Hier soir [7 avril] vers 20 heures, François de Grossouvre, ami intime de François Mitterrand, s'est donné la mort par balle dans son bureau de la présidence de la République

Narcy, Jean-Claude

Brunetti, Denis

Lefèvre, Antoine

8 avril 1994

19940408

13:00:00

CEST

Journal de 13 heures [1/2]

Hier soir [7 avril] vers 20 heures, François de Grossouvre, ami intime de François Mitterrand, s'est donné la mort par balle dans son bureau de la présidence de la République

Il avait été longtemps l'homme des missions secrètes et délicates en Afrique et au Proche-Orient. Il s'intéressait aussi de près aux activités des services spéciaux.

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- Suicide at the Élysée. Last night [April, 7], François de Grossouvre, a close friend of François Mitterrand, shot himself dead in his office at the Presidency of the Republic.
- More than 33 million viewers followed the evening of solidarity, the joint program of French television channels "Tous contre le Sida". It's a very, very big success. Or two out of three French people. Nearly seven hours of information and emotion. 50 million francs have already been raised.
- Dramatic and confused situation in Rwanda after the assassination of the Prime Minister. 11 Belgian soldiers were killed. France could evacuate its 600 nationals living in the country.
- François de Grossouvre, the close friend of President François Mitterrand, therefore killed himself last night [April, 7] in his office at the Élysée. He was 76 years old. Although away from business since 1985, he still occupied this office because he had kept the functions of president of the presidential hunts.
- The Élysée Palace was quiet last night [April, 7] and was preparing for a private dinner when the detonation sounded around 8 p.m. In his discreet office in the west wing, on the avenue de Marigny, François de Grossouvre had just committed suicide at the age of 76. The duty doctor, Dr. Kalfon, could only confirm the death. Francois de Grossouvre still held a revolver in his hand. For the usual procedure, police officers from the first DPJ [Judicial police department] arrived on the spot. A policeman: "We were called and for the moment we do not know what it is exactly".
- They were joined by the director of the judicial police, Claude Cancès. In the office where François de Grossouvre came once a week, no posthumous message. A man described as tired, depressed, with some private problems who had arrived at the Élysée between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m., apparently to see the President.
- The Élysée remained very discreet all evening. Even if in the comings and goings, we saw Jack Lang or the secretary general, Anne Lauvergeon. A brief official statement only confirmed the suicide around 11 p.m.
- President François Mitterrand, whose photos lined François de Grossouvre's office, left the premises late without comment. While the mortal remains were taken to the forensic institute in the Élysée ambulance.
- François de Grossouvre was part of the circle of intimates of the Head of State. He had long been the man of secret and delicate missions in Africa and the Middle East. He also took a close interest in the activities of the special services. Finally, on two occasions, he had been heard by Judge Thierry Jean-Pierre as part of the investigation into the accounts of Roger-Patrice Pelat, another close friend of François Mitterrand.
- He was one of those privileged people to whom the door of the rue de Bièvre was permanently open. Since that day in 1961 when Pierre Mendès France introduced François de Grossouvre to François Mitterrand, from the convention of republican institutions to May 10, 1981, he was part of all meetings, all campaigns, always behind, in the shadows. Claude Estier, "President of the Socialist Group in the Senate": "I have kept a somewhat contradictory memory of him as a man who was both warm, full of humor, and at the same time cultivating mystery and secrecy for pleasure. François de Grossouvre delighted in this role, which was a bit intriguing. People often wondered: 'But who is this man who is still with François Mitterrand?' He liked it, he liked to maintain this mystery".
- A friend therefore, and from 1981, one of the close presidential advisers. A doctor by training converted into business, he is one of François Mitterrand's contacts with business leaders. But the man especially has a taste for parallel diplomacy. While at the Élysée, François de Grossouvre particularly followed the files and activities of the secret services, taking advantage of his very good knowledge of the Middle East and Africa.
- Pierre Marion, "Former Director of the D.G.S.E.": "He had a role of adviser to the President which he saw very frequently and often for a long time, generally in the evening from 7 o'clock. And he actually gave him advice on many problems, which were not only problems relating secret services or the police".
- This influence will end in 1985, date from which he only takes care of the presidential hunts. A badly lived semi-retirement which nevertheless allows him to keep an office at the Élysée where he chose to kill himself last night [April, 7].
- This suicide is reminiscent of that of another close friend of François Mitterrand, Pierre Bérégovoy, just a year ago. The status of adviser to the President of the Republic and the secret personality of François de Grossouvre intrigued and piqued the curiosity of many journalists. Edwy Plenel, "Journalist, Author 'La part de l'ombre'": "It turned out, it seems, that at the end of March he was really depressed and he had stopped writing his memoirs. And he said, and it was also very strange, to fear that someone would set him up, of being implicated. It is true that the life of François de Grossouvre was very complex and favorable to rumours: that all the same been an honorable correspondent for the secret services, he was a matchmaker in all sorts of international affairs, etc. So he knew a lot of things. would be brought to him. But he said no more". Pierre Favier, "Journalist, Author 'The Mitterrand Decade'": "Until 1985, he actually went frequently on missions abroad, to the Near and Middle East where he had for many years established contacts with Arab heads of state and business leaders. Many in the Maghreb and in Africa, in Chad in particular. But since the time when he had lost his position as adviser to the President of the Republic, he traveled much less to the Head of State. Or if he was traveling, it was for him: he was returning from missions for which he had self-mandated and possibly informing the Head of State. But in recent times, we cannot say that he was a close adviser to the President. He had remained his friend on the other hand".