This news magazine, presented live by Laurent Delahousse just after the 8 p.m. news on France 2, reveals the small story in the big one, to leaf through like a family album.
This new issue of the magazine “8:30 p.m. on Saturday” (Twitter) is interested in the links between two very distant worlds on paper: on the one hand, the stars of cinema and song, on the other, the middle of the underworld.
The day when > Claude François crossed paths with gangsters
In 1977, the France of Valéry Giscard d’Estaing was shaken by the breaking wave of disco. Claude François is the star of those years: he goes on hits, television shows, photo shoots, and bought a mill in Essonne, in Dannemois, to rest the weekend of this life hectic. One evening, as he returns to the mill, on the highway, he comes across a strange car. On board, the “gang of the southern suburbs”, thugs who multiply shootings and spectacular bank robberies. That evening, they set off in pursuit of the singer.
News > The true story of the “Godfather”
When, at the beginning of the 1970s, Francis Ford Coppola wanted to adapt Mario Puzo’s bestseller to the cinema, The Godfather, he suspects that he will have to attract the good graces of the Italian families who make up the New York mafia. But he does not imagine for a moment that the shooting of this film will become his worst nightmare: one of the mafia bosses, Joe Colombo, does not want the film to be made at all, and will multiply the threats against the production and film crew.
Bonuses > Stars and mobsters
Sometimes, certain stars end up becoming attached to mobsters, through a mutual fascination. This is the case of Johnny Hallyday, Alain Delon or crooner Frank Sinatra.
> Replays of France Télévisions news magazines are available on the Franceinfo website and its mobile application (iOS & Android), “Magazines” section.
Among our sources
– Anti-gang Secrets. Cops, informers and dirty tricks, by Yves Jobic and Frédéric Ploquin (ed. Plon, 2022).
– Jacky LeMat. The godfather, showbiz and politicians, by Christine Imbert and Frédéric Ploquin (ed. Plon, 2023).
– Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli. The Epic Story of the Evil of “The Godfather”, by Mark Seal (Hardcover ed., 2021).
Non-exhaustive list.