Paris (AFP)

He had cut Jean Seberg's hair for "A bout de souffle", invented the "coiffé-décoiffé": Jacques Dessange, who died Tuesday at the age of 94, lived more than half a century of hairdressing and very good deals.

Appreciated by the stars, he founded an empire which today has more than 1,700 hairdressing salons located in 43 countries but had above all been talked about in recent years for his legal troubles with his youngest son, Benjamin. And its presence on the list of HSBC hidden accounts in Switzerland.

Hubert, his real first name, was born on December 5, 1925 in Souesmes, in Sologne, to a father hairdresser and a patron mother of the cafe which adjoined the shop.

He was introduced to the profession in the father's salon and, after his studies certificate, went to Paris in 1945 to "style the ladies there". But learning will be difficult: he will be fired twelve times in a year before being hired by a fashionable hairdresser, Louis Gervais.

Hubert, who then becomes Jacques, still does not master the technique of notches and indeflexible but the fashion is with blurred and free hair and the customers begin to be conquered.

In 1954, he opened his first salon, avenue Franklin-Roosevelt, very close to the Champs-Elysées roundabout. He soon opened another in Tunisia, the first abroad. Actresses like Brigitte Bardot, Jean Seberg, Jeanne Moreau and many others pass through his expert hands and rub shoulders with him in worldly life. He shows abroad and to the USSR, under the era of Khrushchev.

Everything seems to smile at him: a first son, Cyril, was born in 1961 and, well introduced to the world of cinema, he became the official hairdresser of the Cannes festival. From now on, he does not only style international stars like Liz Taylor, Marlene Dietrich or Ava Gardner but also young very popular French singers like Sylvie Vartan or Sheila to whom he cuts his duvets.

Already associated with other hairdressers, often young and talented - a clever way to avoid competition -, Jacques Dessange launched his "brand" in 1966 using his name in ten salons, then twenty.

- Family Bisbilles -

A second son, Benjamin, was born in 1967 but, very absorbed in his professional activities and in continual bickering with his wife Corinne, he did not take much care of it.

Jacques is increasing his grip on the world of hairdressing: from phytosanitary products (still in his name) to training schools, including the manufacture of wigs.

But its great success is the franchise contracts with already seasoned professionals who, for a percentage of their turnover, can access the name of a prestigious brand. In 1998, there were 254 "Jacques Dessange" salons in France. There will be up to 500 abroad.

The group also operates other franchise networks through two reputedly more affordable brands, Camille Albane and Frédéric Moreno.

In 2004, fifty years after the opening of his first salon, the famous hairdresser passed the hand to his son Benjamin even if he kept shares in the business.

But four years later, when the majority of the capital is sold to a financial group, nothing is going well: "I was fired like a messy by my own son," he told AFP.

He will even publish in 2011 "The conspiracy", a pamphlet of about fifty pages, addressed to franchisees and widely distributed on the Internet to carry out an attack in order against his younger son.

But Dessange International will not succeed in February 2012 to have the founder of the company sentenced for bashing.

The name of Jacques Dessange was also cited in 2015 by Le Monde and international media among the holders of accounts not declared to the tax authorities at HSBC Switzerland. The famous hairdresser would have had there up to 1.6 million euros between 2006 and 2007. He would then have regularized his situation with the French tax authorities in 2012.

For many years, Jacques Dessange had devoted himself to his passion for painting on his property in Sologne.

© 2020 AFP