Mitterrand and friendship: the subject is hackneyed to satiety.
With, however, a surprising blind spot: the very old and very strong ties that united the one who brought the left to power in 1981 and three assumed right-wingers: General Pierre de Bénouville, a great resistance fighter, founder of the Combat movement, Francois Dalle, the legendary boss of L'Oréal, and André Bettencourt, minister to General de Gaulle and Georges Pompidou.
Curiously, no one had had the idea of painting this group portrait.
Sébastien Le Fol successfully took up the challenge.
Not to cast anathemas in the name of political correctness but with the desire to shed light on the complexity of our recent history.
Read alsoMitterrand: last secrets of youth
Initially, the four young people were not politically far apart.
Bénouville - no doubt the oldest friend of the socialist president, since he knew him at the Saint-Paul college in Angoulême - never concealed his passage among the King's Camelots nor his violent hostility to the Popular Front.
Before marrying...
This article is for subscribers only.
You have 80% left to discover.
Want to read more?
Unlock all items immediately.
Without engagement.
TEST FOR €0.99
Already subscribed?
Login