After 40 years of political life, Alain Juppé, former Prime Minister from 1995 to 1997 and current member of the Constitutional Council, decided to put his memoirs on paper. In A French story (Éditions Tallandier), the 78-year-old man feels free and wants to tell his experience to anyone who wants to read it. He recounts his joys, his sorrows, the political party he defended throughout his career, religion… He also mentions his admiration for the author Charles Péguy and his friendship with Jacques Chirac. To mark the occasion of this exit, the former Prime Minister met our colleagues from Figarofor an interview published Friday September 22, 2023. Asked about the themes covered in his memoirs, Alain Juppé spoke about his political career, in particular his wish to reach the highest position, that of President of the Republic. He missed the boat during the primaries organized in November 2016 against François Fillon. “I wanted to take the last step, it didn’t work. I moved on”he explained without regret on the set of France 3 Aquitaine Wednesday September 20, 2023. The mayor of Bordeaux, for a quarter of a century, also made more intimate revelations to our colleagues in Figarosuch as his complex relationship with faith, his father’s illness and loss.
A questioning of one’s principles in the face of death
Religion played a very important role for Alain Juppé when his father fell ill. While his father’s discomfort did not seem to be easing, the former Prime Minister spoke of his loneliness in the face of events. He has not “didn’t feel like God was there”, he remembered. He remembered the last memories he had of his father. Very raw and traumatic flashes. “I see my father again, in the terminal phase of cancer, with no hope of remission, screaming in pain on his hospital bed“confided the member of the Constitutional Council. “Can a son have the cruelty to let this torture continue? I didn’t have it. Neither did the doctor.”, he confided. Alain Juppé asked himself questions about the end of life when his father was ill, which helped him reinterpret his faith. “There was a man I loved who was writhing in pain.”he remembered with emotion. “What do we do? Do we let him do it? I conclude that it is not always the law that takes precedence, it is also the humanity and courage of those who decide.”, concluded the man on the right. A complex question, which involves numerous religious and philosophical debates on which he dwelled in his memoirs.
