“PPDA, the fall of an untouchable”, on France 2: grandeur and decadence of a cathodic Janus – Le Monde

Patrick Poivre d’Arvor presents, on March 13, 1983, in Paris, an evening on the municipal elections of the Antenne 2 channel. AFP FRANCE 2 – THURSDAY APRIL 28 AT 11:05 P.M. “, broadcast on December 12, it is the turn of “Complément d’Enquête”, on France 2, to offer a documentary on Patrick Poivre d’Arvor, accused of sexual violence by at least twenty-seven women and targeted by more than a dozen complaints, some of which for rape. Read also PPDA cases: two new legal proceedings for rape Rather than favoring the words of complainants, as the front page investigation had done, that carried out by Romain Verley, Manon Descoubès and Mikaël Bozo, PPDA, the fall of an untouchable tries to make the two sides of this cathodic Janus coincide, to unravel this mystery on which so many stories of miscellaneous events are based. How could the icon idolized by the public, subjected to the lenses of television cameras and cameras, be, at the same time, suspected of being a sexual predator? Unpublished testimony Using the “I”, the co-author of this documentary pushes his competitive advantage: as a former journalist for TF1, Romain Verley worked with the presenter, rubbed shoulders with the same collaborators, kept the memory of the star’s office. The journalist had access to photos never before published in the press (taken during the farewell party of the presenter, in 2008). He brought out the directories of the time, and called old, and old, colleagues to whom the memory could have returned (this is not the case). He contacted one of the two PPDA assistants, who had stayed away from the revelations triggered by Florence Porcel’s initial complaint, and recorded her without her knowledge (“I have nothing to say”). Read also Article reserved for our subscribers Patrick Poivre d’Arvor case: 23 testimonies, 8 complaints and a classification without follow-up Along with a review of his feats of arms (longevity on the air, overwhelming audiences) and turpitudes (concealment of abuse of corporate assets in the Botton affair, false interview with Fidel Castro, literary plagiarism), Romain Verley gives voice to women who have crossed Poivre’s path: Frédérique Lantieri, the former presenter of “Bring in the accused” (France 2), which rebuffed his advances; Catherine Lambret, the former director of the Practical Institute of Journalism (IPJ), who, alerted to the risk that her students could run, sent “only boys” on internships at TF1; a trainee from Radio Classique, whose testimony is unpublished, confronted with pressing advances in 2015. The women who agreed to tell their story openly in Liberation appear through quotes from daily life. Two former star journalists, finally, illustrate with their divergent remarks the permanent oscillation – from which this film is not completely exempt – between the fascination exercised by PPDA, and which served him for so long as a cloak of immunity, and the dislike the character now inspires. The first, Michèle Cotta, former director of information for TF1, still seems as full of admiration for the journalist as she is blind to the alleged aggressor. The second, Christine Ockrent, queen of the “20 hours” competitor (that of Antenne 2, which became France 2) when he was the absolute monarch of the JT on TF1, shows towards his ultra-narcissistic alter ego of the 1980s a great ferocity. PPDA, the fall of an untouchable, an investigation by Romain Verley, Manon Descoubès and Mikaël Bozo – Dreamway Productions (Fr., 2022, 75 min.) in “Complement of the investigation”, on France 2. Aude Dassonville