“My child’s curiosity is intact”

You publish your autobiography.

Built as a puzzle, it traces the itinerary of the post-war kid that I am. Born in Bordeaux in 1945, I took an unforeseen path.

Without the slightest career plan, I became a radio host, TV presenter, musician, designer, actor.

What do these thousand stories say about you?

They bear witness to my curiosity as a child, which I have always kept, but also on one maniac side which makes me finish what I undertake.

From your fifty-five years of activity, what was the most striking event?

Having interviewed Céline Dion in 1983 for French -speaking Swiss television. She was 15 years old. She only granted her first interview to Michel Drucker’s until … eight days later (laughs) ! More seriously, my life is a succession of meetings that have filled me: Coluche, Alain Delon, Claude François, Charles Aznavour, Annie Cordy … and also, of course, a number of anonymous.

Your most precious meeting?

The one with my son, Julien, when I cut his umbilical cord at maternity in 1985. He is my best friend.

Your cute sin?

I am very talkative, as you can see during this interview (laughs) . It is a lack of a radio man, because on the antenna we are sometimes forced to furnish …

Precisely, if you were offered an hour of silence, what would you do?

I would sit on a coffee terrace and I would look at the strangers, by inventing a life. Where do they live? Do they have an appointment? What job do they do? etc. Otherwise I love going to stroll through the garden of the Rodin museum in Paris.

The guardian angel on your shoulder?

My uncle Robert was a priest. When my father – his brother – is dead, I was 25 years old. He watched over me and supervised my career. Since his death, I have never stopped thinking that he has accompanied me …

Inspired places that speak to you?

Churches. They were not only built to make it pretty, but to welcome those who hope. When I see the work of craftsmen who have rebuilt Notre-Dame de Paris, they should obtain the Legion of Honor.

The new pope gives you an audience. What do you ask him?

To encourage Catholics not to be ashamed to show their faith.