RenĂ© de Obaldia (22 October 1918 â 27 January 2022) was a French playwright and poet. He was elected to the AcadĂ©mie française on 24 June 1999. He was the great-grandson of JosĂ© Domingo de ObaldĂa, the second President of Panama. He grew up in Paris, studying at the LycĂ©e Condorcet before being mobilised for the army in 1940. Taken prisoner, he was sent to Stalag VIII-C (in Sagan). He was