Author who inspired mass protests dies

Stephane Hessel, the author of the best-selling book Indignez-vous!, which inspired protests such as Occupy Wall Street in New York and Los Indignados in Spain, has died. He was 95.

The former United Nations diplomat, concentration-camp survivor and hero of the French Resistance, died “during the night”, his wife, Christiane Hessel-Chabry, told Agence France- Presse.

Hessel became famous in 2010 when he published his 32-page protest manifesto, with millions of copies in 30 languages – including an English version, Time for Outrage. He called on readers to remember the Four Freedoms outlined by Franklin D Roosevelt in his 1941 state-of-the-union address: freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want and freedom from fear.

“His universal message awakened people’s conscience on all continents and for all generations,” French prime minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said. Hessel encouraged “our younger generations” to rekindle the spirit of the Resistance in a non-violent battle against injustice.

“It’s time to take over! It’s time to get angry!” he wrote.