Friday evening, live on France 3, on the occasion of the 36th edition of the
Telethon
, Sophie Davant brought together on stage the former emblematic animators of the event launched in 1987 on the public service to help medical research.
If Gérard Holtz, present from the start of this television charity marathon and for several years, could not be present, on the other hand Claude Sérillon, Patrick Chêne and Michel Drucker were there alongside
Henri Sannier
.
"He meant a lot because before presenting the Telethon, I had the chance thanks to him to live exceptional adventures to participate in it"
, declared Patrick Chêne about the latter.
“He invented this concept of sporting challenges.
»
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It was on his 70th birthday that Henri Sannier turned the page on his long career on television after 45 years in the service of France Télévisions, including 20 years at the head of the program “Tout le sport”.
“When I was 7, I told my teacher that I wanted to become a journalist to comment on the Tour de France.
The dream came true and as a bonus I did “Le 19/20”, “Soir 3”, 1 p.m., 8 p.m. and a host of magazines
,” he said during his farewell in September 2017. Four years later, he gave disturbing news about his health.
Handicapped by a serious bicycle accident in which he was run over by a car, the journalist revealed that he was
"stuck in a wheelchair"
due to a
"finger and leg paralysis"
.
Last July, in an interview with the
Journal d'Abbeville et du Ponthieu Marquenterre
, he recounted having carried out multiple blood filters and having regained the use of his legs for a month.
"I'm only waiting for one thing, to be able to ride a bike again"
Henry Sannier
After remembering his good memories of the past and his sporting challenges taken up by bike as part of the Telethon, Henri Sannier spoke about his state of health.
Long standing on the stage, he sat down for a few minutes to talk about it.
“At over 70, I had never been sick in my life and I caught an autoimmune disease
,” he explained, paying tribute to the medical staff he came into contact with.
“
We find ourselves lying down, we no longer walk for a year and a half to two years.
I managed to resume, you had to be strong in the head and I was helped by a lot of people.
[...]
Now, I walk again!
And I'm only waiting for one thing, which is to be able to ride a bike again.
»
Donations for the 2022 Telethon continue either by phone at 3637 or via the afm-telethon.fr website.
Nearly 19 million euros in pledges have already been recorded.
