Dear reader,

I learned yesterday, with great emotion, of the death of the Nobel Prize in Medicine Luc Montagnier, on February 8, at the age of 89.

None of the media mentioned it, even though Professor Montagnier was undoubtedly one of the greatest French researchers of our time, at the forefront of science on many subjects.

A specialist in virology, he worked at the CNRS and then in several research laboratories in Great Britain, where he made major discoveries on the replication of RNA viruses and on the link between certain viruses and the development of cancers.

After a period at the Institut Curie, he created in 1972 the viral oncology unit at the highly respected Institut Pasteur.

In 1983, Prof. Montagnier and his team were the first to isolate the AIDS virus, a major discovery that earned him the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 2008, and which played a key role in the fight against AIDS.

His research has led to an understanding of how this retrovirus works, its role in the disease and the development of the first serological diagnostic test for AIDS.

Luc Montagnier has also worked hard to prevent AIDS in Africa, notably by creating the World Foundation for AIDS Prevention and Research under the aegis of UNESCO.

In addition to the Nobel Prize in Medicine, the professor has received dozens of other prestigious awards, including the Prix Gallien, the CNRS Silver Medal, the Albert Lasker Prize and many others.

Thereafter, Professor Montagnier continued to demonstrate the curiosity and open-mindedness that characterizes both children and great scientists. He was particularly interested in the memory of water and the electromagnetic signals that would be emitted from DNA.

In April 2020, in the midst of the pandemic, he was one of the first to suggest that the covid virus had been created in a laboratory (this announcement had been widely decried in the mainstream media and considered a conspiracy theory. But since then, other researchers have come to similar conclusions and the question remains entirely open[2]).

Professor Montagnier, who has always defended vaccine freedom (and more generally freedom in health care) was also one of the rare researchers who had the courage to warn about the risks associated with vaccination.

He was a true alarm-monger, sometimes denouncing before anyone else serious health scandals, such as the contaminated blood affair or the dangers of aluminum in vaccines, still denied today by our authorities despite overwhelming evidence.

I have great respect for Luc Montagnier and for all that he has contributed to the world of health.

He represented the scientist par excellence, straight in his boots, without conflict of interest, passionate about discovering the truth, whatever it may be.

He did not hesitate to explore new avenues, to question certain dogmas and to make public his discoveries, even the most "disturbing" ones, without fear of alienating politicians, laboratories and part of the scientific community.

Today, I have a moving thought for this great scientist and for all his relatives.

With kind regards,

Florent Cavaler