Host, television producer, newspaper director, Philippe Bouvard is one of the great personalities of the French media. He hosted the cult show Les Grosses Têtes for almost 40 years
Philippe BOUVARD recalls François Mitterrand who shared with him the love of Jules Renard. While they did not belong at all to the same political family, François Mitterrand offered him works of this author that he did not have, accompanied by a handwritten letter, which greatly touched him.
The daily France Soir leaves the old premises of rue Réaumur for new offices on rue de Bercy. - Interview with Philippe BOUVARD, director of the newspaper, on the reasons for this move and the modernization of the newspaper through IT.
Philippe BOUVARD evokes the cars of the sixties, the "beautiful Americans": "you didn’t skimp on the sheet metal, the paints, the chromes... they were extraordinary cars... they were unusable...you could sleep, do a lot of things in the cars... they were rolling bachelors. There were aesthetic concerns... it was not always the best European taste..." Today, the car "is no longer a dream vehicle, it is a vehicle to move."
Philippe BOUVARD indicates the amount of his taxes but says he is "less worried when he is deprived of an additional 10% of his surplus than when he withdraws 3% of their necessary".
In his book "Cent voitures et sans regrets" Philippe BOUVARD talks about the series cars he likes, because they contribute to a total independence of their owner.
About the publication of his book "Joueurs mes frères, Philippe BOUVARD speaks about the game, family tradition. He played Belgium from the age of 5. He is not ashamed to be a player, but he is not particularly proud of it.
Philippe BOUVARD tries to be a more attentive and available grandfather than he was an available father: "my children grew up without me noticing and today, I make a transfer... and the smaller they are, the more I love them..."
Philippe BOUVARD tells how he was attacked one day by a man who shot him with a shot gun. This man held it against him because he thought that Philippe Bouvard had put microphones in his home to spy on him for the RPR. This assault earned him a night in hospital and stitches.
Philippe BOUVARD talks about journalism: he started at the "communale", then created a newspaper at the high school and another when he did his military service. He explains how happy he was to sit at the helm of France Soir in the chair of Pierre Lazareff, the man he had admired the most. His duties gave him immense satisfaction. That was 25 years ago and he is still at France Soir.
After 37 years, Philipe BOUVARD animated his band of Big Heads for the last time. Alternating images of the journalist leaving a car and interviews with Bernard MABILLE, humorist and Vincent PERROT, radio and television host.
Philippe BOUVARD talks about the impact of Mai 68 on his work as a journalist: "I changed my subjects and my angles... The company has suppressed the mundanity and I was pleased... I could not abstract myself from the confrontation of ideas around the great problems... I am not ashamed of making jokes, but I would be a bit ashamed today to make nothing but jokes".