Had the PAF ever met like this? This March 9, 2022, the funeral of Jean-Pierre Pernaut was held. It has now been a week since the popular host of TF1’s 13-hour newscast died of lung cancer, aged 71. On Wednesday, a host of animators, journalists and French television personalities paraded in front of the Saint-Clotilde Basilica in Paris. Among the celebrities, Patrick Poivre d’Arvor made a rare appearance.
For nearly a year, PPDA has limited his appearances, he who is the subject of several accusations of rape and sexual assault. The journalist and former presenter of 8 p.m. therefore came out of his reserve for the time of a final tribute to his comrade from TF1. He was thus able to find many acquaintances, starting with his ex-girlfriend Claire Chazal, the mother of his son François (see slideshow).
Michel Drucker, Anne-Claire Coudray, Jean-Pierre Foucault, Cyril Hanouna, Cécile de Ménibus, Laurent Delahousse, Arthur, Christophe Dechavanne, Laurence Ferrari, Nikos Aliagas, Karine le Marchand, Denis Brogniart, Valérie Benaïm, Gilles Bouleau, Laurent Mariotte, Evelyne Dhéliat, Bernard Montiel… All came to say goodbye to Jean-Pierre Pernaut. First Lady Brigitte Macron also made the trip, along with former President Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife Carla Bruni. Several Miss France were also present to support their comrade Nathalie Marquay in this event.
The last appearance of Patrick Poivre d’Arvor dates back to October 2021, during the funeral of Etienne Mougeotte. A week ago, shortly after the announcement of Jean-Pierre Pernaut’s death, he still came out of silence to pay tribute to him on BFMTV: “He was a man I really liked, he was a friend. For me, it’s a part of my life that’s falling apart“, he had commented. “He is someone who has been unfairly mocked by this small journalistic class which today, obviously, is going to erect triumphal arches for him. But it was ugly the way they talked about the way he himself felt France, felt the French.”