It is a real descent into hell that the French humorist Pierre Palmade is currently experiencing. His slip and the consequences of it are horrible. But unfortunately not unique. Other people are going through this. But they don’t have the star status enjoyed by this audience favorite.
It is therefore through the prism of the media and social networks that this very bad film unfolds before our eyes. And it is through this same filter that Palmade’s life has been cut up with a scalpel from hour to hour for five days before passing under the microscope of popular judgment.
For those who have not followed the thing, remember that Pierre Palmade was driving his Peugeot on a road in the south of Seine-et-Marne, in France, where his second home is located. Two passengers were with him. Suddenly his car got into the left lane and collided with another vehicle.
Three people who were in this other vehicle – a woman, her brother-in-law and the latter’s 6-year-old son – were seriously injured. The woman, six months pregnant, lost her baby.
The horror !
Pierre Palmade, whose tests showed that he had consumed cocaine, was extracted from his vehicle using extrication techniques. He suffered several injuries. As for the two men who were with him, they fled immediately after the accident.
Since this terrible tragedy, not a day has gone by without new facts appearing. All the French media, without exception, report the details of this scandalous affair.
Pierre Palmade would have taken the wheel while he had been partying with two men for about 24 hours. The trio were engaged in a session of chemsex (contraction of chemicals And sex) in the artist’s residence located in Cély-en-Bière, eight kilometers from the scene of the accident.
This gave the French media the opportunity to multiply the reports on this practice which is based on the taking of narcotics during sexual intercourse.
A search of the police in the residence of Palmade, last Sunday, would have made it possible to discover syringes. However, the media do not agree on the presence of drugs.
And then, curiously, there was this “burglary” which occurred on the night of Sunday to Monday in the residence of the comedian. Would the two “friends” of the star have tried to erase the traces of their presence?
Earlier this week, Pierre Palmade’s sister spoke to the media in a statement to say that her brother was expressing his “shame” and that he would bear the “consequences of his actions”. The victims’ lawyer replied by saying that the family was “insensitive to the apology”.
On Wednesday, seeing that the actor’s condition no longer aroused concern, investigators conducted an interrogation. Pierre Palmade was taken into custody as part of an investigation for homicide and involuntary injuries.
This offense could be punished by five years’ imprisonment, perhaps seven in the event of aggravating circumstances such as driving under the influence of narcotics.
At the same time, we learned that the two passengers from Palmade had surrendered to the police. The first, aged 33, would be of Moroccan origin. As for the second, 34 years old, of French nationality, he would be known for offenses related to narcotics. The two men could be prosecuted for failure to assist a person in danger.
For those who do not know Pierre Palmade, it should be noted that he is a huge star in France. He created many one man shows which have been very successful. He also wrote memorable monologues for Muriel Robin and starred in a series of comedies with his friend Michèle Laroque. He also plays the bard in the film Asterix and Obelix versus Caesar (1999 production). Quebecers were also able to see him perform at the Just for Laughs festival.
The one who will be 55 years old on March 23 was married to Véronique Sanson from 1995 to 2001. This marriage fueled many rumors, because many people knew that the actor was gay. In 2020, in his show Assume, damn it, he addressed the difficulty of being homosexual.
In recent years, he no longer hides his problems with drug use, especially cocaine. His friends repeat that he tries very hard to get rid of his addictions. A relative told French media this week that the last time he visited Pierre Palmade, he saw that there were syringes everywhere in his home. The artist would have told him that he was “fed up with his life and that he was suffering”.
The entourage of Pierre Palmade now fears that he will end his life.
Horror, I say. But also sadness. First for the victims who almost died, for the baby who didn’t have the chance to be born, for the mother who will not have the happiness of hugging him.
Sadness to see a man who has fought all his life to succeed in this hard and difficult job experience a violent fall from which I doubt he will ever be able to recover.
Stars inspire us, make us dream and fantasize. But they can also disappoint us, disgust us and shatter our fantasies.
This is the other side of the notoriety coin. This is not said often enough to young people who want to become “rich and famous”, even if the examples of collapses have been increasing in recent years.