The death of Alain Delon, Sunday, August 18, sparked a wave of tributes, from personalities as well as thousands of anonymous people. But the press, as well as some observers, did not fail to recall the many discriminatory positions taken by the star actor, who also distinguished himself with racist, homophobic and sexist remarks. Release believes, for example, that he was the “pure fantasy for all the reactionaries of France, their own Clint Eastwood”calling it “free, macho, wild, fiercely individualistic (…) but ‘patriotic above all’.”
Comments that echo the controversy that arose in 2019 at the Cannes Film Festival, which awarded her an honorary Palme d’Or. Feminist associations opposed it and a petition collected nearly 30,000 signatures. “No honor for the aggressors”declared the collective “Dare to be feminist”. “No amount of acting talent redeems such a narrow worldview. There is no room at an event of this magnitude for racists, sexists and homophobes.“, the text denounced. “We are not giving the Nobel Prize to Delon, it is an honorary Palme d’honneur for his career. The Festival condemns certain remarks, but not freedom of expression“, replied the general delegate of the Cannes Festival, Thierry Frémaux. But what did Alain Delon say, for the press, at the time of tributes, to recall that he was also “great actor” that “great reactionary” ?
“I am a fascist, if you like.”
Asked about his political vision by the magazine The Express In 1977, Alain Delon was described as“man of order” by the journalist, before being taken up by the actor: “Fascist, let’s say the word. I’m deeply anti-communist, that’s all. As soon as you say something, you’re labeled. So, well, I’m a fascist, if you want, too bad.”
Alain Delon has repeatedly expressed his support for Jean-Marie Le Pen, whom he considered a friend, without however ever calling for a vote for the National Front or the National Rally. But in 1984, in Paris Matchhe declared about the founder of the FN: “He is a friend. (…) He says out loud what many people think quietly.” In 1987, he stated on Antenne 2: “The far right is still the right,” adding to be “very sympathetic to Mr. Le Pen“. The actor, who has repeatedly stated that he “always been Gaullist”, supported Valéry Giscard d’Estaing then Raymond Barre or Nicolas Sarkozy in the presidential elections, recalls Release.
In October 2013, in the Swiss daily The morningAlain Delon compared the progress of the MCG, a Swiss far-right party, to that of the National Front. “The National Front, like the MCG in Geneva, is taking a very important place and I approve of that, I push for it and understand it perfectly well.” His statements earned him a warning from the Miss France organization, where he had chaired the jury of the competition since 2011. “In 2013, after several controversial statements in which he expressed his support for the National Front, I must recall in a press release: ‘We ask the election jury, as well as the candidates themselves, not to mention their political, religious and ideological colour'”, wrote the competition director, Sylvie Tellier. Alain Delon himself then resigned from his position after this statement.
Returning to these political positions, he concluded: “They wanted to label me as far right because I said I was friends with Le Pen since the army. No, I’m right-wing, period.”in an interview with the JDD in 2019.
Homosexuality is “against nature”
For the first show of the new school year for “C à vous” on France 5, in September 2013, the new host, Anne-Sophie Lapix, receives Alain Delon and confronts him with his comments made in Le Figaro Magazine. He regretted the disappearance of the “male models” in French cinema and society.”I’m not against gay marriage, I don’t give a damn, but I am against adopting children. They’re going to tell me again that I have to adapt and live with the times… Well, I’m having a hard time with this era that trivializes what is unnatural. Even if it means being seen as an old fool, it shocks me!”he declared.
In front of Anne-Sophie Lapix, the actor does not deny his words: “There is no difference anymore, there is no respect anymore. I am sorry to say it. I have nothing against gays getting together, but, for me, it is against nature. We are here to love a woman, to court a woman, not to pick up a guy or be picked up by a guy.”
These homophobic remarks surprised his own daughter, Anouchka, who was present on the set. “You’re not saying that homosexuality is against nature, perhaps marriage?”she had tried. She then distanced herself, tweeting: “LThe comments made by my father concern only him, and have nothing to do with the causes that I defend.”
“More and more women have become men”
In the same interview given to the Figaro Magazine In 2013, Alain Delon also added sexist remarks. “I actually know some people who say that there are no more guys… There are fewer of them because more and more women have become men. Women fought for their rights, they got what they wanted, very well… But why go so far as to behave like men, why want to be like them?”the actor replies.
“We must pay attention to the limits, to the balance between men and women”he added. For Alain Delon, women try to hide and erase their “feminine qualities”. “There was a time when, in the street, we distinguished between men and women, now, we no longer know who is who. The roles are less defined, they have sometimes even been reversed, as with paternity leave”the actor explains. According to him, women who embody “the very essence of femininity” are Brigitte Auber, Michèle Cordoue, Romy Schneider, Mireille Darc, and even Miss France. “A real woman who looks like a woman…”adds Delon.
“Kenya is a country of what race?”
While the France 3 channel broadcast, in November 2015, a documentary entitled Alain Delon, this unknownthe actor gave an interview to TV Magazine . The journalist made Alain Delon react to the current controversy involving Nadine Morano, candidate in the Republican primary. In a debate on immigration on the show “On n’est pas couché” on France 2, she had declared that France was a “white race country”. This statement earned her the wrath of Nicolas Sarkozy, then president of the Republicans party, who then deprived her of her investiture in the regional elections.
“I don’t want to judge or discuss it. Just a question: Kenya is a country of what race? The people are black. This is a ridiculous, grotesque controversy that makes no sense. She has balls to hold on like she holds on and say: ‘Fuck you all, I say what I think and I will continue to say it.’ Hats off!”had defended Alain Delon.
“If a slap is sexist, yes I must have been sexist”
In 2013, his son, Alain-Fabien Delon, reported in the columns of Vanity Fair Italy that his mother, Rosalie van Breemen, had suffered physical violence when he was a child and still living in Douchy, in Loiret. “Eight broken ribs and a nose fractured twice. Did she deserve all this?” he asked. Statements denied by Alain Delon in The Parisian : “This is nonsense. My son is completely lost and only gives sensational interviews for the money.”
Host Catherine Ceylac hosted Alain Delon in November 2018 for the penultimate episode of “Thé ou café”. When asked about his relationships with women and potential sexist behavior, Alain Delon responded: “Macho? It depends on what you call macho. If a slap is macho, yes, I must have been macho. But I’ve received slaps too, even from women!”
Rosalie van Breemen has never spoken out about it. But other family members have testified to violence. In 2022, the actor’s eldest son, Anthony, recounted in his autobiography, Between dog and wolfhaving been whipped for poor table manners at the age of 10.