By Elsa Girard-Basset | Web journalist
A true monument of French television, to the point of generating friendly jokes about his unequaled longevity, Michel Drucker is a point of reference for all French people. But here it is: in 2020, major health problems knocked on the door of this hypochondriac, who almost fell by the wayside. And the details he recently revealed are chilling…
Who has never sat down to watch a Michel Drucker show? Nobody or almost no one. In nearly 60 years of career, the Normandy native has done almost everything. He has commentated on World Cups, hosted entertainment, talk shows, and much more. But if he has always known how to keep his place and protect himself from competition, the PAF star found his toughest enemy in 2020.
It was on this date, in fact, that Drucker was admitted to the hospital for infective endocarditis of the mitral valve. Operated immediately with a triple bypass, the one who was very close to Claude François was not out of the woods: following post-operative complications, he had to return to the pool table. Marked by this episode, he is now emaciated and weakened, certainly, but very much alive.
Michel Drucker had an 80% risk of dying
If he had refrained from communicating at the start of his troubles, Drucker now accepts the truth: yes, he came very close to death. Truth be told, the odds were clearly against him, as he revealed to “TV Magazine”:
I learned, fortunately later, that the doctors considered that I had about a 20% chance of surviving. My cardiologists consider me an alien, I shouldn’t be here anymore.
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Comments that he then confirmed to “Télé-Loisirs”:
I’m a survivor. Over the past three years, I have spent almost a year in the hospital. Each time I came back from my operations very weakened and I recovered. I’m off for a ride!
Despite everything, Drucker must remain very careful about his health. First approached to host the talk show “Quelle Jeux!” » during the 2024 Olympics alongside Léa Salamé, he finally first had to reduce his number of participations, then simply give up any recurring presence:
I won’t appear there much. They don’t want me to do this every day because I come from very far away. I will be with Léa for the first two perhaps. It’s a talk show broadcast from July 26 to August 11 around 11 p.m., it’s considerable! I go to bed very early and I always have medication to take…
Having passed very close to the correctional facility, and saved both by his always impeccable lifestyle and by the action of the doctors whom he thanks so much, Michel Drucker still does not intend to retire. However, he must be very careful, he who now lives with a sword of Damocles hanging over his head. And a very real feeling of having cheated death.
