Stéphane Bern Minister of Culture? Last week, before the officialization of the government reshuffle following the appointment of Gabriel Attal as Prime Minister, the host was one, like Claire Chazal, of the personalities that rumor announced was in a good position to join Valois Street. “I haven’t done anything to get my name out there, unlike others,” joked the figure from France Télévisions this Wednesday afternoon during a press lunch in Paris.
Stéphane Bern, who was promoting the next issue of “Secrets of History”, claims that he was not contacted to join the government. “I would have resigned after five minutes, I would have said everything I thought,” he had fun responding. He assures that “politics [l’] “not at all interested” and that he would “never” accept such a position. “And when I say never, I really mean never,” he insisted.
“Perhaps it’s my freedom that all presidents love”
“Emmanuel Macron offered me a position, I can’t say which one, prestigious, in heritage. I told him: “especially not!”. My job is to make television. I like the relationship with the French, with people, it’s not to lock me in an office, run a public establishment or be in a ministry. I am much more useful where I am,” continued Stéphane Bern.
And to clarify: “That does not prevent me from being political in the sense of taking part in the life of the city. I accepted a voluntary mission for heritage, I agreed to defend a certain number of values - last week, I went to do a history masterclass in disadvantaged neighborhoods for example. My notoriety allows me to give my time for Humanism and Habitat, the Les Petits princes association… I have the freedom to do things for others, which I would not be able to do if I accepted a position. Perhaps it is this freedom that all presidents love. »
There is one thing that Stéphane Bern has “a hard time understanding”, and that is that people say he is “Macron’s friend”. “If I have a problem at 2 a.m., he’s not the one I’m going to call. I was friends with all the presidents. I knew Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, that’s the advantage of being old, he smiled. First of all, I’m friends with all the first ladies, I’ve presented all their galas. All the Yellow Pieces galas by Bernadette Chirac were I who did them, now others have taken over.”