Before passing away on October 3, 2021, Bernard Tapie maintained a daily relationship with a mysterious man of faith. The identity of the one who accompanied him to the gates of death is revealed in “Tapie, comme Bernard”, a book by Marie Griessinger Tapie, his daughter-in-law.
At Bernard Tapie’s bedside until the end: this privileged interlocutor who supported him every day
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From the political world to that of football, Bernard Tapie is recognized as a businessman and an emblematic personality. An atypical journey, boundless energy, he nevertheless showed a lesser known aspect of his multiple facets during the last months of his life. An intense spiritual relationship with a hitherto unknown man of faith. It is with the publication of Tapie, like Bernardwritten by Marie Griessinger Tapiethree years after his death, that we were able to learn more about this hidden side of the famous entrepreneur.
His meeting with a man of faith
In 2015, well before his health concerns, Bernard Tapie agreed to allow Marie Griessinger Tapie, wife of his son Laurent, to write a book about him, on one condition. “You have to take advantage of a strong event… It might be interesting for you to talk about how I got by or how I got ruined, if that’s what happens…”she says, in the columns of Sunday Newspaper. Two years later, this event took the form of a fierce battle against stomach cancer.
During this period, Bernard Tapie, once known for his excesses and boundless energy, found a new source of strength… in faith. A man, Pastor Marcel then becomes a privileged interlocutor, with whom he exchanges at length every day. This spiritual relationship, revealed by Marie in her book, reveals a new aspect of the last moments of the businessman who died at the age of 78. “We knew that Bernard was very religious. But there, we discovered that he spoke to this man every dayand each time very long”she explains.
“It was an inspiration for all the sick”
For this book, which she thought of as an investigation, Marie decided to directly question Pastor Marcel regarding their exchanges. “When he was lying down, he was a soldier at rest, not a despondent one. He was an inspiration to all the sick. Praying with him gave me strength“he reveals to her. We then learn that Bernard Tapie transmitted his beliefs to other patients during his hospital stays. He reads them biblical verses, as if to encourage them to never give up, while leading his own fight, always with the determined character that defined him.
And despite this new spirituality, Bernard Tapie remains true to himself: a demanding businessman. “I will see the results of our prayers. This way, I will know if we continue or not. If your prayers are effective”he tells the pastor. “I had such pressure that for the three days that followed, I fasted and I did not stop praying… He had transferred his pressure onto me”he confides. Fortunately, the politician is satisfied and does not give up, until the end. He also refused painkillers during his last weeks of suffering. A way for him to “feel the suffering of Jesus”.
When Bernard Tapie refused death
In Tapie, like Bernardwe learn that Bernard Tapie, despite his ordeal, was far from giving up. He never spoke about death to his family, he refused to let the subject be brought up. An illness that did not help his loved ones grieve. “Car we were all in denial. Nothing had been prepared.”laments Marie. “Perhaps we should have talked about it (…) Several weeks before his death, he still imagined himself taking part in car races on the Montlhéry circuit and breaking a speed record there! And a few days of dying out, he saw himself becoming Prime Minister and even President of the Republic.“ One thing is certain, Bernard Tapie remained true to himself until the last second.
