7:30 p.m., under the glass roof of the Winter Garden of the Élysée Palace revisited by Daniel Buren. Emmanuel Macron is late. “He warned me, the excuse Pierre Arditi. He advised me to warn my guests. But warning forty people is not easy.” On this Monday evening, the President of the Republic must present the insignia of Commander of the National Order of Merit to the actor. “It must be said that he has other concerns at the moment,” observes one of the participants.
White chairs are lined up in front of the lectern, where the head of state will deliver his speech. A team of waiters provides guests with glasses of mineral water. Hands behind his back, Alain Resnais’ favorite actor talks at length with Bernard Cazeneuve, the former socialist prime minister. “To wait, Pierre could do the reading he is giving at La Pépinière theater at the moment,” suggests, amused, the director of the Montparnasse hall, Bertrand Thamin.
In the meantime, Catherine Arditi chats with her nephew, the painter Frédéric Arditi and with the conductor Jean-Claude Casadesus. Évelyne Bouix, for her part, is in deep conversation with the writer Valérie Perrin, Claude Lelouch’s wife. Salomé Lelouch, whom Pierre Arditi raised, is absent: the young mother takes care of her sick daughter. Agathe Natanson presents the book she has just published, Let’s sing under the tears, a collection of letters addressed to her dear husband Jean-Pierre Marielle.
Lorraine Lévy, who directed Pierre Arditi in Clemenceau, and Lissa Pillu, the producer of the successful series Le Sang de la vigne, speak of his generosity. Nathalie Saint-Cricq and Patrice Duhamel are there, as are Sylvie Fennec and François Marthouret. Production designer Nicolas Sire announces that Molière’s Le Menteur will be resumed at Poche Montparnasse.
Pierre Arditi greets everyone. “It touches me that you are here, you are close friends, I love you,” he says. He makes fun of him: “We give decorations to old people!”, pretends to be uncomfortable. Cream jacket and pants, Anne Sinclair smiles. In pink, Roselyne Bachelot giggles. Enki Bilal, the designer, author of the setting for La vie est un roman by Alain Resnais, and his partner meet Isabelle de la Patellière, Catherine and Pierre Arditi’s agent. Cyril Gely, whose actor will play the next play with Ludmila Mikaël in January, jokes with the actress. “Are you okay?” asks Adrien de Van, the director of the La Villette theater. “It’s very touching to see Emmanuel Macron dedicate the whole evening, he has other things to do,” remarks Tristan Petitgirard, the director of The Turing Machine.
“I invite you to sit down, the president will arrive,” we announce. His aide-de-camp informs: “I am here to assist the president during the presentation of the insignia.” False alarm. The ceremony scheduled for 7 p.m. will not begin before 8:40 p.m. Emmanuel Macron finally makes his entrance with a quick step, warmly embraces Pierre Arditi. He is followed by Brigitte Macron, who rushes to kiss Évelyne Bouix, then Catherine and Frédéric Arditi. “Please forgive my delay,” explains the president.
Eyes immersed in his notes, Emmanuel Macron looks back on the actor’s life, quotes Jean Anouilh. “Life is very pretty. But that has a disadvantage, which is that you have to live it.” Obviously a fan of Pierre Arditi, he recalls his beginnings, the encouragement of his younger sister who took him to the course of Tania Balachova, summons the shadows of Marcel Maréchal, his “father of theater” and Alain Resnais, his “father of cinema “.
“You haven’t seen anything yet, that’s what you seem to be telling us,” continues Emmanuel Macron, looking at Pierre Arditi and forgetting his notes. “In It was not necessary to say!, the comedy by Salomé Lelouch that you performed with Évelyne Bouix, we saw two instruments that go together wonderfully. With Lapin, you kept us doubly in suspense!” The President of the Republic refers to the actor’s discomfort at the end of 2023. The “public” laughs.
“We can ask ourselves a question: why is Pierre Arditi not out of fashion? Basically you never played your era, you played untimely roles. You have become a style, timeless,” replies Emmanuel Macron. “He didn’t make a speech, he made a declaration of love,” laughs an emotional Pierre Arditi. “You stay for dinner, of course?”, then suggests Brigitte Macron. The meal will end with a visit to the Élysée cellar.