When Thierry Ardisson recounted his memories of his youth in Nice

He was sometimes presented as the king of provocation. A title that this staunch legitimist, a great guru of the cathode religion, never denied. But before imposing his dark glasses on our sleepless nights, even before inventing inspired advertising slogans (" There are no two of them" for Lapeyre, that was him!), little Thierry spent his holidays in his family's melting pot. Where he always " felt at home" ... without ever having lived there full-time.

In April 2011, he gave us an exclusive interview in which, for the first time, he looked back on his early years.

Ardisson, is that a southern name?

It comes from the Latin Ardus Sonus , which can be translated as "loud voice" or "big mouth" ! It's a cross-border surname: there are many "Ardissone" in Italy and "Ardisson" in the Alpes-Maritimes. In Cannes, around the church of Le Suquet, we find the Ardissons district. In the parish archives, my grandfather found traces of Ardisson established since the 15th century! Between Antibes and Juan-les-Pins, there is also a rue des Ardisson. In Cannes, too.

Your parents…

My mother, Renée Gastinel, was born in Nice, on rue Gioffredo. My father, Victor, was born in Saint-Laurent-du-Var, but grew up in Golfe-Juan, where he met my mother. Victor worked in construction. After the war, my parents were forced to move abroad to live wherever there was work: the tunnel under Mont Blanc, the Southern motorway, etc. They moved every two or three years, as construction sites came along. That's how I was born, completely by chance, in the Creuse!

"The Lost Paradise of the Uprooted"

What did Nice represent for you and your family?

Something like Paradise Lost for the uprooted. Nice was a landmark, the only place where we had roots. There was a cult of the South among the Ardissons. On Sundays, at the end of lunch, my father would play us all the scenes from Pagnol's films! When I saw them, I felt like I knew them by heart.

Did you come to Nice often?

Until I was 14, every year. That's probably why I feel at home there. My godfather, my father's first cousin, lived across the street from the Riquier train station. It was very beautiful, with the observatory you could see on the mountain. My mother's aunt lived on the Californie. It was much less built-up than it is today. She was the caretaker of a very beautiful villa, an exact copy of the Petit Trianon at Versailles, and her house alone was already a palace for me. The park was magnificent, palm trees, succulents, fountains, statues... I will never forget this temple of Nevermore!

Subsequently, your career often brought you back to the region...

Yes. After my baccalaureate, at 16, I had my first job as a disc jockey, in Juan-les-Pins, at the Whisky-à-Gogo . Then shows in Cannes, Saint-Tropez… My mother lives in Bormes-les-Mimosas.

Have you ever thought about moving to Nice?

No. And even less so today than yesterday, when I see what the Côte d'Azur has become! The coastline has been literally massacred by construction. Even though, of course, there are still some sublime places in the old town...