From father to daughter. Ael Pagny, Florent Pagny's daughter, is releasing “Pagny by Ael” this Wednesday, a book of photos through which she follows her father behind the lens. A project which began at the end of 2021, with the launch of his 60th anniversary tour, before taking an unexpected turn when in January 2022, the singer announced that he was suffering from lung cancer. The work therefore follows his fight against illness, his musical reconstruction, and his highly anticipated return to the stage in the summer of 2023. “ I've followed my father on tour since I was little, except during school periods, obviously, but this was the first time that I was able to do all the dates. He told me it wasn't worth being there every night, but I wanted to. First because I love it and then because, every night, it's different » attests the young 25-year-old photographer at the microphone of Parisian.
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“A shock”
But suddenly, the illness changes everything, the one that Florent Pagny calls “ the switch » : « She paused not only her tour but our entire lives ». « I learned about the first diagnosis when I was flying back to Argentina. » she remembers: “ I wondered about staying, but mom was with him. I said to myself “he has his other half with him, that’s good”. I will be more useful in managing our farm in Argentina. We lived day by day, but we knew he was in good hands for treatment. We were going to experience it as another adventure, even if we hadn't chosen it “. For Ael, he was “ logic » that his father publicly announces his cancer: “ He stopped his tour and then there is nothing to hide. By speaking, we are not alone in suffering. He didn't ask us for our opinion but he warned us to prepare ourselves ».
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Also questioned in the portrait of “Sept à quatre” this Sunday on TF1, Ael admits that the detection of this disease was “ a shock » : « It was special. (…) In France, the four of us were together, we didn't let each other go. We have always been very close, very united, maybe that brought us a little closer and I don't realize it “. For her, the “switch” is “ the perfect name » for his illness: “ Once we learned that, it put a pause on our daily life and our lives. Now there is this. We move on to another adventure that we didn't want to experience “. However, she did not want to document her dad's most complicated moments: “ We are very modest as a family so I didn't photograph him in the worst moments, I didn't have that reflex. I didn't let go of my device, but I didn't pick it up in its worst form either. ».
She still shares a photo of the artist’s last radiotherapy session: “ It was rather a happy moment, it was the last one, we kept our fingers crossed. This feeling of having finished with something that was heavy ». « The change in appearance was a shock to him. He was not happy about losing his beard, mustache and hair. It's a change of look that we didn't choose, but he's done so much that we think it's one more for the collection » she continues philosophically, before giving news of her father’s health: “ He is doing very well, fortunately. Not long ago he had an exam and everything is fine. We're waiting for the next one in three months but for now, we're happy. There is always hope, but we know that it is not realistic, that it could come back at any time so we live in the present. But for now, we're happy ».
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