If her ex-companion was a widely appreciated President of the Republic, she also won an important place in the hearts of the French, until today. Indeed, Bernadette Chirac always arouses great interest, and director Léa Domenach has rightly chosen to focus on the former First Lady from 1995 to 2007.
As a result, his film, titled Bernadettewill be screened in theaters from October 4, 2023. However, admirers of the widow of Jacques Chirac should be warned: this is not a poignant biopic, but rather a comedy. Moreover, if this had not been the case, Catherine Deneuve
would never have agreed to play the role of Bernadette Chirac, at least if we are to believe his statements to Paris Match. Indeed, in an interview given to our colleagues, the French actress explained: “Even before having read the script by Léa Domenach and Clémence Dargent, I had been warned that it was a comedy. The role consisted not of imitating Bernadette Chirac, but of capturing her essence, her spirit .”
Also see: “She couldn’t stand it”: this ritual between Patrick Sébastien and Jacques Chirac which ulcerated Bernadette
This scene which pained Catherine Deneuve
The idea of a comedy immediately appealed to the 79-year-old actress. However, even though it is not a biopic strictly speaking, that does not mean that key moments in the life of Bernadette Chirac will not be presented on screen. Catherine Deneuve
wanted to reassure on this subject. There will also be a scene that she would have had difficulty playing, according to her comments in Paris Match. This concerns in particular the period when, during the tragic death of Lady Diana, Jacques Chirac was nowhere to be found.
The President of the Republic was actually at his mistress’s house… “The scene in the film where we look for her husband in the middle of the night, during Lady Di’s accident under the Alma bridge, while he is at his mistress’s house, highlights the extent to which the situation was painful for Bernadette. She then felt humiliated”told Catherine Deneuve, who was, however, unable to gather the point of view of the main interested party. “I knew her indirectly. I crossed paths with her, but I never met her,” she admitted about Bernadette Chirac.
RF