After attending
Lycée Louis-le-Grand, Balta decided to become a journalist. From 1970 to 1985, Balta specialized in the Middle East and
Maghreb for
Le Monde.Then, from 1987 to 1994, he directed the Center for Contemporary Oriental Studies at the
New Sorbonne University Paris 3. Balta died on 27 January 2019. ==References==