art history, archaeology, epigraphy, history of civilizations, anthropology and museology located within the Louvre).

Sciences Po: Henri Mercillon also taught at Sciences Po Paris (the famous Paris Institute of Political Studies) between 1966 and 1986.

ENA: Henri Mercillon was a regular member of the jury of the highly selective Ecole Nationale d’Administration (the National School of Administration).

FACO: Henri Mercillon, then Professor Emeritus at the Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne from 1992, was the Dean of the Free Faculty of Law, Economics and Management of Paris (Faculté libre de droit, d’économie et de gestion de Paris) between 1992 and 1996.

Henri Mercillon was a friend of Jean Domarchi (a scholar of economics, philosophy and cinema, actor and film critic) and Jean-Claude Casanova (a famous economist, co-founder of the review Commentaire with Raymond Aron and former president of the Fondation nationale des sciences politiques “Sciences Po”) that he both met at the Law Faculty of Dijon where Henri Mercillon started his university career (historically, courses of economics were taught in Law Faculties in France prior to 1970).

During his lifetime, Henri Mercillon supervised at least 23 doctoral theses at the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne in four disciplines:

  • Economic Sciences,
  • Management Sciences,
  • Art Sciences,
  • and Cinema.
Henri Mercillon’s decorations: 
Henri Mercillon’s scientific distinction: 

Médaille d’argent du CNRS (CNRS Silver Medal).

3. His very important legacy in business administration and management studies and research in France

Moreover, Henri Mercillon also played a leading role in the establishment of the new Department of Business Administration and Management at the Sorbonne in 1971 (first UER 06 Économie Générale et Gestion, then UFR 06 Gestion et Économie d’Entreprise, then Gestion Sorbonne, and finally École de Management de la Sorbonne). The prestigious University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne was already a top university in economics since its inception, benefiting from the stellar faculty of the former University of Paris in this field with renowned economists and very famous professors, such as Charles Gide (1847-1932), Charles Rist (1874-1955), Albert Aftalion (1874-1956), Edgard Allix (1874-1938), Bertrand Nogaro (1880-1950), Gaëtan Pirou (1886-1946), Louis Baudin (1887-1964), Émile James (1899-1992), René Courtin (1900-1964), Jean Lhomme (1901-1987), André Philip (1902-1970), François Perroux (1903-1987), Gaston Leduc (1904-1979), Jean-Jacques Juglas (1904-1982, IEDES), Henri Guitton (1904-1992), Maurice Byé (1905-1968), Jean Weiller (1905-2000), Jean Marchal (1905-1995), André Marchal (1907-1968), Jean Marczewski (1908-1990), Alain Barrère (1910-1995), Jean-Marcel Jeanneney (1910-2010), Daniel Villey (1911-1968), Henri Denis (1913-2011), Luc Fauvel (1913-1995), Charles Morazé (1913-2003, IEDES), Henri Bartoli (1918-2008, economist who founded the Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne in 1970 with François Luchaire, professor of public law, and Hélène Ahrweiler, professor of humanities), Hubert Brochier (1923-2017), Pierre Bauchet (1924-2015), Raymond Barre (1924-2007, former Prime Minister of France and disciple of François Perroux), Bernard Ducros (1925-2016), Jacques Lecaillon (1925-2014), and Marie Lavigne (1935-…), just to name a few, but Henri Mercillon (1926-2011, disciple of Henri Guitton who supervised his 1952 doctorate in Economics at the University of Dijon) also contributed to the development and prestige of the Sorbonne in the emerging field of “Sciences de Gestion” (Business Management) with his eminent colleagues at the Université de Paris and then at the Université de Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne: Gabriel Louis Campion (1896-1959, inspecteur des finances/senior civil servant in finance, a pioneering economics and business scholar who wrote the groundbreaking Traité des entreprises privées with a preface by Charles Rist in 1945 (first edition) and a preface by Robert Goetz-Girey in 1958 (third edition). Gabriel Louis Campion was a professor at the IAE Paris Sorbonne Business School in 1956. He was also the father of former French Prime Minister, Édith Cresson, the first woman to become Prime Minister of France in 1991), Georges Lasserre (1902-1985, a distinguished economist who taught the course of political economy and the first course of business economics at the University of Paris from 1950, assisted by the great Pierre Lassègue. Accounting courses at the University of Paris were also taught by Gaston Commesnil for private accounting and by Jean Marczewski for national accounting. Georges Lasserre was the disciple and intellectual heir of Charles Gide, who supervised his 1927 Law doctorate in Economics at the University of Lyon), Robert Goetz-Girey (1910-1964, a pioneering economist specializing in labor economics, industrial relations, social economics and business administration, co-founder with Gaston Berger and first director of IAE Paris from 1956 to 1964, disciple of François Perroux, who supervised his 1934 Law doctorate in Economics at the University of Lyon. Robert Goetz-Girey was one of the pioneers of university management education in France and founded the Sirey Administration des entreprises collection in 1960. He died in a traffic accident at the age of 53), Maurice Girault (1917-2008, a legendary professor of economics and statistics at the Faculty of Law and Economics of the University of Paris, who later joined the Sorbonne management department in the 1970s, disciple of Georges Darmois, who supervised his 1954 doctorate in mathematics at the University of Paris), Nguyen Huu Chau (1920-?, former Secretary of State at the Presidency and Minister of the Interior of South Vietnam under President Ngô Đình Diệm before breaking with the regime and going into voluntary exile in France in 1958, legendary professor of economics, development economics, management, organization, marketing, and distribution at UER 06, UFR 06, IAE Paris, and IEDES, former director of the Sorbonne management department around 1982, disciple of Gaston Leduc, who supervised his 1961 doctorate in Economics at the University of Paris), Pierre Lassègue (1922-2023, one of the founding fathers of management studies in France, especially for accounting and marketing, Pierre Lassègue taught the first business management and accounting courses at the former University of Paris in the 1950s and was the second director of IAE Paris from 1965 to 1968. He visited US universities, including UC Berkeley in 1952 when he was still a professor at the University of Toulouse before joining the University of Paris. Pierre Lassègue was the disciple of Maurice Byé, who supervised his 1948 Law doctorate in Economics at the University of Toulouse), Maurice Flamant (1924-2011, disciple of Jean-Marcel Jeanneney, who supervised his 1950 doctorate in Economics at the University of Grenoble), Marcel Capet (1924-2004, fourth director of IAE Paris from 1973 to 1980 and then from 1983 to 1990, disciple of Jean Marchal, who supervised his 1949 Law doctorate in Economics at the University of Paris), Jean Parent (1926-2003, one of the greatest professors of applied economics in France, founder of the department of industrial economics at the University of Paris, former director of the Sorbonne management department around 1990, disciple of Henri Bartoli, who supervised his 1951 doctorate in Economics at the University of Grenoble. Jean Parent is one of the founding fathers of corporate strategy, business strategy and strategic management in France, see Mélanges en l’honneur de Jean Parent : de l’économie industrielle à la stratégie d’entreprise published in 2006), Roger Percerou (1927-2020, third director of IAE Paris between 1969 and 1973, son of Jean Percerou, who held the chair of commercial law at the University of Paris), Denise Flouzat (1928-2024, a legendary author and professor of economics and finance at the Faculty of Law and Economics of the University of Paris, who later joined the Sorbonne management department), Jacques Wolff (1928-2002, legendary professor of economic history, history of economic thought, history of management, and history of entrepreneurship, 1954 Sciences Po Paris diploma, 1955 Master of Arts in Economics from the University of Chicago, 1956 doctorate in Economics at the University of Paris, disciple of Raymond Aron), Jean-Pierre Jobard (1930-2007, legendary professor of finance, disciple of Maurice Flamant who supervised his 1962 doctorate in Economics at the University of Dijon), Max Peyrard (1932-2023, legendary professor of economics, business, management, organization, international management, international strategy, international trade, international finance, international taxation, international economics, geoeconomics, EU geoeconomics, EU regulation, and European integration, ad personam Jean Monnet Chair of the European Union, 1972-1973 Fulbright Visiting Scholar at Harvard University and at MIT, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, disciple of Maurice Byé, who supervised his 1962 doctorate in Economics at the University of Paris), Pierre Moran (1932-1974, disciple of André Marchal, who supervised his 1964 doctorate in Economics at the University of Paris. He died at the age of 42. A volume of Mélanges économiques : en hommage à Pierre Moran was published by Economica in 1978, with a preface by Maurice Girault and contributions from colleagues including Max Peyrard, Maurice Flamant, Jean-Pierre Helfer, Alain Barrère, Jean Weiller, Jacqueline Fau, and Jean Ousset), Guy Triolaire (1934-2021, fifth director of IAE Paris from 1980 to 1983, 1956 HEC Paris alumnus, assistant and disciple of Robert Goetz-Girey, who supervised his 1963 doctorate in Economics at the University of Paris), Robert Goffin (1936-2021, legendary professor of finance, disciple of Pierre Lassègue, who supervised his 1964 doctorate in Economics at the University of Paris), Jean-Pierre Helfer (legendary professor of marketing and strategy, disciple of Pierre Lassègue, who supervised his 1974 doctorate in Economics at Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, prominent former director of IAE Paris between 1990 and 2001, and then again between 2013 and 2016, founding member and member of the first board of AFM – Association Française du Marketing, the French Marketing Association, in 1984, and former president of AFM between 1996 and 1998), Henri Mercillon’s disciple, co-author and friend, Pierre Grégory (art history and economics scholar and, most of all, legendary professor of management and marketing, former director of the Sorbonne doctoral school of management, founding member and member of the first board of AFM in 1984, 1968 ESSEC alumnus, 1969 University of Pennsylvania alumnus, disciple of Jean Weiller, who supervised his 1971 doctorate in Economics at Paris 1, and of Henri Mercillon, who supervised his 1976 doctorate in Management at Paris 1), later joined in the 1980s by Marie-Claude Oury-Gatelmand (1949-1994, she left Dauphine for the Sorbonne management department in 1988, former vice president of the Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne and former director of the Sorbonne management department until 1993. She died in a car accident at the age of 45), Jacques Rojot (1941-2020, the legendary French authority and reference in human resource management, organization studies, organizational theory, conflict management and negotiation, professor at INSEAD from 1973 to 1983, 1976 PhD in Management from UCLA, the University of California, Los Angeles. Jacques Rojot joined the Sorbonne management department in 1989 and became its prominent director from 1993 to 2000), Patrice Poncet (legendary professor of finance who joined Paris 1 in 1987, former director of the Sorbonne doctoral school of management, 1970 ESSEC alumnus, 1970 Assas Private Law alumnus, 1977 PhD in Finance from Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management), Hubert de la Bruslerie (legendary professor of finance, he joined Paris 1 in 1988, former vice-director from 1998 to 2000 and then director of the Sorbonne management department from 2000 to 2009), Philippe Raimbourg (legendary professor of finance, former director of the Sorbonne management department), Jean-Luc Le Bideau (professor of international management, international strategy, international finance, international trade, international economics and international taxation, disciple of Jean Parent, 1975-1976 Fulbright Visiting Scholar at the University of Rhode Island), Colette Rolland (professor of computer science and information systems), Alexandre Baetche (professor of accounting and marketing, disciple, academic heir and successor of Pierre Lassègue at Paris 1), Claire Opsomer (professor of marketing, disciple of Pierre Lassègue), Farouk Hemici (management, finance, accounting, management accounting, and management control systems, disciple of Nguyen Huu Chau who supervised his 1991 doctorate in Management), Jean-Emmanuel Ray (legendary professor of labor law and human resource management, disciple of Gérard Lyon-Caen), Jean-François Amadieu (human resource management and discriminations, disciple of Jean-Daniel Reynaud), Charles-Henri d’Arcimoles (1960-2020, finance and human resource management), Jean-Paul Laurent (finance, disciple of Patrice Poncet), Roland Gillet (finance, doctorate in economics at the Catholic University of Louvain under the supervision of Alexis Jacquemin (Francqui Prize in 1983) and Franco Modigliani (Nobel Prize in Economics in 1985), 1989-1990 Visiting Fellow at the Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, at the Harvard Business School, and at the MIT Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2000-2001 European Visiting Professor at Fudan University’s School of Economics and Center for European Studies), Jean-Marc Lehu (marketing, disciple of Henri Mercillon and Pierre Grégory), Pierre Médan (microeconomics, production management, logistics and supply chain management, disciple of Jean Parent and former director of the department), Alexandre Steyer (marketing, statistics and quantitative techniques for management, former director of the Sorbonne doctoral school of management), Anne Gratacap (production management and strategy, disciple of Jean Parent), Alice Le Flanchec (human resource management, organization studies, organizational theory, conflict management, and negotiation, disciple and intellectual successor of Jacques Rojot), Christophe Henot (finance, disciple of Robert Goffin), Erwan Le Saout (finance), etc. Business administration was previously taught exclusively at expensive consular or private business schools in France (INSEAD, HEC, ESSEC, ESCP…) until public universities (with very low tuition fees, around €100 per year for a bachelor’s degree and €200 per year for a master’s degree) created their own management departments, combining teaching with research activities and therefore awarding doctorates in management. Thanks to Henri Mercillon, his famous colleagues at the École de Management de la Sorbonne (Sorbonne School of Management) and their successors, the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne is nowadays the leading research university in the academic field of business administration and management in France after Paris Dauphine (formerly Université Paris IX, created in 1968 as an experiment to imitate Harvard Business School, with Paris Dauphine professors originally coming from the Faculty of Law and Economics of the historic University of Paris, such as the legendary Pierre Tabatoni (1923-2006), alumnus of the London School of Economics, Rockefeller research fellow at Harvard University and one of the founders of the first IAE with Gaston Berger, IAE Aix-en-Provence in 1955, of Université Paris-Dauphine in 1968, and of FNEGE in 1968).

Several professors at the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne have served on the jury of the national competitive examination for the agrégation in “Sciences de Gestion” (Management Sciences). Being a member of the jury of the “agrégation” is the highest recognition for a professor of business administration and management in France, as the jury selects the candidates who will become “University Professors in Management Sciences”.

  • Roger Percerou (business law professor at Paris 1), President of the jury of the first examination for the agrégation externe in “Sciences de Gestion” in 1976-1977.
  • Pierre Lassègue (accounting, management and marketing professor at Paris 1 and founding father of business administration and management studies in France and at the former University of Paris), two participations: member of the jury for the agrégation externe in 1979-1980 and then President of the jury for the agrégation externe in 1981-1982.
  • Jean-Pierre Jobard (finance professor at Paris 1), three participations: member of the jury for the agrégation externe in 1983-1984 and then in 1988-1989 and finally President of the jury for the agrégation externe in 1990-1991.
  • Alain Couret (business law professor at Paris 1), two participations: member of the jury for the agrégation externe in 1988-1989 and in 1990-1991.
  • Jacques Rojot (human resource management professor at Paris 1), six participations: member of the jury for the agrégation externe in 1988-1989, in 1992-1993, in 1996-1997, in 2004-2005, in 2012-2013 and President of the jury for the agrégation interne/second concours in 2007-2008.
  • Philippe Raimbourg (finance professor at Paris 1), member of the jury for the agrégation externe in 1990-1991.
  • José Allouche (human resource management professor at Paris 1), two participations: member of the jury for the agrégation externe in 1996-1997 and member of the jury for the agrégation interne in 2001-2002.
  • Robert Goffin (finance professor at Paris 1), President of the jury for the agrégation externe in 1998-1999.
  • Jean-Pierre Helfer (marketing and strategy professor at Paris 1), member of the jury for the agrégation externe in 2000-2001.
  • Bertrand Munier (decision sciences and risk management professor at Paris 1), President of the jury for the agrégation interne in 2001-2002.
  • Pierre-Louis Dubois (marketing professor at Paris 1), President of the jury for the agrégation externe in 2006-2007.
  • Paul Le Floch (business law professor at Paris 1), member of the jury for the agrégation externe in 2006-2007.
  • Charles-Henri d’Arcimoles (human resource management professor at Paris 1), member of the jury for the agrégation externe in 2008-2009.
  • Alice Le Flanchec (human resource management professor at Paris 1), member of the jury for the agrégation externe in 2010-2011.
  • Pierre-Yves Verkindt (social law professor at Paris 1), member of the jury for the agrégation interne in 2011-2012.
  • Hubert de La Bruslerie (finance professor at Paris 1), President of the jury for the agrégation interne in 2013-2014.
  • Géraldine Michel (marketing professor at Paris 1), two participations: member of the jury for the agrégation interne in 2013-2014 and member of the jury for the agrégation externe in 2018-2019.

Sources: Luc Marco, “L’agrégation de sciences de gestion (1976-2005),” Revue d’histoire des sciences humaines, n° 14, 2006, pp. 173-198; Éric Séverin, “L’agrégation, une étape essentielle dans l’évaluation des enseignants-chercheurs par leurs pairs,” Le Libellio d’AEGIS, Vol. 18, n° 4, Hiver 2022, pp. 69-81; and official jury appointment orders published in the Journal officiel de la République française.

Hubert de la Bruslerie (former Director of the Sorbonne School of Management, Paris Dauphine University, IAE Paris Sorbonne Business School) was my finance professor at the Sorbonne and my Master’s Director and Alice Le Flanchec was my professor of negotiation and conflict management.

Imagine being trained by the most eminent professors-researchers in the history of business administration and management sciences in France in:

This was only possible at the Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne. Thanks to management education pioneers like Pierre Lassègue and Henri Mercillon who both switched from Professors of Economics at the Faculty of Law and Economics of the University of Paris to Management Sciences Professors at the new Management Department (“UFR06 – Gestion Sorbonne”) of the newly created University of Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne in 1971.

Henri Mercillon retired in January 1991 but he was still a member of the scientific reading committee of the RSG – La Revue des Sciences de Gestion (formerly “Direction et gestion des entreprises”, the oldest journal of business administration and management in France, created in 1965 with Pierre Lassègue, George Vedel and Pierre Tabatoni, the founding fathers of business administration and management studies in France) which is one of the two main French scientific journals in business administration and management with the RFG – Revue Française de Gestion (founded in 1975 by FNEGE).

Source: La RSG – La Revue des Sciences de Gestion, https://larsg.fr/qui-sommes-nous/ (page viewed in September 2025)

Here is the scientific reading committee of la RSG in the 1990’s, right before my studies at the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, notably with Alexandre Baetche (my professor of accounting and marketing) and Colette Rolland (my professor of computer science and information systems):

Unfortunately, I never had the chance to attend the classes of Jacques Wolff who died in 2002, of Jean Parent who died in 2003 and of Pierre Lassègue, Denise Flouzat and Henri Mercillon who were all already retired (Professors Emeriti) when I started my studies at Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne in 2002.

4. His appointments to official positions highlighting his expertise in cultural economics and media economics

In 1969, Henri Mercillon was appointed by the French Government’s Ministry of Information to the Commission responsible for issues relating to journalists‘ societies and associations (“Commission chargée des problèmes relatifs aux sociétés de rédacteurs“), alongside two other leading media academics: Francis Balle (media sociology at the Sorbonne) and Fernand Terrou (Director of the French Press Institute of the University of Paris).

In 1977, Henri Mercillon was appointed to France’s highest advisory body for the audiovisual industry, the Haut Conseil de l’audiovisuel (predecessor of HACA – Haute Autorité de la communication audiovisuelle, CNCL – Commission nationale de la communication et des libertés, CSA – Conseil supérieur de l’audiovisuel and ARCOM – Autorité de régulation de la communication audiovisuelle et numérique).

In 1980, Henri Mercillon was appointed by the Ministry of Culture and Communication of the French Government to the Permanent National Commission for the Evaluation of Regional Radio Experiences (“Commission nationale permanente d’évaluation des expériences de radios régionales”) to assess the performance of the new local radio stations of Radio France.

Henri Mercillon was:

  • a member of the Artistic Council of the “Réunion des musées nationaux” (1977-2004),
  • a member of the National Museums and Castles Acquisitions Commission (2004-2008),
  • Vice President (1986-1992) and member of the board of directors (1977-2008) of the Louvre Museum patronage society “Les amis du Louvre“,
  • Vice-President of the prestigious International Congress of French-Speaking Economists between 1985 and 2005 (“Congrès international des économistes de langue française” founded in 1926, now called “AIELF – Association Internationale des Économistes de Langue Française”, the International Association of French-Speaking Economists).

Other appointments of Henri Mercillon in the Official Journal of the French Republic (“Nominations au Journal officiel de la République française”): https://jorfsearch.steinertriples.ch/name/Henri%20Mercillon

5. His considerable influence and lasting impact on the economy of the cultural industries in France

Henri Mercillon was the editor of “O.R.T.F., l’agonie du monopole? La problématique de la télévision française durant la décennie soixante-dix” (1973) – the minutes of the historical pluridisciplinary symposium on French Television that Henri Mercillon organized at the Sorbonne on October 10, 1972, gathering together:

Following this historic symposium at the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, the ORTF (French equivalent of the BBC) was dissolved in 1974 and replaced by TF1, France Télévisions, Radio France, INA, TDF and SFP.

Extrait de O.R.T.F., l’agonie du monopole, la problématique de la télévision française durant la décennie soixante dix (Plon, 1973)Download

Quelques extraits de O.R.T.F. [Office de radiodiffusion-télévision française] : l’agonie du monopole ? : la problématique de la télévision française durant la décennie soixante-dix (colloque du Centre d’économie de l’information, Université de Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne ; présentation et rédaction des notes par Henri Mercillon ; Collection « Tribune Libre », Paris, Plon, 1974)

You can find some lists of the articles and books published by Henri Mercillon in:

I will present some of his most famous books and articles in the next section, followed by some of the numerous theses that he supervised.

We can see Henri Mercillon interviewed about the topic “Graffiti: nuisance or expression?” on French TV (France 3) on August 26, 1980: https://mediaclip.ina.fr/fr/pac00003838-graffitis-nuisance-ou-expression.html (source of the video: INA – Institut National de l’Audiovisuel).

6. Some publications of Henri Mercillon between 1952 and 2006

Source: Henri Mercillon (1926-2011) in the French review Commentaire by Jean-Claude Casanova, Pierre Rosenberg and Pierre Grégory, 2011.

Besides writing for the prestigious French reviews Revue d’économie politique, Revue économique, Communications, Esprit, Connaissance des arts, Commentaire and Le Débat, Henri Mercillon also contributed regularly to Le Monde (the most widely read daily newspaper in France) by covering the topic of the economics of cinema for the newspaper in the 1950’s, 1960’s and 1970’s.

Source: “Les 80 ans du « Monde ». Entre « Le Monde » et le cinéma français, une histoire de critiques” by Thomas Sotinel (May 18, 2024).

A few examples of Henri Mercillon’s contributions for Le Monde:

Some other mentions of Henri Mercillon in the archives of Le Monde:

7. Some academic reviews of the three most important books of Henri Mercillon

French and Canadian academics (that will later become very important scholars in their academic fields) wrote reviews about the great books of Henri Mercillon. I selected five of them by: Alain Touraine, Henri Bartoli (Paris 1), André Vitu (Nancy), André Bergevin (HEC Montréal) et Jean-Clément Texier.

Note bibliographique de Henri Bartoli (1955)

Critique du livre Cinéma et monopoles. Le Cinéma aux Etats-Unis Etude économique par Henri Bartoli (1955)Download

Bartoli Henri. Mercillon (Henri) – Cinéma et monopoles. Le Cinéma aux Etats-Unis : Etude économique. In: Revue économique, volume 6, n°3, 1955. pp. 513-514; https://www.persee.fr/doc/reco_0035-2764_1955_num_6_3_407122_t1_0513_0000_001

Compte rendu de André Bergevin (1955)

Critique du livre La rémunértion des employés de Henri Mercillon par André Bergevin (1955)Download

Bergevin, A. (1955). Compte rendu de [La rémunération des employés, par HENRI MERCILLON. Un vol., (6½ po. x 9½, broché, 252 pages). (Collection
« Centre d’Études économiques » — Études et Mémoires) — LIBRAIRIE ARMAND COLIN, 103, blvd St-Michel, Paris Ve, France, 1955]. L’Actualité économique, 31(3), 480–481. https://doi.org/10.7202/1002699ar

Compte rendu de Alain Touraine (1956)

Critique du livre La Rémunération des employés de Henri Mercillon par Alain Touraine (1956)Download

Touraine Alain. Henri Mercillon, La Rémunération des employés. In: Annales. Economies, sociétés, civilisations. 11ᵉ année, N.
3, 1956. pp. 406-407; https://www.persee.fr/doc/ahess_0395-2649_1956_num_11_3_2566_t1_0406_0000_1

Note bibliographique de André Vitu (1956)

Critique du livre La rémunération des employés de Henri Mercillon par André Vitu (1956)Download

H. Mercillon.- La rémunération des employés.. In: Revue internationale de droit comparé. Vol. 8 N°3, Juillet-septembre 1956.
pp. 490-492; https://www.persee.fr/doc/ridc_0035-3337_1956_num_8_3_17750

Compte rendu de Jean-Clément Texier (1975)

Critique du livre O.R.T.F., l’Agonie du monopole, de H. Mercillon par Jean-Clément Texier (1975)Download

Texier Jean-Clément. O.R.T.F., l’Agonie du monopole, de H. Mercillon. In: Communication et langages. N°25, 1975. pp.
122-123; https://www.persee.fr/doc/colan_0336-1500_1975_num_25_1_4187

8. Some of the dissertations and theses that involved Henri Mercillon between 1958 and 1996

Some master’s theses that Henri Mercillon supervised:

  • 014882779 : Typologie des styles de publicités / présenté et soutenu par Nathalie Bonhomme ; [sous la direction de Monsieur le professeur Mercillon] ; Université de Paris-I (Panthéon Sorbonne) – Mémoire de DEA Gestion de Production, Paris 1, 1984
  • Grandeur et décadence d’un groupe de production cinématographique / Jean-Marc Lehu – Mémoire de DESS Marketing, Paris 1, 1987
  • 195562283 : Marché et production des émissions de divertissement / Sonia Chaimbault ; sous la direction de Henri Mercillon et Pierre-Jean Benghozi – Mémoire de DEA Cinéma, Télévision, Audiovisuel, Paris 1, 1992
  • 196807956 : Jacques Kirsner et la production de Pétain / Stéphane Lerouge ; Directeur : M. Henri Mercillon – Dossier de séminaire de D.E.A. Cinéma, Télévision, Audiovisuel, Paris 1, 1992

Some doctoral dissertations for which Henri Mercillon was member of the jury:

  • 128952776 :  L’industrie du gant de luxe en France / René Quiquandon, 1958
  • 084387157 :  L’application de la méthode input-output aux inter-relations des pays industriels et des pays en voie de développement économique / Yves Demonteix, 1963
  • 128947225 :  L’aménagement du territoire et les chambres de commerce et d’industrie / Roger Raymond, 1965

Some doctoral dissertations that Henri Mercillon supervised as “Directeur de thèse“:

  • 068020570 :  L’ économie des biens d’art : essai d’appréciation des échanges en matière de biens d’art / Pierre Grégory ; sous la direction de Henri Mercillon. [After his studies at ESSEC Business School (1968) and at the University of Pennsylvania in the US (1969), Pierre Grégory did two doctorates at the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, one in economics that he completed in 1971 and one in management that he completed in 1976].
  • 040900762 :  LA MODE FACTEUR ECONOMIQUE DANS LA GESTION DES ENTREPRISES / LOUIS LEFROID ; SOUS LA DIRECTION DE HENRI MERCILLON, 1974
  • 040904377 :  Les développements du marché de la bière dans la Communauté Economique Européenne / par Noe͏̈l Mettey ; [sous la direction de] Monsieur le Professeur Henri Mercillon, 1975
  • 040912035 :  ELEMENTS FONDAMENTAUX DU MARKETING DE LA PRESSE / PASCAL PY ; sous la direction de HENRI MERCILLON, 1975
  • 040896218 :  LES NODULES : ECONOMIE MINIERE ET MARCHES DES MATIERES PREMIERES / MICHEL BEGUERY ; sous la direction de HENRI MERCILLON, 1975
  • 040898598 :  Les motivations du personnel dans l’industrie textile au Soudan / par Mahmoud Abdel Halim ; [sous la dir. de] Monsieur le Professeur Henri Mercillon, 1975
  • 040904520 :  Contribution à l’analyse socio-économique des toxicomanies : les exemples de l’alcool et du tabac / Carole Mettey ; Sous la direction de Henri Mercillon, 1975
  • 040927121 :  LA PORCELAINE DE LIMOGES ET SES PERSPECTIVES D’EXPANSION / MONIQUE FOUTELET ; sous la direction de HENRI MERCILLON, 1977
  • 041033612 :  L’AUDIENCE DES MAGAZINES / CLAUDE NEGRE ; sous la direction de HENRI MERCILLON, 1977
  • 04101362X :  LES CIRCUITS D’INFORMATION DU MEDICAMENT / JOSEPH BENIGUEL ; SOUS LA DIRECTION DE HENRI MERCILLON, 1977
  • 041004108 :  Le marché des biens d’équipement dans les États d’Afrique noire francophone / AMADOU DIA ; sous la direction de HENRI MERCILLON, 1977
  • 040927202 :  L’ENTREPRISE CAPITALISTE FACE A L’INVESTISSEMENT EN FORMATION DU PERSONNEL / BERNARD MARTORY ; sous la direction de HENRI MERCILLON, 1977
  • 041013581 :  APPROCHE METHODOLOGIQUE DU PHENOMENE INTERNATIONAL TOURISTIQUE / DIMITRIOS STAVRAKIS ; SOUS LA DIRECTION DE HENRI MERCILLON, 1978
  • 041013565 :  LA REFORME DES STRUCTURES BANCAIRES DANS UNE ECONOMIE INFLATIONISTE / M. BRITTO COSENZA, ANTONIO JESUS ; SOUS LA DIRECTION DE HENRI MERCILLON, 1978
  • 041033655 :  STRATEGIE PUBLICITAIRE ET MARCHE DES PRODUITS DE BEAUTE / BICH-CHAU LE THI ; SOUS LA DIRECTION DE HENRI MERCILLON, 1979
  • 041056620 :  LES CAUSES DU SUCCES OU DE L’ECHEC DES FILMS CINEMATOGRAPHIQUES / JEAN-MARC HOMBERT ; SOUS LA DIRECTION DE HENRI MERCILLON, 1980
  •  041124464 :  PREVISION ET DEVELOPPEMENT COMMERCIAL EN PRODUITS INDUSTRIELS ET D’EQUIPEMENT EN FRANCE ET AU NIVEAU INTERNATIONAL / CLAUDE NEHME ; sous la direction de HENRI MERCILLON, 1983
  • 041305337 :  Une approche économique du rôle du scénario dans le cinéma français depuis 1970 / Valerie Mahé de la Villeglé ; sous la direction de Henri Mercillon, 1986
  • 04137455X :  Le concept de style de vie dans la publicité : média affichage / Semsa Salihbegovic ; sous la direction de Henri Mercillon, 1988
  • 041315111 :  L’image de la femme dans la publicité : 1969-1986 / Michel Gay ; sous la direction d’Henry Mercillon, 1988
  • 009369678 et 041445880 : Genèse et état des films d’entreprise en France / Philippe Chémery ; sous la direction de Henri Mercillon, 1991
  • 012846902 and 245548785 : Les structures et la situation de la production audiovisuelle en France : étude de l’évolution économique de la Société française de Production et de Création audiovisuelles (S.F.P.) de 1975 à 1990 / Jean Dacié ; sous la direction de Henri Mercillon, 1992
  • 041586611 :  Le cinéma belge et l’Europe : institutions et identités culturelles / Frédéric Sojcher ; sous la direction de Henri Mercillon, 1996

9. Some alumni of Henri Mercillon

Simone Morgenthaler (Licence de Journalisme, 1974) was a student of Henri Mercillon at the journalism school of Strasbourg, Centre universitaire d’enseignement du journalisme (CUEJ), that Mercillon visited twice per month to teach the economics of information, arts and culture.

Jean-Marc Lehu (MSG Sorbonne 1986, DESS marketing 1987), who was my marketing and communication professor at the Sorbonne, is also a former student of Henri Mercillon, who supervised his master’s thesis in 1987 and who was president of the jury for his doctoral thesis in 1993.

Luc Chatel (MSG Sorbonne 1987, DESS marketing 1988), manager (marketing and HR), politician and former Minister of France, was one of his students at the Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne. At an official ceremony in July 2010, his former student Luc Chatel presented Henri Charles Jules Mercillon with the tie of Commander of the Academic Palms (France’s highest honorary distinction for a professor), a few months before his death on February 2, 2011 at the age of 85.

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