Overview
With the help of Jean de La Fontaine and his Fables, Patrice Duhamel takes us behind the scenes of power, sharing his most personal memories of the leaders who have shaped the Fifth Republic.
As someone with intimate knowledge of these political animals, their ambitions, their disappointments and their suffering, he explores the difficult, even stormy, relationship between presidents and prime ministers.
He recounts some astonishing moments, such as the clash he witnessed between Valéry Giscard d'Estaing and Jacques Chirac; hither untold episodes in which François Mitterrand and Michel Poniatowski, Giscard's emissary, meet secretly; and surprising scenes with Jacques Chirac, Michel Rocard, Nicolas Sarkozy and Édouard Philippe.
Sometimes comic, often unusual, always captivating.
From the singularly complex relationship between Charles de Gaulle and Georges Pompidou to the tensions between Emmanuel Macron and Élisabeth Borne, via the three cohabitations, each duo has its own alchemy - a mixture of open conflict and muffled battles.
Patrice Duhamel has experienced first-hand the story of these duettists turned duellists.
Patrice DUHAMEL will take us to the heart of the confrontations and rivalries that constantly enliven the pinnacle of the State.
Patrice Duhamel, political columnist and former Director General of France Télévisions, has been a privileged witness to the political scene since 1970. He is the author of several books, including L'Élysée. Histoire, secrets, mystères (Plon, 2017) and, published by Éditions de l'Observatoire, De Gaulle, l'album inattendu (2020), La République abîmée (2019) and Les Jours d'après (2017).
Photo Gallery