Some images make history. A majority and poor opinion, the death penalty. Well, I am a candidate for President of the Republic and I am not in favor of the death penalty. Some campaigns are empowering. As I have not yet heard the real project of any candidate, then that would mean that France would be in a huge void. Don't worry, I hope they all wake up. In any case, I will help them. Image and campaign arise from complex strategies , thought out and manufactured in the shadows of the candidates. They do everything, they say, to avoid a social divide, as if it did not already exist. Two men at the heart of power, unknown to the general public, invented these strategies. It had never been shown. This is their story. Paris, May 1981. A huge crowd rushes to acclaim the new President of the Republic. Seeing these images 30 years later, it would be easy to say that change was desired by the French. That Mitterrand's victory was beyond doubt. And yet, a few months earlier, the conquest of power still seemed improbable, if not impossible, even for the socialist leaders. A year and a half before the election, François Mitterrand is far from being the natural candidate for his own camp. All the polls show day after day, with terrible obstinacy and violence , that there is only one who can win, and that is Rocard. Jean Glavany, former chief of staff of François Mitterrand. And it's not even 30 to 25 or 25 to 20, it's 80 to 20. It's terribly violent and it's hammering, hammering, hammering week after week. In any case, what is certain is that we do not know if Rocard would win if he could lose. The polls did not show that Giscard could lose until the end of the 80s, but it showed one thing, that there was one who could not win. In any case, it was Mitterrand. François Mitterrand's problem, his bad image sticks to him. Ambiguous, loser, man of the past and polls. Labeling him Mitterrand is archaism. Taking up a phrase from Rocard. Mitterrand, the archaic, the archaic, the archaic. So that gives an extremely violent context. Mitterrand himself keeps his candidacy secret. We didn't know, he didn't say anything. Jean Glavany then sees a curious character arrive in François Mitterrand's entourage. Gérard Colé, 39 years old in 1980, is not an activist. He is an advertising executive who made his fortune. Honestly, on the left, he was destroyed by the defeat of 1974. In 1975, he left everything to put himself at the service of his cause. He has three beliefs: The left can win. François Mitterrand is a good product, poorly exploited and above all good advertising will help him win the next presidential election. I see that the only, the only challenge, the only challenge that I can set for myself is to be a speaker next time and that he is elected. Admitted in the corridors of the PS. The publicist discovers a worm-eaten world where communication is still called propaganda. We don't listen to him. It is annoying. In the fall of 77, calling his bluff, he proposed a move to Mitterrand. A photo weekend in the Landes. Collet hires a fashion photographer and brings Mitterrand on board. He spotted some sets. Too pale. Too classic. Too lost in the trees. Too much, everyone. It was Mitterrand himself who chose the photo. It's a fashion photo, a bit. We couldn't hear the wind, we couldn't hear the waves. But it was so well figured that there had a real power that emanated from this shot. The first ones to be posted were at the bottom of the Champs-Elysées and people stopped in front of the posters. That is to say, it was truly a stupor. That day, Mitterrand understood that the form. Even with little means, they were blatant. This year 77, Gérard Collomb invented the first modern political poster. Mitterrand will no longer let go of Kohler. A permanent member of the Socialist Party, he discreetly joined the first secretary's team. He had a personal connection with Mitterrand and he knew he had a destiny to work with Mitterrand on communications. And so he charged. He takes me to his office in February 81. I tell him Well, sir, you are going to be a candidate, of course, and you will therefore need one. A general public communications campaign. And you will be elected. For this, I would like to introduce you to the best publicist I know, who at the time was completely accurate. He said to me Who am I saying, Séguéla? He said to me Okay, very good, organize a lunch. For the pub man who is stuck. The choice of Séguéla is obvious. But Séguéla is the known side of a usurped history. In fact, Kohler is the strategist. Hello my children. Good morning. I told him, you're going to have the campaign of your life. He tells me for whom? And I told him Mitterrand and Séguéla said to me You're crazy, he has no chance Rocard. Strictly speaking. The Mitterrand Séguéla meeting takes place in a bistro in the presence of Gérard Collé. I let things happen. I know that I am dealing with two seducers who will coo on each other to seduce each other. Séguéla comes out completely changed. Seduced by the guy. For the first time in France, a politician will submit to a coordinated and meticulous advertising strategy to stick Séguéla launching the Mitterrand product is a matter of creativity and image. The advertising slogan will do the rest. So we got to work and that's when I started meeting the team that had been chosen by Séguéla. So there was the one who did the wild rafters for Citroën Citroën, quite talented, but who told me Listen, I know, I feel it, it's a western. There is the vigilante, it is Mitterrand. There is the thug, it's Giscard. Good. Collet quickly understands that it won't work. We don't sell François Mitterrand like a car or a pot of yogurt. The meetings follow one another and the months pass. October 1980. Valéry Giscard d'Estaing hovers at 53% in the polls. There's still no coherent strategy to beat him. During a meeting, I met a short guy, with a very receding hairline, a huge forehead. Who spoke little but always said relevant things. And so at the end of that meeting, I block him and I tell him. How long have you been with the agency? No, I'm not in the agency. I am I am a freelancer. Jacques Pilhan. The second man. His meeting with Kohler will change the political history of the country. Pilhan is 38 years old, with a mediocre career, a party life and a bohemian family. Odd jobs in advertising by day, Poker tables by night. For Jacques Pilhan, life is a game and to win, you have to know your opponent's cards. Pilhan gets it right away. He said to me Tell me about the PS and Mitterrand. Everything I learned in six years in fact about how the PS works, different currents, if indeed it is the undisputed boss, etc. Anyway, I tell him and he takes notes. I am absolutely devastated by the intelligence and subtlety of this boy and. We hardly ever left each other. Glued. And Pilhan immerses himself in the studies of an organization unknown to the public, specialist in sociological studies and social trends. The conference. This agency sends researchers to immerse themselves for months in villages, neighborhoods and large companies. Very valuable information emerges about the French, such as their relationship to authority, to change, to the era of the times. The co franca surveys are sold at a high price and are used to define the commercial strategies of large groups. For the first time, two men are applying methods previously reserved for cutting-edge marketing to elections . It is October 1980. What Pilhan and Kohler discover astounds them. The French have evolved and the vast majority have distanced themselves from ideologies. The desire to be reassured has grown significantly in recent years and now permeates more than a third of French people. The economic crisis has been there. The second oil crisis of 1979 marked the death of the 30 Glorieuses. The country has 1,500,000 unemployed people. Many of our fellow citizens feel the need to be protected and it goes without saying that they will take this dimension into account when choosing a President of the Republic. For two days and nights, Kohler and Pilhan dissect this report and try to extract a strategy. We worked during a kind of crazy, disheveled marathon and we produced what I consider to be the founding document of the campaign that would follow. And who was called. Roosevelt against Louis XV or the man who wants against the man who pleases. This note with an enigmatic title, here it is signed with the initials of the two friends GC and JP. For Gérard Collet and Jacques Pilhan. It is the unstoppable strategic tool that will allow Mitterrand to transform his image and beat Giscard. This note remains unpublished to this day, unknown even to those close to Mitterrand, it is revealed here for the first time. This note or I don't remember it, where I haven't seen it, but I would love to see it. With Pilhan, we understood very quickly that we were going to create a magnifying glass effect on Giscard's weak points. Haughty, technocrat. Well educated, rich, he is the one who is successful but who is not liked. It is far from the reality of daily life. Gérard Collomb and Jacques Pilhan conclude on Giscard. He is the man who pleases with all the corresponding negative connotations of lightness, cynicism, inconstancy, weakness. Louis XV. On the other hand, Mitterrand, one could not deny his age. It was so old, at least compared to Giscard, that there was a desperate side because everyone understood that it was his last attempt. Mitterrand is not old, he is wise. He is the serene man of inner peace. He is not intellectual, but realistic, close to people. He's not a loser, he's a real man. He is not a skilled tactician, but a courageous man. He is not stubborn, but tenacious. He's not a bad economist, he's a statesman. It's the man who wants. Roosevelt. Roosevelt, the Democratic president who saved the United States from the crisis of 1929. An elderly but strong-willed and courageous man, whose tenacity commanded the admiration of Americans. Here is the profile which fits both the report of the Frankish court and the character of Mitterrand. At the end of November, we have an appointment with Mitterrand, in his dovecote. And me. So I have these five typewritten sheets. The note, once typed, is obviously signed Jacques Séguéla. We are in the agency lobby. Séguéla and I are going down. And then I realize that Pilhan doesn't come down. So I turn around and say to him Jacques, what are you doing? You do not come ? And it’s Séguéla who responds. No, no, Jacques, stay here. Ironically, one of the two men who best understood François Mitterrand will not be allowed to meet him throughout the campaign. Mitterrand had his copy, he read it, he said good, it's very good. That’s very good, that means. Hat. I have nothing to add. Madam, Miss, Sir, Hello. François Mitterrand, candidate of the Socialist Party for the presidential elections. It's official, a few minutes ago, the Congress. Mitterrand is a candidate again. But this time, he has a professional communications team and a relentless strategy. Polls favorable or not, Michel Rocard is stepping aside. There are four months left before the first round. Operation Roosevelt can begin. The first difficulty lies within the party, because the propaganda commission must of course validate everything relating to the candidate's communication. When we had a presentation meeting before the said commission, fortunately Mitterrand accompanied us almost systematically, everything we presented was good to throw away. So there was a round table at the end of the round table. The president said Well, I have heard your opinions and your reservations, but I like it. So we do it. And it was folded. Candidate Mitterrand's poster campaign has made history. This is just a variation of the media strategy. The French expect protection and listening, advertising translation, quiet strength, but above all a sticky note. Pilhan details the plan for the media battle that Mitterrand must lead to defeat Giscard. Mitterrand must first appear as a statesman. He must therefore erase the image of the bad economist and bring people together on the theme of the crisis. Increase production, find as much as possible and the paths to growth. Yes. Create, invent, imagine and believe. Mitterrand must adopt a Roosevelt style proposing a New Deal to the French. A policy of major works, relaunching construction and housing. Once his stature as a statesman is no longer in doubt, he can attack Giscard. And local communities. Glued. Pilhan call it inevitability. Giscard Demonstrate that power in the Fifth Republic is not inherently vested in the right. To do this, he advises him to adopt a very specific style. Wise. Non-aggressive Derision. Two months before the election. Everything is in place for the crowning moment of the campaign, prime time TV. Where Mitterrand is often unsuccessful. Good evening Mr. Mitterrand, good evening. This is therefore your first major public and political broadcast as part of the presidential campaign. She is eagerly awaited. Judge this record of the outgoing candidate. I will do it honestly, but as you can imagine, without complacency. If we add up 1000 959 962, Secretary of State, 1000 962 966, Minister of Economy and Finance, then he was dismissed, as you know, by General de Gaulle who was his office there. In turn, Mr. Giscard d'Estaing largely contributed to sending General de Gaulle, you also know that. But finally, we will have the opportunity to talk about it again. And from 1969, recalled to the government in 1974, Minister of the Economy, of Finance and from 1974 to 1981, President of the Republic, responsible for everything, therefore the economy and finances. Mr. Giscard d'Estaing has been responsible for the country's economic affairs for 18 or 19 years . In short, he has seniority over me, I would almost say. I'm more like seven years younger than him. A few minutes before the broadcast, Mitterrand took out of his pocket a card that Kohler and Pilhan had written for him. The guide that the candidate has kept with him for weeks. Wise. Brave. TRUE. Realistic. Tenacious. Keen. Statesman. The tone. Inner peace of the one who is right. Common sense. The contents. Being elementary with talent. Replace numbers and curves with concrete experience. Taking a stand is always a true, interior, contained energy. The majority opinion is for the death penalty. Well, I am a candidate for the presidency of the Republic and I am asking for a majority of votes from the French. But I'm not asking for it. In the secret of my thoughts, I say what I think, what I adhere to, what I believe in, what I relate to. But my spiritual adhesions, my belief, my concern for civilization. I am not in favor of the death penalty. I will. I'm going to ask you. And there, public opinion basically reacts by saying And this one is brave! So I believe that this program is undoubtedly more essential than the debate in the presidential election. I'm actually in the studio, I have a vibration, I'm there, I say Ah! So yes, I think it's a very strong moment, perhaps the strongest of the campaign. In the space of three months, François Mitterrand reversed the trend. He is now leading the voting intentions between the two rounds. The surveys are formal, the chips are down. However, Giscard is convinced that he will defeat Mitterrand in a televised duel. Louis XV did not understand that he was fighting against Roosevelt. If you are elected President of the Republic, you have said that you will form a government. Will this government appear before the National Assembly? Jacques Pilhan observes the victory as a television viewer. For nine months, he has been just an anonymous cog in Séguéla's shadow. Five four, three, two, one. François Mitterrand is elected President of the Republic. Pilhan is amazed by the genius with which Mitterrand has integrated rules of communication that most public figures will never understand. So I say to myself, how did you do it? And I don't dare. I try to get into the reasoning and nothing. So I shorten it a little and then I come across Chevènement who tells me how did you do it? I said. They are. Gave the word. Rebelote. I redo the speech and even the overview. I understand that this doesn't work at all. Operation Roosevelt was a total success because the victory was beautiful. Giscard has his fill of votes on the right and Mitterrand on the left. But Mitterrand massively attracted undecideds and abstainers to his side. Proof that Franka's analysis was correct. 1,200,000 votes separate the two candidates. Collet and Pilhan have no illusions about power. Besides, they are excluded from the party. Mitterrand, entirely focused on his radiant destiny, cannot bear the idea that he owes something to someone. Before leaving Collé makes a point of presenting Pilhan to the new president. Pilon gets him a permanent contract At Séguéla, at least the end of the month is assured. From now on, the production is done without them. The ceremony at the Pantheon is by Jack Lang. Roosevelt is buried. Mitterrand takes on the costumes of Blum and Jaurès. the state of grace lasts only one year. From 1982, the relaunch signed by Pierre Mauroy was shattered by international reality. We are passing the milestone of 2 million unemployed. Inflation is crushing the franc. 1983 Hope gives way to rigor. 1984, the opposition took to the streets to defend private schools. 1 million people parade in Versailles. The president's popularity has plummeted. We could not pass judgment on the benefits or otherwise of this policy, because obviously, there have been lots of successful things, but that is not what we remember. We remember that we have moved on from delirium. The year comes after the night, the light. I don't know if you can imagine the promise. In advertising, we call it over promise. That is, you set the bar so high that you are sure to fail. Mitterrand has become inaudible. Interviews are given as they happen , without real sorting, without strategic vision. Worse than that, the president stoops to interventions that are not his responsibility. The apartment, the building, the house, the square, the tree, the road, the environment, all this represents some of the most fundamental data for the balance of the individual in his natural cells. The more he talks, the deeper he sinks. The idea that we perhaps need to change the mode of expression, or the rhythm or the style, comes a little later, when we are in the depths of public disaffection. Hubert Védrine, former secretary general of the Elysée. So I would say that it starts to be quite important from 83 84. In January 1984, Kohler and Pilhan were summoned to the Elysée. And he said Okay, we're going to work together and first. Do you think we can get out of this? He has. The sky is falling on our heads. What does it mean ? This means that we are immediately hired into the service of the king, that obviously it is not going to be very public, therefore a kind of secret service of His Majesty. Uh. Together. And we're going to get through this. That means all three of us. Mitterrand thought of everything. An office at the Elysée to set up a consulting company that Pilhan must create. It will be so public short Albert Iᵉʳ. A confidential laboratory modeled on the Corrèze model with only one client, the president. Budget without limits. Then we hire fifteen marketing specialists. They bring together small groups of French people every day for qualitative studies which allow them to test the most diverse subjects. It's a poster. Conservative. Conservative. You would say so. Patriotic, paternal. Patriotic, paternal? You would say it, you would say it. She is reassuring, reassuring. These are called qualitative groups which are given a theme but which always cover several and therefore which make it real. It's the image of a sieve in fact, to which we go, with which we sift through piles of stuff and we take out the nuggets, the nuggets that interest us on a given subject. Jacques does too. Facilitator of qualitative groups. Rather than saying good, you see the future, how, etc. Just asking the question makes it projective. How will your children live in ten years or in 20 years? There, we have projectivity. Rather than saying what you think about political news, you tell them public opinion, in your opinion, what they think? And the cross-referencing of all this data still gives a fairly clear meaning. And so we really knew what was going on. What is clear is not that it had an influence. The president could very well decide to ignore it, but he knew he was taking a risk. Thanks to this strategic information, Kohler and Pilhan proposed a communications plan to François Mitterrand. This plan is on one page, of which here is the draft. It's about making a break, defining a communication charter and creating the system. Mitterrand accepted it immediately. This is Operation Jupiter. This plan is in three acts. Act I The replacement of Prime Minister Pierre Mauroy is inevitable. The choice of successor belongs only to the President of the Republic. But the two communicators offer a reading grid to François Mitterrand. A counterpoint was needed. So he was no longer a socialist Prime Minister at all. Lille teaching environment, fertile land of lyrical socialism in meetings. A little red. Sentimental. In contrast, we needed a technocrat. Politicized, certainly, but moderately. Someone who knows how to count. Someone with authority. Someone who is young, ambitious. So. The President of the Republic has just done me the honor of appointing me Prime Minister. It is a tough and very exciting task. Laurent Fabius is seen as an economic expert, an egghead, they say about him. It is therefore important for François Mitterrand to give credibility to the left for the future, economic credibility. And it probably goes through Laurent Fabius. Act two We must then regain control of the speech, control the staging to guarantee the effectiveness of the message. In the only interview that Jacques Pilhan has ever given. The communicator gives some keys to understanding his job. The citizen bombarded with messages lives in the constant noise of the media. As a public figure, if I speak often, I get lost in the media noise. If, on the other hand, I keep quiet for a moment, the desire to hear me. Taking into account the fact that I am, for example, President of the Republic, the attention that people will pay to my words will be considerable. So the first thing we do is to save power in the Word. And attention. You have to create desire and so you batten down the hatches. Overnight, François Mitterrand disappears from the media. the Elysée becomes the castle, a fortress where Pilhan and Kohler take their revenge. The court is kept at a distance. They can reorient the president's communication according to strategic targets. Who are we most devastated by? What is the population where we lost everyone? And this is the thing that seems most glaring to us, is that among farmers, Mitterrand is completely devalued. And so on a trip that was already planned on the calendar. In Auvergne, a farm is added. I decide that when the president visits the farm, he will sit down happily at the table, with the farmer and the farmer's wife to have a bite to eat. And obviously, no one in the room. The security guards are blocking. And so everyone, to his amazement, stays outside. I have you. Sent a telegram. A telegram, so we know. That means three or four ministers, the regional prefect, the department prefect, the mayor. At this point, I bring in a sound recordist cameraman who will set up in a small corner of the kitchen and who will film. Add to that a press photographer and you have your plan. For milk. It happened. At the same time as the Ph. So, it was Ms. Bennett who was an engineering engineer at the time. That, obviously, is 20 hours. We explained to a very studious president how the various workshops on the farm worked. And then we gave him the honor of regional specialties, one of the first qualities of which is, it seems, to be very good export products and. Tearing images for, in any case, farmers. Act three. If from now on the president speaks little, his interventions must be even more controlled. Gérard Collé had a television studio built at the Élysée, a carbon copy of the presidential office. The president can now speak whenever he wants, in less than 20 minutes. I hope that nothing will compromise the recovery which is mobilizing all our forces. The light is softened to limit the president's blinking and give him a more serene face. The head of state reclaims the tricolor flag, now systematically placed behind it. Him and respond properly to the wishes of our people. Collet and Pilhan had a console built for external interventions based on the model of a boat bow. The model is called Jupiter. From now on, the president will only be interviewed by stars whose casting is carried out according to the message to be conveyed. When we saw them arrive at the Elysée, we said to ourselves, what are these Zouaves? What are these cowboys? Because he didn't have the morals and especially the look of what was being done until then. And very quickly, I saw that these were people who had a look, I would say, of an advertising person. But beyond that, a communicator's look. I think it was on this day that we started using this word. We couldn't find a word. They were neither press officers nor publicists. They were communicative and it’s true, they were people who invented a profession. The president no longer responds to requests from journalists. Now it’s the opposite. The broadcasts are organized according to its needs. An interview, even done at the Palace with a particular newspaper in the written press, must have meaning. Otherwise, we don't do it. Example this note dated December 6, 1984 and initialed by the president. The communications plan includes two broadcasts around the holiday period. Before Christmas, opinion is more relaxed. It is therefore positive to address her at this time, provided that your tone and your message correspond to the general mood. We opt for a long explanation. Library predominantly international around December 20. France is, I assure you, the only country that matters and that can act both on the side of Israel and on the side of the Arab countries, without exception. I believe, behind all my comments on foreign policy, to have shown that my concern was the security of France, its greatness, its influence, but also its security in the face of the conflict of the greatest powers. I would also like to deal with the defense of the less advantaged social classes and I would like to talk about it from January , if possible in the first fortnight. After that, I'm not going to speak at such length since July, I think. I'll wait. I don't overuse television. François Mitterrand himself announces the second broadcast planned by the communications plan. Because at the beginning of January, public opinion is moving towards the reality to come. An offensive intervention, tighter, more tonic, is essential. You are in the unpopular polls. Would it be popular? You allow. But it is certain that there is a majority of French people who do not approve of the policy that we are leading and that I am leading. So from there to talking about popularity or unpopularity, wait for the rest. Speaking of next, I am completely ready to tackle this phase and we will see the result. As soon as you provide energy through rarity and density through content, if I dare say so, it's a strike with every shot. Do you you. Would you go as far as going to New Caledonia? Have you been to Lebanon? But yes, madam, I will go to New Caledonia. Can we. Know when. Are you leaving tomorrow? Tomorrow ? Tomorrow ? Tomorrow. Tomorrow. THURSDAY. Tomorrow. THURSDAY. The president's popularity rating is shuddering. No miracle, but no worries either. The work put in place takes place over time, with the legislative elections of 1986 in mind. But there is a dark side to the picture. Good evening, Mr Prime Minister. The youthful image that Laurent Fabius gives off risks making Jupiter look outdated. Mitterrand expresses his annoyance at this young and brilliant Prime Minister. Answer. Answer Oh good? We're going to see who the kid is. So we decide to put together a television show. Who would say I'm super into it. The two friends begin to phosphorus without taboo. First the main points. To hit hard, you need something exceptional. Lead the president to the edge of the precipice, without a parachute, stage the risk live on television. The show is a poker game. The gain or loss will be up to the exceptional stake. Then it's all a question of casting. Kohler and Pilhan are looking for the ideal interviewer who is too cultured, too serious, too nice, too spacey. No, that's too much. You need an iconoclastic star. At the time, Monsieur Télé was Mourousi. Yves Mourousi as the king's fool to prove through the absurd how modern the king is. Will the French find their way there? When Pilhan and Kohler release the president into Mourousi's arms, the die is cast. Some are betting that you will leave in 86. I heard yes. I will not remain inert. You said it recently, I believe, one of my colleagues, I will not remain inert in the coming days. It's one of the indiscretions of life. That's you. Surprised? No, that doesn't surprise me. But if you would not remain inert at the moment when he asks the question, when will you come out of this inertia? We do not elect a President of the Republic so that he is inert, so that he does nothing. And the show goes on and. It works wonderfully. They throw things at each other, Mitterrand invents some, we add. The sixties, the eighties. I would prefer that we speak French, that we say in the 60s, in the 80s. And the new expressions, you know them. Next year, we might find these rascals in the dictionary. But it's the same thing. It’s that it’s good. It's anxiety. It's anxiety. This is quickly understood. When the show ends, the audience is stunned. And Séguéla, who was in the room, rushed at me and said You killed him. I will learn the next day that the audience which had started as an honorable audience for a President of the Republic, went up, up, up, up all evening until, I believe, September 47. That is to say that there was, I could have a cumulative audience I don't know what. We were around 19 million. Moreover 19 million, like the final of the Football World Cup in 1998. The broadcast is such a success that the president's interventions are now expected as a spectacle. The French are becoming addicted to the Mitterrandian show. They knew they were a hit. That's it. Operation Jupiter is beginning to bear fruit. But there will be no time to transform the test before the legislative elections. It is clear that the right led by Jacques Chirac, will win the 1986 elections. From the end of 1985, Kohler and Pilhan refined a new strategy. Transform future cohabitation into a launching pad for Mitterrand's re-election in 1988. It was absolutely. But destroying Chirac is like that. Start there anyway. We will therefore have to be destructive without being seen, because the qualitative studies of Kohler and Pilhan prove that the French desire cohabitation, but at the same time they are afraid of it. To find the right tactic, Pilhan and Kohler dissect the enemy's profile. Where does Chirac come from? Chirac is a Pompidou baby. What was Pompidou called it? My bulldozer. What do you do with a bulldozer? We are not trying to put up walls. We put slush. Jacques Chirac. Appointed Prime Minister, he formed the new government of 21 ministers facing the. Bulldozer Chirac, Pilhan and Kohler invent a third profile for Mitterrand, after Roosevelt then Jupiter. It will simply be God. Protective God above all, who watches men struggle and only intervenes to save them from misfortune. The silence becomes that of the Sphinx. Nothing. Not a word for four months. Chirac rushes forward and begins the privatization process with orders. At the beginning of the summer of 86, Chirac placed the orders on Mitterrand's desk to sign. The president does not have to object. Only the reserved area of foreign affairs and defense requires its agreement. But God is more than a president. God looks after the interests of an entire people. However, Chirac privatizes the banks and big industry. God being moral and conscience, he can decree that it is a matter of national independence. In short, the slush is assured. Pilhan and Kohler refine the staging down to the smallest detail. It will be July 14 at the Elysée, the sacred day of the Republic, with the accomplice of the bad things. Yves Mourousi. Good morning Mister President. Hello Mr Mourousi. Thank you for welcoming us like thousands of French people. I have my card, A very coveted card for the July 14 reception at the Elysée. I am happy to welcome you, especially because in a moment you will represent the millions and millions of viewers who will listen to us and see us. Yes, it already is. Begin. It's already started. The president unleashes lightning. My duty is to ensure national independence, to ensure that the national interest prevails. For me it is a matter of conscience. It’s my conscience for me. My awareness of the national interest comes before all other considerations. Conscience tells you no, I am not signing one. State of affairs. Certainly not. Stupefaction. As if. As if he perceived himself. As if he was carrying out a coup d'état. And the reaction of Chirac who has just had one, as they say in bistros, rushes to the TV, blocks three channels and says This is the message that is being perceived. I just got one. I would like to tell you one thing. I affirm here. And I affirm in conscience. That these concerns are completely unfounded. They are unfounded. Communication problems. Everyone had seen it, but him, in case it had escaped some people, he passed, he passed the donut to the stabilo. Mitterrand is now the great protector of the national interest and Chirac can do nothing more about it. A month later, François Mitterrand hovers at 60% favorable opinions. God manipulating the slush, it works and we haven't seen anything yet. In December 1986, a university reform ignited the powder. Chirac reacts in the old way, as in 68. Banking on the climate of violence to create a legitimist reflex in the country. But on rue Monsieur le Prince, in the corner of a porte cochère, a young man dies from having been beaten too much. The death of Malik Oussekine is of course the opening of the 8 p.m. The emotion is national. However, at the same time, the RPR is celebrating its tenth anniversary and the subject is covered just after. There is the manifestation of concern, of anxiety, particularly among a large number of young people , which we understand and with whom we wish to dialogue and consult. Hoping of course. May this not degenerate into violence that everyone can only condemn and which has already occurred. Too developed. Jacques Toubon may silence Chirac, but it's too late. The effect is disastrous. The day after. Mitterrand then plays his role to the fullest. Only the protective father knows how to say the right words to a grieving family. How did you find the family? Difficult. I will simply say these few words to you. I wanted to bring to this grieving family the testimony of the nation and personally express my sorrow at this great misfortune. Two days later, 1 million young people are on the streets. They are proud of the president. Chirac, totally bogged down, withdraws his reform. Glue. They know that now they just have to manage the God operation while staying up there in the sky. The protective father even wears military fatigues , because the peace of the French is also at stake at the head of the armies. The Franco-German maneuvers were of course staged by the president's two gurus until mid-87. We pushed. I remember that we took our foot off the gas because it was necessary, it was still necessary for Chirac to be the indisputable candidate of the right in 88. We must not devitalize him so that a competitor. Clearly, for 88, if Mitterrand decided to run in 88, he was the ideal opponent candidate. If Mitterrand decides the second phase of the operation, God begins. Of course Mitterrand will run again, but victory will be even more desired by the nation if it feels the fear of heights. Collet and pestle achieve the masterpiece by orchestrating a campaign of supplication. The most prominent stars are mobilized. Way to say that even the stars fear that God will go away. Strategic consequence Coller and Pilhan are forced to imagine a campaign without a declared candidate. The slogan will be the hardest to find. He must maintain the fear of emptiness while insisting that God only has one name, it will be Génération Mitterrand. And when we heard the words, it did. It had the same effect on me when I heard The Quiet Force. I said But wait, it's done. On that. We passed the baby back to Séguéla and he simply had the idea of writing Génération Mitterrand in empty letters on documents. Then, as he had to find something to put behind it and it had to be signed Séguéla, he had a photo taken where he was holding out his hand to his daughter Lola, a child's hand inspired by this famous painting by Michelangelo on the creation of the world where God gives his hand to a man's figure. All right. Absolute ambivalence: God the Father of the Nation or Mitterrand passing the baton. Séguéla for television sets. To reinforce doubt, communication about communication creates a multiplier effect. Mr. President, if you see this poster, tell me if you like it or not. Please! A relative who asks him how it's going then answers him It's too easy. The president is almost invisible. Yet it is everywhere. When Jacques Chirac announced his candidacy on January 16, 1988, he has before him an omnipresent, omnipotent and untouchable media monster. Mitterrand, for his part, will play with the nerves of the French to the extreme limit. Four weeks before the first round, Kohler and Pilhan chose the 8 p.m. plateau, far from the gilding so that God, coming back to earth, announces the deliverance of the Savior. Mr. President, are you running for President of the Republic again? Yes. You have thought carefully. I believe him. We can know when you made this decision, Some 17 in July 87. Others say It was during the end of year holidays. I don't know anything about it myself, as I haven't heard the real plan of any candidate so far , so that would mean that France would be in a huge void. Well, don't worry, I hope they all wake up. In any case, I will help them. But I consider it to be a test, I repeat, that I did not wish for myself. I think everyone will understand me, but I believe it is necessary, Returning to the expression from earlier, someone has to stand up and I will. We released the official slogan United France at the last minute. Medal profile photo. The name of the president is not mentioned. An evidence. François Mitterrand's campaign is ultra short. Three meetings, no more. Finally the President of the Republic. A real ovation awaits François Mitterrand. Collé and Pilhan in the room enjoy their show. The debate between the two rounds is even less useful than that of 1981. Chirac knows he has lost and is limiting the damage. God enjoys his omnipotence. I think that in this area we need to increase the opportunities to get together so that France is strong in a united Europe and a united France in a stronger Europe. I would not neglect the assistance of Mr. Prime Minister when he becomes a politician again, still active without a doubt, but I hope, far from the direction of French politics. Mr Chirac. Don't be so sure of yourself, Mr. Mitterrand. As Prime Minister, I noticed that you had, and it is fair to say it, very real quality. You are not that of impartiality, nor of a sense of justice in the conduct of the State. Let me just tell you that tonight, I am not the Prime Minister and you are not the President of the Republic. We are two equal candidates who submit to the judgment of the French, the only one that counts. Please allow me to call you Monsieur Mitterrand. But you are absolutely right, Mr Prime Minister. François Mitterrand has just been re-elected. With 53.9% of the votes. François Mitterrand, President of the Republic for the second time in his career, what will he do with this power? Will it be grayed out? For. It's not 1981 anymore. Kohler and Pilhan are not fired. They become the gurus of the Republic sitting right behind God. Those who had unceremoniously dismissed them are coming to eat them out of the hand of the whole world. We come to consult these two men who know how to get elected even those who no longer have any chance. At the time, advisors from the White House came to see us in Paris. In this very closed environment, we briefed Gorbachev's advisors in Moscow. We were at a stage where anything was possible. In public. Jacques Pilhan's company is crumbling under demands. Its teams take care of everyone who dreams of power, but also the various presidential whims that need to be taken care of. The CAC 40 bosses are rushing to the door. Being coached by Pilhan and the latest chic. But you have to pay the price. I'm like a psychologist, he said. It has to be expensive. The work of the two gurus changes in nature. The next presidential election is very far away and it will be without Mitterrand. While waiting to find the next king, he created the first structured government communication. And invent what they call media writing. President François Mitterrand named Rocard Prime Minister in 88, not because he ardently desired it, but because public opinion wanted it at a given moment, and public opinion would not understand if he did not do so. So if he ended up never doing it, it would be to his detriment. Well, he does it. To do it. It was decided that we would be advised by both Mitterrand and Rocard. Despite the antipathy, personal strategies diverge, even opposed. With Élysée, Charasse and a few others on the side. It sent Exocets to Matignon and on the other Michel Rocard, the wife of the Prime Minister and what we called his Cub Scouts, that is to say his communications team who sent Exocets to the Elysée. François Mitterrand relays the PS and calls for an effort on low wages. The political world shudders. What a wake-up call for Michel Rocard! There is a break in the air. Pirouette. 48 hours later, from the Prime Minister who thanks the Elysée for having given him a big helping hand on this issue. The Élysée Matignon reports, a way of the cross? Come on then! It's us. We were running from one to the other. And so we were a double agent for three years. And I'm going to tell you a secret, it's one of my prides. I am President of the Republic. Michel Rocard is Prime Minister, who is already very good and consistent with his qualities. The rest is up to him. If, however, the story is benevolent. The game amuses the gurus, it exhausts Rocard. Sometimes even Michel breaks down. We need to cheer him up, get him back in the saddle. The more the president attacks him, the more Michel must declare his love for him. François Mitterrand is a man who has... The thickness and worked daily with him. We get rich. We learn every day. I learn every day. It's a privilege too. So then I'll tell you everything, I want more. Michel Rocard holds the shock and governs. It's very unintentional, but the Prime Minister even has the luxury of being a little more popular than God. The triumph of this strategy culminated in August 1990, when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait. Mitterrand, planetary, lets Rocard govern France. Everyone in their role, everyone in their place. In February 1991, at the end of the war, the team broke all records for favorable opinions with 65%. The right no longer exists. Two months later, the door to the presidential office opens and the usher announces Messrs. Gérard Collet and Jacques Pilhan. At that moment, the president said Rocard, I can't stand him anymore, I don't want to see his face anymore. There is a hiatus problem there. This is where I point out to him But, Mr. President. Everyone will understand that it is for personal reasons. And I don't want to know. Go to your laboratory and test the whole stable on me. We return to our laboratory, we test all the possible prime ministers likely to succeed Michel Rocard with criteria of authority, competence, honesty, etc. etc. There were ten criteria with pluses and minuses. The Bérégovoy total comes at the top of the list plus fifteen in all differentials. The whole list, I mean the whole list. I think there were around twenty or thirty names. Last on the list Edith Cresson. Differential -39. And there, the president says, that's where I'm leaning. They said then we will have to help him. And I say without me. There, the president looks at me like he has never looked before. Certainly to disintegrate on the spot. And tells us that the interview is over. We get up, we go out. I didn't see him again. So that's it. Sixteen years of service erased with a single glance. For Gérard Collet, the appointment of Cresson betrays a deadly impulse. God knowingly breaks his toy and Kohler can't stand it. You're doing the stupid thing of your life, Pilhan told him, very angry. The two of them are over. The pounding guru stays with God and he knows that the worst is to come. Because what was announced is happening. Edith Cresson drags François Mitterrand into his fall. In seven months, it went from 65 to 31% favorable opinions. Pilon manages all comers, but only sets two major goals: finding the next president and finishing the job with God by making him part of big history. It will be Europe, the single currency. The referendum on the Maastricht Treaty. To motivate the French for the Maastricht referendum. The government is pulling out all the stops. In the year 2000, we will look stupid for asking this question. I want to see that before I'm too old. I will finally be able to work in Italy. My dream ? I don't agree. No, no, I'm kidding. And you, what do you think about it? He agree ? Blissful optimism signed Séguéla. The first polls predict a landslide victory for the yes side. But when, out of conscience, Pilhan seeks to measure the impact of the campaign, he understands that he is leading Mitterrand to disaster. I remember this period very well because as general secretary, I received all the surveys and everyone. I saw Pilhan all the time. And it appears at the beginning of summer quite quickly than the classic European campaigns. Europe is peace, it is the future, it is youth and modernity have no effect, no effect. People don't care and they feel like they're being taken for idiots. If we tell them that, they think it's not the point. Worse than that. Jacques Pilhan journals the debate. When we asked people , are you personally going to benefit or are you going to suffer from Maastricht? Nearly 80% answered I will suffer. Jacques Pilhan succeeds in convincing the Elysée that it is necessary to immediately change the method of campaigning. We arrive at a formula which is a strong Europe which will protect better. For the first time in his life, Jacques Pilhan is piloting a change of strategy in real time, in an emergency, with fire in the house. Operating mode. A live show, of course. Amphitheater which. It's called The Room. Architects. You know that show. Is a marathon show even bigger , even longer, even riskier than the previous ones. Let's go there for 3 hours against the French. The president of the Republic. Mitterrand, already seriously affected by cancer, will only have one accomplice, Guillaume Durand, the Mourousi of the 90s . Because he's not the one. Mission to reassure by hammering home the theme of protective Europe in front of 23 million viewers. The Treaty of Maastricht or European Union was planned by us, especially by Helmut Kohl, by Jacques Delors and by myself. In order to organize this market, in order to protect our countries and for me, to protect the French against the fact that there will no longer be borders. And yet there must be common laws , there must be regulation, there must be protection. The Maastricht Treaty is a protection treaty to implement the market without borders. You want a Union? And already there is no cohesion at the start. How are things at your place ? I spend my time seeing that within Europe as elsewhere, there is always someone who does what, someone who does not agree. There is always someone who is against it. Through patience, tenacity, friendship where appropriate, and why not love in a home, we still get there, we still get there in a couple. Anyway, listen, I hope you say. It is probable that the use of this slightly different political line has moved two points and. I think we can give the first estimate of the result. France would say yes to Europe 51%. The result is therefore very tight. We're going to be tonight. Pilhan narrowly saved God's great European design and what's more, he discovered the secret of the next presidential election. The winner will be the one who convinces a country in total rupture. As we dug deeper, we realized that the representation of elites had changed in France and that they were seen as working in their own interest, to the detriment of the general interest. The theme of social divide is not far away. All these instruments prove to him that the game is lost for the socialists. You will see the figures for the winner of this election appear: 93,482 seats out of 577. It's huge! The Socialist Party. Obtains the biggest defeat of the socialists in the 20th century, making the victory of a left-wing presidential candidate two years later impossible. And yet, he knows that the confrontation will be as binary as in 1981. On one side, the living forces and the change. On the other, the law of money and continuity. Then we understand that this need for dynamic forces and change can only be embodied by a right-wing candidate. He is preparing for the biggest poker game of his life. It's already been a year since Jacques Pilhan met Claude Chirac, 30 years old, Jacques' daughter. She has taken up a considerable position with her father at Paris town hall and manages all his communications. Pilon is positively impressed by the young woman. Since advising the big bosses of the CAC 40, he has learned to overcome his hatred of people on the right. From now on, he observes the game on the right as he observed that of the left in 1981. And now the story begins to stutter. From the beginning of cohabitation, Chirac appeared archaic in the face of Balladur, the most popular prime minister François Mitterrand ever had. Then we return to our laboratory. He commissioned a series of qualitative studies on the chances of future candidates. Fish, markets. Markets and street markets. Aubry So there! What she. Do ? What are social workers? We had seen long before that Balladur was going to fail. I mean he was. He was strong, He wasn't even possible. And of course, can you imagine the strength that Jacques could have had by having this information? While the whole world said the opposite. I told him but hey, left there, your person in your stables because the only one who has hair on his legs is Chirac. And even people on the left will vote for him because there is no such thing. There's no one else. Basically, among the possible presidential candidates. But it was obvious, I tell you. I was almost shocked. Jacques Pilhan, he informed Mitterrand. Nobody knows. The only certainty is that Pilhan will change and the void he has felt since Kohler's departure will be filled. Claude Chirac confirms Pilhan took me under his wing a little. And this is how the man who destroyed his father in 86 will mutate until he becomes the man who rebuilds him using all the recipes that made Mitterrand win all winter 93 94. Jacques Chirac secretly goes to the premises of Temps Audience. This is phase one of the Pilon method, working as much on the enemy as on the client, until giving a precise role to each. For Balladur, it's easy. If Giscard was Louis XV, Balladur is Louis XVI. Well mannered, but pretentious. Intelligent but treacherous. Manipulator. All the polling institutes which question the French present you as the French people's dream representative. In the event of a presidential election, are you thinking about it? No, no, of course. Balladur is rich and more aristocratic. He is the man of gilding far from the people. Soon Plantu caricatures him in a sedan chair. His popularity in the polls is a sham. Balladur is appreciated as prime minister. He is not wanted as president. It's a 2 and a half hour walk, not great. Today was a day to go eat fries at Col de Balme with his parents. For Pilhan, Chirac must start by blurring his faults. We must get him off the bulldozer, prevent him from charging headlong. Even if Chirac dreams of settling his score with Balladur, Pilhan convinces him not to do anything about it. He must support him. Those who are worried about the idea that discord could arise between Edouard Balladur and me can be completely reassured. And those who rejoice in it or would rejoice in it, Well, I tell you, they will be disappointed. Chirac to take on a role that contrasts with Balladur. Proposing a radiant alternative is point two of the method of transforming weaknesses into strength. If Chirac has been on the sidelines for months, it is not because he is lost, it is because he has listened to the country. No no. How are you. Chirac is not a bulldozer, he is an intellectual that everyone ignores. To prove it, Chapter three of the method A good direct shot, without a net, where you don't expect it. And so in March 1994, Jacques Chirac put on these new clothes of a man of knowledge and wisdom at Michel Field. Jacques Chirac, you are here to tell us about the interest. That you bring to Taino art, since there is an exhibition. On. Techno sculptures, the masterpieces of the pre-Columbian Greater Antilles. Where does this sort of attraction for this area of culture come from? It's very old. Since I was a child, I have been attracted to both the arts of the Far East and those of the pre-Columbian period, wise and serene. Inner peace, a historical and political vision, doesn’t that remind you of anything? We did not consider the fate of those who suffered the shock of the arrival of the conquistadors and who were the victims of one of the greatest genocides in the world. So it was still interesting to try to bring back from nothingness, from oblivion, more precisely, a civilization which had founded its myths to create beauty, which had invented all kinds of expressions to which our sensitivity modern is sensitive and which had, in barely 30 years, disappeared. It is a fairly forgotten recognition, quite excluded from our culture, that we wanted to make. Skyrock has gained ground. Chirac has gained height. Chirac has changed. The rumor begins to spread. Now it is destiny that forces its hand. July 1994. François Mitterrand undergoes a second operation for his prostate cancer. When he leaves the hospital, he learns that the Balladurs have prepared an early presidential election, which amounts to speculation about his death. Mad with rage, he gives Pilhan carte blanche. For now, it’s a period of decline. I wouldn't want it to last too long, eh, I'm not disabled. See you soon. The incredible Elysée operation to support Chirac is launched. For two weeks, Claude Chirac and Jacques Pilhan fine-tuned all the details. It will be the Town Hall on August 25, 1994. There we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of Paris. The president is invited. The Prime Minister will be totally humiliated there. To begin with, God lends his Jupiterian desk to Jacques Chirac. And the dignity that we led the resistance fighters and the soldiers of Free France together. Their commitment was more than a commitment to serving our country. Jacques Chirac, of whom we. Will remember again. The call for the unity of the French, following the example of what happened during the Resistance. Cinema tracking, star lighting, nothing has been neglected. Mr. Mitterrand and Mr. Chirac will now go to the office of the mayor of Paris. A superb desk that you will discover in a few seconds to sign a book which is not exactly a guest book. This is a great first. It will be the fiftieth anniversary book which will be signed, initialed first by the President of the Republic, then by Mr Chirac, then by all the members of the honorary committee and all the resistance fighters. It will be a book of remembrance, a book of memory. The Cinquantenaire book is of course an invention of Jacques Pilhan. Claude Chirac bought it the same morning at BHV. All this is just an excuse to leave Balladur in the carafe with the small fry. By Georges Pompidou. There are two screens of General de Gaulle, that of May 14, 66 and that of June 18, 59. Signature of the President of the Republic. On August 25, 1994, God voted for Chirac in Matignon. To this. In the fall of 1994, the nail was struck. Chirac brings out a book of thoughts so well done that it seems normal. At the heart of the reflections, the social divide that Pilhan had identified in the Maastricht referendum and which we dress up in the analyzes of demographer Emmanuel Todd. Chapter Five of the Method. The announcement of the candidacy creates the difference. On November 4, 1994, it was through a simple article published in La Voix du Nord that Chirac declared himself a candidate. But the appearance of a man who brings change since he himself has changed without saying it, by showing it. But be careful, with the slightest misstep, the bad image will resurface. The discrepancy with Balladur becomes caricatured when the Prime Minister makes his announcement under the gilding of Matignon. I said, when taking office as Prime Minister, that I wanted to devote myself exclusively to the recovery of the country and keep silent about everything else. Until the beginning of 1995. I kept my commitment. Today, French people have the right to know the choice they will have to make. It is to them that I must announce my intentions. I have decided to present my candidacy for the presidency of the Republic. At the start of winter, that's it, it's shivering. Chirac's popularity rating has risen significantly. It remains to be won. THE. Chapter Six. It is obviously the danger of live broadcasts which reveals the great man. I would like someone from the depths of their screen. In the role of Pilhan. Claude Chirac progressively makes the difference. In addition, Optic 2000 offers you two pairs for the price of half. Seven out of seven with Jacques Chirac. Do these good surveys make you dizzy or break out in a cold sweat when things aren't going so well? I went through a period where the polls for me were bad. You will have observed that it did not impress me. I mean, it didn't lead me to change my behavior or my campaign. Today they are better. It doesn't have any more effect on me. Wise, serene. He really knows the French. As you know, I have been on the ground a lot and I realized that the situation in France was in reality more serious, more serious, that the social divide was stronger than what we thought or what it was said, particularly in political or managerial circles in Paris. I ended this 93 campaign with the conviction that it was necessary to make a real fundamental diagnosis which required going to see the French, to better understand their problems, to make a real investment to understand. They are really interested in the studies done on the subject. And then I point out Adil's book called A Season in the Suburbs. That's very remarkable. It's a book from the suburbs, published by Plon and which explains what is happening in what he calls invisible France. It's very remarkable. Precisely, it is. Well, this justifies that here too, another, completely different policy is needed. And this diagnosis is completely correct. I met him on the ground and everywhere I went in these difficult suburbs. A faultless one. A month later, on the evening of the first round, Pilhan and his accomplice Claude Chirac won. Jacques Chirac totals 20.8%, Edouard Balladur only 18.1 for the third time. The media writing imagined by the gurus of the Elysée transformed the improbable into possible, then the possible into victory. Jacques Chirac 52% of the votes cast today Lionel Jospin 48% of the votes cast. Jospin, having begun his right to inventory Mitterrandism, had rejected Pilhan. On the day of his inauguration, Chirac showed true affection for Mitterrand. Exchange a few more words, then a final, warm handshake. Without doubt Pilhan's greatest victory. The old president can make history. Claude Chirac takes an office at the Elysée. She chose the one occupied by Gérard Kohler. Jacques Pilhan falls seriously ill. Cancer took him away on June 28, 1998. He entered the legend as the man who made two presidents with his friend Gérard Collet. They invented a profession that the Anglo-Saxons call spin doctor and created techniques now called storytelling. Their genius for media writing was based above all on an incredibly detailed knowledge of reality. Gérard Collomb continues to advise a few hand-picked clients.