French singer Léo Ferré was born in Monaco in 1916 and became one of France's
best-loved and well known chanson artists. In 1935 he went to Paris with
ambitions of being a lawyer and initially studied law. France was in political
turmoil at the time but Ferré remained oblivious to the huge social and economic
changes the country was going through and instead concentrated on perfecting his
piano technique. Later in his career he would actively embrace politics and he
became a supporter of the French communist movement and his connection with the
radical left would often cause cont...