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– At Michou in 2020 after the death of its famous founder.
It is an emblem of Parisian nights: since 1956, the transformist cabaret Chez Michou has been a French symbol, in the same way as the Moulin Rouge, the Lido or the Crazy Horse. But since the death of its founder, Michou, in January 2020, the place was in financial difficulty. Last summer, its new director, Catherine Catty-Jacquart (Michou’s niece), revealed that the cabaret was in deficit for three years, confronted “to strikes, demonstrations and parking problems, especially for coaches”which caused the collapse of reservations. It was therefore declared in liquidation by the Paris commercial court on July 16.
If several buyers came forward, the courts ultimately ruled for one buyer, and not just any buyer, according to The Parisian : Gad Elmaleh. Through his communications department, the Moroccan-Canadian comedian explains that he “will make it a place of comedy and humor, while keeping the soul of the place”even if he does not not bought the “Chez Michou” brand as such. Moreover, all the employees had left the premises at the beginning of the summer. Good news for Catherine Catty-Jacquart who wanted the cabaret spirit to continue.
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“A place of spectacle and humor”
“It will no longer be called Chez Michou, but Gad will make it a very beautiful place. It’s a very good thing to turn the page, by taking a turn”she said this Tuesday, October 8, explaining that Michou’s family would have been unhappy if the place had become “something other than a cabaret”. The artists who were in the cabaret, the Michettes, are also delighted with this revival. “It would have been very sad if this legendary scene no longer saw artists passing through”confides one of them, Antoine Chaudeur.
Wink, his character had been baptized “darling”, recall our colleagues, like the one played by Gad Elmaleh in the cinema. Will he one day be present in the comedy club of the comedian? “You never know”he likes to hope. For his part, the mayor of the 18th arrondissement of the capital, where the cabaret is located, was not aware of this, but is delighted with the news: “Gad Elmaleh is a serious person who I would be happy to meet when the time comes”underlines Éric Lejoindre, before adding: “What is good is that Chez Michou remains a place of spectacle and humor as it projects.”
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The residents of the Montmartre neighborhood are also delighted, the president of the Lepic-Abbesses merchants association would even like to make Gad Elmaleh the sponsor of the Christmas market. By setting up his comedy club, Gad Elmaleh joins the long list of comedians who have already taken the plunge in Paris such as Kev Adams, Baptiste Lecaplain and Fary. After his semi-failure in the United States, Gad Elmaleh intends to establish himself permanently in France.
