He was part of the TF1 family and marked the news with his presence for 33 years. Star presenter of 1 p.m., Jean-Pierre Pernaut left us on Wednesday March 2 following the cancer he was battling. He was 71 years old.
Stars, politicians and journalists, all present
The funeral of the presenter took place in Paris, in the basilica Ste Clotilde (75007) in the presence of many personalities from the world of politics and television.
Scheduled for a duration of 2 hours, the service celebrated by Father de la Morandais ended after almost 3 hours. There were nearly 700 guests, including Brigitte Macron and politicians like Nicolas Sarkozy, accompanied by his wife Carla Bruni, Rachida Dati, Christian Estrosi, Eric Ciotti, Valérie Pécresse and Yannick Jadot.
Many journalists including Claire Chazal, Anne-Claire Coudray, Marie-Sophie Laccarau, Patrick Poivre d’Arvor, Laurent Delahousse, Harry Roselmak, Gilles Bouleau, David Pujadas were present.
The TF1 channel was widely represented, starting with the president of the group Gilles Pélisson as well as presenters such as Nikos Aliagas, Cyril Hanouna, Michel Drucker, Jean-Pierre Foucault, Denis Brogniart or Denise Fabre, Karine LeMarchand, Sylvie Tellier and Iris Mittenaere , Bernard Montiel., Christophe Dechavanne..
A ceremony full of emotion
At the door of the basilica sat a portrait of the journalist. The crowd applauded the coffin on its arrival Nathalie Marquay and her children Lou (19) and Tom (18) were surrounded by their loved ones including Dominique Bonnet, first wife of Jean-Pierre Pernaut and his children Olivier (40) and Julia. (43 years old).
The ceremony began with the sound of the title « Que je t’aime » by Johnny Hallyday, which the journalist was particularly fond of. The family has also made a musical choice in relation to the musical tastes of the journalist. This is how Edith Piaf, Jacques Brel and Johnny succeeded each other to close with « Oh Marie ».
During the mass, several relatives of the family spoke. Among them were Cyril Hanouna, friend of the couple, Evelyne Dhéliat, Michel Izard or Gilles Pélisson, but also Sylvie Tellier and Jean-Pierre Foucault.
The children of Jean-Pierre Pernaut also intervened. Lou paid tribute to his father while Tom couldn’t hold back his tears for him one last time « I love you Daddy ».
At the end of the mass, the coffin came out to the sound of Johnny’s title « Oh Marie! » and applause, preceded by a black and white photo of the presenter. The father of the Morandais who united the couple in 2007 blessed the coffin before the widow placed a last kiss there.
Jean-Pierre Pernaut will be buried in the strictest privacy in Quevauvillers, arrondissement of Amiens, in the Somme (80).
A look back at the life of Jean-Pierre Pernaut
Born in April 1950 in Amiens (80), of a pharmacist mother and a centralien father who runs a factory in Amiens, Jean-Pierre Pernaut was first educated at the private school St Martin in Amiens before joining a group school then repeats his 6th and misses his baccalaureate 3 times.
Being interested in information, he decides on the ESJ of Lille after his military service. Graduated in 1975, he did his first internship at the « Courrier Picard » and started at the Picardy regional editorial office of the ORTF where he presented the regional newspaper. He joined TF1 on the day the channel was created and presented the 8 p.m. newspaper until 1978. Between 1978 and 1980, he became co-presenter of 1 p.m. with Yves Mourousi, then was appointed senior reporter in the economic department from 1980 to 1982. He was then deputy head of the reporting department at TF1 and editor-in-chief of « Rendez-vous d’Annick » and presenter of « Journal des vacances » in the summers of 1982 and 1983, then of « Transcontinental » from 1985 to 1986.
1 p.m. presenter
After the privatization of TF1 in 1987, Jean-Pierre Pernaut replaced the Mourousi-Augry duo on the 1 p.m. newspaper and worked with correspondents in the regions. To date 150 journalists in 19 regions.
The following year, he became assistant director of information. Thanks to a new orientation, introducing the regions, the journalist is more and more popular and 13h obtains a higher score than that of its competitors. In 1998, he divided his newspaper into 3 times: the one he does (weather), the one that passes (news) and the one that lasts (magazines). He declared: « The 1 p.m. newspaper is the newspaper of the French which is addressed to the French and which gives information in French priority. »
Between July 1991 and May 2010, he presented the program « How much did it cost? » who obtained a « 7 d’or » in 1997.
Jean-Pierre Pernaut is also a journalist for special editions devoted to major international events of the last quarter of a century. This is how he was present during the fall of the Berlin wall, the election of Barak Obama, the attacks of September 11, 2001, the death of Yasser Arafat, the wars in Iraq, in Kossovo, the Arab revolutions of 2011, He was also the first French journalist to enter the Chernobyl zone, 4 years after the disaster, in 1990. Apart from that, he is the one who interviewed Presidents Mitterrand, Chirac, Sarkozy and Macron.
With 33 years of presentation of 1 p.m., he is the record holder thanks to nearly 7,000 television news. He was also the only presenter not to use a teleprompter, not hesitating to give his opinion. During confinement, he presented « The 1 p.m. at home », part of the newspaper, from a studio set up at his home.
After his farewell at 1 p.m.
On December 18, 2020, Jean-Pierre Pernaut presents his last 1 p.m., a moving edition during which he addresses the viewers who have followed him during these 33 years. He ends with these words: « …I stop with a heavy heart. Thank you all … Last goodbye, Thank you I love you, I will never forget you ».
However, he does not leave the antenna since he hosts a program on LCI, every Saturday, « Jean-Pierre and you, Your money ».
He also created his own digital channel, « JPP TV » and his bimonthly magazine « In the heart of the regions » on this theme which is so dear to him.
Private life
Jean-Pierre Pernaut was first married to Dominique Bonnet with whom he had 2 children, Julia and Olivier. he is also the grandfather of Iris, Elea and Leo.
He met his second wife, Nathalie Marquay during the Miss France 2002 contest. Despite the age difference of 15 years, they married in 2007. The couple had 2 children, Lou and Tom.
Since 2018, the presenter had been fighting cancer. After a first victory against that of the prostate, he was diagnosed with lung cancer in November 2021 and suffered 4 mini-strokes in January. A first lung cancer was detected in April 2021, he was operated on in July, but 2 months later, another tumor appeared on the other lung.
After chemotherapy sessions and the desire to fight, the tumor resisted and Jean-Pierre Pernaut’s state of health regressed. His wife stayed by his side until the end.
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