“Goodbye dear Alain!” These are the words with which Valérie Pécresse paid tribute to Alain Delon on August 18, 2024, when the whole of France learned of his death. The actor of “Samurai” died at the age of 88, after a long battle with cancer. And the politician is one of the few, along with Rachida Dati, to have been invited to his funeral.
It was August 24, 2024, in Douchy. And Valérie Pécresse confided on RTL that she had landed an invitation “as a personal friend of Alain.”
Valérie Pécresse, a true friend of Alain Delon
It thus ensures: “Alain Delon and I had a 20-year friendship. He was passionate about politics, he had the same convictions as me, he always supported me in the presidential election, he was a man of exceptional courage, because he wasn’t the type to give up on you on bad days. He loved discussing politics, it was truly his passion.”
Valérie Pécresse revealed how their friendship began. She recalled: “The first time he called me, I hung up on him, because I heard someone on the phone say to me ‘it’s Alain Delon’, I answered, ‘yes and I’m Napoleon’. That’s how we got to know each other. He was an extraordinary personality, and I tell you this because I, who have been through trials, as you know, political, I know what it’s like for friends to turn away. And Alain Delon never turned away.”
About her funeral, Valérie Pécresse reveals that it was modest and full of love. The ceremony was of a ““immense emotion”she said, “because, precisely, Anouchka, Anthony and Alain Fabien had only invited the real relatives, the real friends, those who had a real bond of affection with Alain Delon, so that changed everything.”
What she reveals about her funeral
The president of the Île-de-France region and former minister also compared this ceremony to others, explaining: “I have attended many national tributes, they are very beautiful and I think that the French like them too, because they allow them to pay tribute to their idols. But in national tributes, there is still a good deal of hypocrisy, because everyone comes. Whereas there, it was extraordinarily moving.”
In detail, Valérie Pécresse revealed: “The children spoke about him with a sincerity, a very strong authenticity. And Vincent Lindon gave an absolutely magnificent speech.“.
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