Jean-Christophe Mitterrand

This is the untold story behind History, a well-kept secret behind the world-wide icon: Nelson Mandela's release was a Plot for Peace. For the first time, heads of state, generals, diplomats, master spies and anti-apartheid fighters reveal how Africa's front line states helped end apartheid. Their improbable key to Mandela's prison cell was a mysterious French businessman, dubbed "Monsieur Jacques" in classified correspondence. His trade secret was trust

Twenty years after his death, François Mitterrand remains an enigma. Never before has a French politician generated so much contradictory comments, both during his lifetime and after his death. Beyond his political career, his complex and mysterious personality continues to fascinate. To lift a corner of the veil, Jean-Christophe and Gilbert Mitterrand and Mazarine Pingeot agreed to share some private memories of their father. By leafing through François Mitterrand's photographic albums, it is possible to reconstruct his personal journey, from his childhood years through to his life with Anne Pingeot and his daughter Mazarine.

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In the summer of 1963, François Mitterrand was going through a deep existential crisis. His political career was at a standstill and, after 19 years of marriage, the couple had grown apart. It was at this point that François Mitterrand met the woman who was to give new meaning to his life. Anne Pingeot, aged 19, was to become the companion of a lifetime, a woman who would be with him throughout his rise to power and who would remain by his side until his last breath. For the first time, Anne Pingeot has agreed to allow the fragments of this passionate love story — hundreds of letters and a diary — to be shown on television, before being donated to the National Library.