One of France’s most recognisable figures, the businessman, sports club owner and politician Bernard Tapie, has died at the age of 78.
Tapie, who had battled stomach cancer for the past four years, died peacefully, surrounded by his family, they said in a statement. The businessman had known victory as well as ruin, success and jail time. His glibness had propelled him to the heights of sport and politics. The tireless hitter has given up the fight.
At one time he owned Adidas, Olympique Marseille and was a minister under President Francois Mitterrand.
He also had a string of legal problems and served time in jail.
Tapie’s wife Dominique and his family announced his death with “immense sadness”. They said he wished to be buried in Marseille, “the city of his heart”.
President Emmanuel Macron was among the many to pay tribute to him, saying his “ambition, energy and enthusiasm… were a source of inspiration for generations of French people”.
Every morning, I wake up with the desire to beat the crap out of my cancer. Emaciated, thinning hair, the once thunderous tone reduced to a thin thread of voice, Bernard Tapie had delivered in recent years one of his final roles. Even when he had been the victim of a very violent attack at his home a few months ago, he had not lowered his head.
“Dominique Tapie and her children have the infinite pain to announce the death of her husband and their father, Bernard Tapie, this Sunday, October 3 at 8:40 a.m., as a result of cancer,” announced his family in a statement. “He left peacefully, surrounded by his wife, children, grandchildren and brother, present at his bedside.”
