Actor Michel Cordes, known for his role in Plus Belle La Vie, was found dead at his home in Grabels (Hérault) on Friday.
Known to the French for having played the role of Roland, owner of the bar Le Mistral, in the television series Plus Belle La Vie, actor Michel Cordes (77) was found dead on Friday at his home in the village of Grabels, near Montpelier. What do we know about this case?
The favored suicide trail
Michel Cordes died by firearm. “In the state of the information we have, (he) would have voluntarily killed himself at his home”, announced the deputy prosecutor Jean-Christophe Tixier.
“An autopsy will take place at the beginning of the week”, he indicated, while the investigation into the causes of death, systematically opened in the event of the discovery of a corpse “should make it possible to confirm or deny this assumption.
Emmanuel Macron reacted
In a statement released on Saturday evening, President Emmanuel Macron hailed “the memory of a comedian from the heart who marked the history of our popular television”.
“Every evening at 8:10 p.m., and for eighteen years, his Marseille counter was the nerve center of intrigues and passions (where) the character of Roland appeared with accent, good-naturedness and humanity an art of living and a conviviality in which million viewers recognized each other”, continued the Elysée.
The actors of Plus Belle La Vie pay tribute to Michel Cordes
Actors from the Plus Belle La Vie series, which ended at the end of 2022, expressed their sadness and incomprehension. Jérôme Bertin, who played Patrick Nebout, for example remembered his “mischievous gaze” and his “jovial wisdom”. “Farewell my dear, my tender Michel, fake grumpy and real nice. Laugh in peace,” he wrote.
Pierre Martot, curator Léo Castelli in the series, said Michel Cordes was “the living embodiment of something very deep in this country – that’s why people loved (him) so much”.
In addition to his role in Plus Belle La Vie, Michel Cordes had also played secondary roles in films such as The Hussard on the Roof (1995), by Jean-Paul Rappenau, alongside Juliette Binoche and Olivier Martinez, or in A Matter of Taste (2000) alongside Bernard Giraudeau. He also had a long career in the theatre.