He was the face of France Televisions in the 1990s, notably when he hosted Do not dream and that he played the emblematic role in The Treasure Map. Indeed, before Cyril Féraud, it was Sylvain Augier who was on board the white helicopter from the TV show France 3 to present the most beautiful French regions. In this show, two candidates compete by looking for clues to recover the compass rose and try to open the treasure.
However, overnight, everything stopped for the host. At least that’s what he said during his appearance on the show. PAF on C8 on Thursday September 14, 2023. Guest by Pascale de La Tour du Pin, Sylvain Augier looked back on his good years at the head of The Treasure Map, but also about the hell he experienced for many years, when his bipolarity took over. He learned he had the disease at the age of 35, a late discovery which he details in his book titled I am coming back from far to the editions Telemachus.
Also see: “I can’t do without it anymore”: the descent into hell of this famous France 2 host, addicted to morphine
Sylvain Augier suffering from bipolarity, he tried to end his life
This illness causes him to experience moments of intense exaltation before sinking into deep depressions. These are very dangerous periods which often end with a suicide attempt, as the ex-host confided: “I was devastated, to the point of standing in front of a TGV to put an end to this unbearable suffering”he shared with Pascale de La Tour du Pin, talking about his suicide attempt in order to put an end to this “suffering”.
However, Sylvain Augier had enough lucidity to stop his action in time, in particular by thinking of his family: “The terrible thing about suicide is that there is your own suffering that you want to make go away, but it is the beginning of suffering for others. When you love other people in the world, I think of my children and my wife, I could not do this to them.”
Today, the former host of The Treasure Map is not cured and never will be, because a doctor explained to him that “it can’t be cured”. However, it can “to be cured”and it is this perspective that gives him the strength to remain hopeful and continue to enjoy life.
RF