Jean-Paul Belot, Noted French Homeopath Who Practiced for 70 Years, Dies at the Age of 92

Jean-Paul Belot was born on the first day of January 1931. He was the third of four children and spent part of his childhood from the age of 5 to 9 years in Algeria. The Second World War forced his father to bring the family back to France, to Montpellier, where he attended college, before settling in the family cradle of Besancon.

Belot lived at a Jesuit boarding school in Dole receiving his B.A. degree at the age of 16 years, whereupon he began his medical studies in Besançon. The death of his father occurred when he was 21 years, which, it is said, left a deep mark on him. Fortunately, Odette Bersot, his future wife, was already by his side and no doubt a source of comfort and strength.

His father-in-law was a homeopath, which Belot took up with great passion. He continued to study, teach, and practice homeopathy for seven decades before his passing on April 22, 2023.

Dr. Françoise Barbaud-Moussier, one of Belot's students, shared the same enthusiasm for homeopathy and became a trusted colleague. His daughter, Christine, followed in her father's footsteps by opening her own practice.

Belot, in Besançon in 1976–1977, was the first to introduce a University Diploma (DU; diplôme universitaire) in homeopathy at a French Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy (Besancon). To that end, he had great support and assistance from the deans of pharmacology and therapeutics, Professors Magnin and Grandmottet. Six other faculties of doctors in France followed the same path in the following years. Belot was also responsible for creating the Société franc-comtoise d'homéopathie (SFCH), which he chaired for many years.

Despite being ill, he attended one of that society's last meetings in March 2023, as honorary president. His enlightening speech, mixed with his well-honed sense of humor, made the dissemination of his knowledge easy and enjoyable. That, in turn, led to lively and profound discussions with the younger members of the homeopathic community.

Dr. Christine Bertin-Belot, his daughter, who currently serves as the vice president of The National Union of French Homeopathic Doctors has made the following remarks:

“…my father died at the age of 92, in great intellectual shape but from bronchial cancer. It was chance that introduced him to homeopathy since he married the daughter of a cultured, distinguished, and intelligent doctor (my grandfather…) who practiced homeopathy as taught to him by Dr. Leon Vannier.

My father could not ignore what interested an intelligent man, so he made a point of studying homeopathy.

He trained many students, including myself, in Samuel Hahnemann's classic homeopathy while continuing to practice it with great passion.

He survived his illness for a whole year, without ever suffering, searching until the last day of his life for the best homeopathic remedy corresponding to his current symptoms.

He was a demanding and rigorous man, a veritable well of science, a lover of the French language, yet also a cheerful person who loved to party with his friends.

I am proud to be his daughter and I have also been practicing homeopathic medicine in Besançon, France for 40 years.”

–Christine Bertin-Belot, MD

[This obituary was translated and compiled from https://www.estrepublicain.fr/carnet-du-jour/2023/04/26/jean-paul-belot-nous-a-quittes on July 14, 2023. I offer my appreciation to Christine for the information she supplied for this notice.]

Publication History

Article published online:
31 August 2023