It has been 16 years since Grégory Lemarchal suffered from cystic fibrosis. On the occasion of this sad date, his mother Laurence Lemarchal took to his social networks to pay tribute to him this Sunday, April 30. “Exactly on May 13, Grégory would have been 40. 40 years old. For you, he will certainly always keep the face of a young man of 24. And if you are sensitive to his history, his songs, his strength, to his perseverance, you know that his fight against cystic fibrosis was the fight of his life […]”, she wrote on the Web.
And to underline with a heavy heart: “Grégory, he managed to bring this fucking disease as he called it out of the shadows. And that’s what he always wanted. Without knowing it, he made so many people aware who didn’t had never heard of cystic fibrosis […]. In France, the ex-companion of Karine Ferri has become the symbol of the fight against this genetic disease. To salute his memory this Monday, May 1, 2023, TF1 has decided to rebroadcast his biopic called “Why do I live”, followed by a documentary which retraces his meteoric rise since his participation in the Star Academy in 2004. An edition which he won against Lucie Bernardoni.
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“Congratulations my little one! You have won”
At the time, among the 18 students who joined the castle of Dammarie-les-Lys, Grégory Lemarchal stood out with his personality and his unique tone of voice. His courage in the face of the disease upsets viewers to the highest degree. Just like his classmates and teachers. His talent pierces Michel Sardou, then godfather of this 4ᵉ season. After his performance during the first prime, the interpreter of “I’m going to love you” would have gotten up to slip him: “Congratulations my little one! You have won”.
A confidence that worried the production as specified by Pascal Nègre to our colleagues from “Tele-Leisure” on the occasion of “20 years of Star Academy” in 2021. “Everyone was devastated and said, ‘What is he saying!’ He bends the thing, he kills the season, the season hasn’t started, we already know who won!”, revealed the producer. Fortunately, the aficionados did not wince about this enlightened opinion and the controversy was avoided!
NB