“I have never lacked for anything, but it is proof that you can grow up in a modest family in Haute-Loire and be lucky,” notes Francis Graille when retracing his career. Still attached to his original department, the 69-year-old man evokes with nostalgia the playground of his childhood. “I come back to Le Puy regularly. I was there recently for Christmas. Every time I pass by Lafayette Stadium, it does something to me. »
If his dad was one of the creators of the Val-Vert football club, nothing suggested that the son would become president of PSG and more broadly an emblematic leader of French football.
Champion with the cadets of CO Le Puy in Brioude
The native of Puy-en-Velay nevertheless quickly developed a taste for football. His little career began in Val-Vert, “on stabilized ground where I wore out my knee”. Later, he left to train at CO Le Puy, from minors to juniors. “We became champions of Auvergne as cadets in Brioude,” he remembers. I was a defender, called a stopper at the time, hard on man. »
Son of a La Poste employee and a medical secretary at Sainte-Marie hospital, the football lover turned to education. Trained at the École Normale du Puy-en-Velay, he started as a teacher in Le Fraisse, in the town of Saint-Julien-Chapteuil. “Very good times, with a single class and children ranging from 5 to 12 years old. Every morning, my parents brought me milk and fresh eggs. It was a great job that I could have had for the rest of my life. »
“I was from the Tintin generation, the one who wanted to become a great reporter”
The one who also taught in Cayres or Saint-Préjet-d'Allier finally decided to give another direction to his professional career. “I was from the Tintin generation, the one who wanted to become a great reporter and travel the world. » Francis Graille therefore took advantage of the advent of free radio stations to launch into new projects. He joined Radio Stéréo 43 and also became a press correspondent for AFP. “I worked in particular on CO Le Puy which played in D2. It was another era, when sometimes journalists traveled with players in their cars. I have also kept very good links with some like Carlos Acosta. It was also at that time that I had my first contact with Charles Biétry who was the sports director at AFP. We met again several times during my career. »
Francis Graille had found his calling in the media. He was quickly poached to work in radio stations in Saint-Étienne, then Lyon. After a stint with NRJ, “in a more commercial radio station”, Ponot launched into the television sector, with Télé Lyon Métropole. A springboard which then allowed him to launch his own business.
“I realized that I had some qualities in that and I decided to set up my own production company. »
With Concept TV, which became Visual TV, the businessman hit the mark, particularly thanks to the offer offered in football. “At the time it was only a job carried out in Paris and there were production costs to bring in these production teams. I told myself that we could do the same in the provinces. »
