Francoise Vaillant

Françoise Latour (Vaillant since 1974) was a journalist for a newspaper headed by her father, Louis Latour. She became Michel Vaillant's wife. The two of them have a son, Patrick.

History
Her father being a good friend of Henri Vaillant, it wasn't long before Françoise came into contact with the Vaillants, the first time as a teenager in 1963. There, she had accessed Michel's office and demand to him that she be treated with respect on behalf of "the 300.00 readers I represent", introducing herself as Françoise Loutar, purposefully hiding her true identity from Michel. She is then seen again in 1966, yet now as an older, handsome woman. Celebrating her 19th birthday, Michel and Steve Warson both were invited to her birthday party at her parents' home. While being described by Michel as "a boyish brunette" when they arrived at the party, she took note as she was standing right in front of both him and Steve. Michel, who hadn't seen her in a while and thus did not recognise her from behind, tried to apologise for his behaviour, of which she was not very impressed. Instead, she took him to meet Yori Yosjisa, a Japanese Formula 1 pilot who, two days early, was rejected the use of a Vaillante Formula 1 car. There he declared that, altough the two of them could have been friends, it was now his moral obligation to be his rival. While Michel escorted Françoise back to her party, he commented that this was a fire that would die off pretty quickly. Françoise's father, Louis, came in and disagreed with him, stating that the Vaillantes had unknowingly insulted the Japanese pilot and that he would now duel with them in the way of Bushido: the ancient Japanese way of the warrior. As the season progressed, Françoise supported Yosjisa, leaving behind an increasingly agitated Michel. After the racing season was over, Françoise took a leave of absence and went to Japan to study the culture. Upon returning she asked Michel out on a date, to which he complied.

In celebration of the impending wedding in 1974, Jean-Pierre and his team created a concept car named after her, the Vaillante Francoise.

Other Languages
Dutch: Jolijn de Vries, later Françoise Latour

French: Françoise Latour