The 1 p.m. news legend was present at the Francis Gag Theater for the performance of the play Piège à Matignon, which he co-wrote with his wife, Nathalie Marquay-Pernaut.
The play was a great success in the capital. Afterwards, the “Piège à Matignon” troupe went on tour and ended up at the Francis Gag Theater in Nice for a single performance. Unsurprisingly, the theater was packed. Hidden backstage, the star journalist followed the troupe. Among the actors, his wife held the title role.
The play deals with the internet and its dangers. All of this is mixed with a hilarious and modern political intrigue that immerses us in a world of schemes, traps, and stolen images that make and break the careers of many personalities today.
Since 1988, Jean-Pierre Pernaut has been the face that 7 million French people watch from 1 p.m. on TF1. It has been exactly 25 years that the journalist has held the same position on the national channel. It was on February 11, 1988, that he was offered to replace Yves Mourousi for the 1 p.m. news. For 25 years, he chose to direct this news program towards a more regional portrait of France. Many even thought he was wrong, going so far as to sometimes describe the news as anti-journalistic.
For example, we remember a fiery critique from Libération at the time: “News in muddy clogs revering beautiful regions, forgotten trades, and the Ardèche maouche cooked like grandma.” Ah, the elegant phrase… Nonetheless, the formula works. Jean-Pierre Pernaut transforms the 1 p.m. news into a true people’s news, often opening with national or even regional news. And yes, some people wonder who watches television in the middle of the afternoon.
What do they want to see or rather, what do they need to see? He then declared: “We aim for the inhabitants of small towns and villages. For this reason, we steer the news away from the institutional. When a government announces an increase in the minimum old age pension, we don’t interview the minister, but the elderly. Our ambition: proximity.”
With that, happy anniversary.
