He was one of the most popular personalities in France, the face of local information and the voice of the province: Jean-Pierre Pernaut, former star presenter of TF1's "13 Hours", died on Wednesday at 71 years old from the consequences of his lung cancer.
It was Muriel Belgy, the agent of Nathalie Marquay-Pernaut, ex-Miss France, TV host and wife of the journalist, who made the announcement
.
"Tom, Lou, Olivier and Julia's father died of lung cancer" Wednesday afternoon, she said.
On November 23, Jean-Pierre Pernaut announced that he had lung cancer, after having already been treated for prostate cancer.
Back in pictures on the life of "Monsieur 13H" of TF1.
Jean-Pierre Pernaut joined TF1 on January 6, 1975, the day the channel was created following the breakup of the ORTF.
At the school of journalism in Lille, in the early 1970s, the native of Amiens did not stand out, but “he was already hyperactive, hyper-passionate, very involved in the job.
We spent evenings doing newspapers, reports, ”recalls his classmate, Jean Colin.
Arrived at the head of the JT in 1988, after 13 years at TF1, he imposes his style, with his subjects and his magazines, those of France of traditions, craftsmen, cafes and heritage.
When he succeeded Yves Mourousi, then head of the "13 Heures", in 1988, TF1 attracted only 2.5 million viewers, behind Antenne 2. He gathered twice as many every day, with an audience share regularly exceeding 40% and a considerable gap on the competition.
Still without a teleprompter.
Bushy eyebrows, glasses and a deep voice, Jean-Pierre Pernaut was above all a recipe made of “proximity”, in his words.
Critics did not spare him.
The semiologist François Jost read in this newspaper a “certain populism”: “We see Pernaut as someone turned towards tradition, the province.
But he always promotes, in his speech, the interests of the taxpayer, of the small against the big, of the provincial against Paris”.
In his office on the second floor of the chain, decorated with a photo of Johnny, a figurine of Titeuf and a map of France, the Picard congratulated himself on having had from the start "twenty years ahead of others ".
“20 years ago, I was the only one talking about storms.
For the others, it was vulgar.
Today, when it falls two centimeters of snow somewhere, it's four subjects in the "20 Hours" of France 2 ".
On the personal side, the native of Amiens, motorsport fan, married in 2007 the ex-Miss France and TV host Nathalie Marquay.
He was the father of four children, two of whom were born from a previous union.
Its success was its armor, although ratings dwindled towards the end.
Which explains why France held its breath when it learned of its health concerns, such as prostate and lung cancers, which it made public.
He will not leave the JT of "13 Hours" until 2020, in front of more than eight million spectators for his last.
“TV has never been a goal for me”, he assured, happy “to be in the coal every day”.
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