"The shutters were closed for two days": the chilling testimony of the neighbors of Michel Cordes, found dead at his home

Solène Delinger 12:10 pm, May 08, 2023, modified at 12:11 pm, May 08, 2023

The team and viewers of Plus belle la vie are still in shock: Friday, May 5, 2023, Michel Cordes, who played the unforgettable Roland Marci in the cult soap opera of France 3, was found dead by firearm at his home around 15 p.m. The actor, aged 77, would certainly have committed suicide, as indicated by the Montpellier prosecutor's office. An investigation has been opened to clarify the circumstances of his death.

"We immediately understood that something was happening"

Three neighbors discovered the lifeless body of Michel Cordes. "The shutters had been closed for two days. So, with my wife and a neighbor we went to see what was going on. In particular, a burglary was feared, after a precedent in the neighborhood. When we arrived in the dining room, we immediately understood that something was happening, "said one of them to our colleagues of the Parisian, the day after the tragedy. This neighbor of the actor, named Loïc, immediately called the firefighters, just before noticing that there were three letters on the table of Michel Cordes, "a letter for his daughter, one for the gendarmes and even a letter to the attention of the tax administration". It was after this discovery that he found the actor's lifeless body in the backyard of the house.

A difficult separation

Loïc is therefore convinced: "Michel had prepared and organized everything so that we discover him as easily as possible". He had also noticed a certain change in behavior of the actor of Plus belle la vie. "Lately, he was less talkative. When I met him, he didn't hold the conversation anymore." According to Loïc, Michel Cordes was much worse since his separation with his girlfriend, who "mattered much more than anything" for the actor. Elyane and Eugene, the former owners of Michel Cordes' house, had also found the actor less smiling and less talkative.

"About a month and a half ago, I felt a little less well morally. His new girlfriend, in the process of divorce, had finally broken up with him. He was sad, but from there to think of such a thing, surely not, said Elyane in the columns of the Parisian. Another neighbor of Michel Cordes evoked the loneliness of the actor, who received very few visits. "We expected to see from time to time actors of Plus belle la vie arrive on our street, but ultimately no," added a witness. The members of the cast of Plus belle la vie have been very numerous to pay tribute to him on their social networks, by sharing souvenir photos of the filming of the series.