Françoise Hardy: “I would like Thomas to know the happiness of being a parent”

Judged lost by medicine in 2015, it comes back from a distance. The love of his family was stronger than death. She has made a book that has already sold 40,000 copies. But there remain to Françoise so many beautiful things to say again, especially to her son Thomas …

“But you are like all journalists! You do not listen to what you are told! The reception on the doorstep is frontal. Despite its indications to the intercom, we took a staircase of service, instead of the elevator opening on the landing of his Parisian apartment. She will forgive us, on reading this paper, for having done it on purpose. History of engaging in conversation. Not easy to introduce to Francoise Hardy, icon of the French song, consultant of the stars and of the beyond. Miraculous, all right. Weakened by her cancer of the lymphatic system, discovered in 2004, the singer entered the hospital in March 2015. Poor configurations of the stars. As she takes a shower in her room, she loses balance and falls. Assessment: multiple fractures and, following the shock, a pulmonary edema that plunges it into a state of unconsciousness. During his long sleep, his crab remains very vivacious, bruising flesh and dreams. Revenged from the dead, thanks to “chemotherapy of the last chance” accepted by Jacques Dutronc and their son Thomas, Françoise began to write. Released in early November, his book A gift from heaven … (editions of the Equator) tells his slow resurrection. Facing us, the tortured has lost nothing of her grace. His extreme rightness fascinates. His tender impulses move. She looks at you with her blue-gray eyes, then, several times, scrutinizes the azure. She is different, she is elsewhere. But not so elusive …
Gala: You wrote a godsend … to understand what happened during your hospitalization. Why do you encumber these memories?
FH: It was not really a desire on my part. I was told things gradually. In the evening, alone in my hospital room, I felt terribly distressed. Although stupefied by morphine, I measured the extent of the disaster, not quite knowing why I could no longer use my right arm, nor walk. Later I learned that my end had been announced to James and Thomas. To know that I had inflicted such a shock on them, in spite of myself, upset me. I tried to understand why I was still there, when all the doctors had thought me lost.
Gala: Long, you’ve been a lover in waiting. Are you still sensitive to the affectionate testimonies of your loved ones?
FH: If I stay too long without news of Thomas, I am a little concerned. Idem for Jacques, with whom I communicate especially by mails. His own, often amusing, are obviously very brief. You remind me moreover that he has not given me a sign of life for a little while, I will have to show myself. Especially since I recently came across a pretty picture of us, young, that I had never seen and that I would like to send to him. In general, I do not write to be answered. With Jacques and Thomas, it’s a little different. When Thomas is up and down, I use the Internet to geolocate it! (Laughs) I do not want to bother him. When he is in Paris and does not answer an SMS, there, on the other hand, I begin to ask questions … (Laughs)
Gala: In your book, you are very touching about the embarrassment you experience, while Thomas is attending one of your rehabilitation sessions. Is it important for you to remain an ideal mother in her eyes?
FH: I would have preferred to avoid this situation. Jacques has often told me that Thomas is very sensitive and I think so too. Perhaps he rejoiced at this light weight better than my physiotherapist wanted to expose him. Personally, I was not sure that it was tears of joy, when I saw his eyes fog. I was angry with him for inflicting the sad spectacle of a sick mother, all twisted, barely able to stand. Thomas may read my book when I am no longer there. For now, he works and he really does not need to relive the trials I’ve made him through.
Gala: Thomas is no longer a little boy …
FH: I may be exaggerating its vulnerability. Thomas emancipated himself very early. But for me, he has no age. And with all that we have experienced …
Gala: You never mention your disappearance?
FH: I wrote the title So many beautiful things , which I hear often, after my diagnosis of lymphoma, there are more than ten years. At the time, Thomas was already afraid of losing his grandfather whom he adored. As we celebrated my birthday and that of a friend, at the restaurant, he got up from the table. Our friend, seated opposite him, told me that he had isolated himself to weep. Her grief disturbed me to the point of inspiring me the text So many beautiful things , the next day. This song made Jacques cry. Imagine the pride I get from it! (Laughter)
Gala: You feel worried about Thomas’s ability to mourn …
FH: He almost apologized for having agreed with his father, the oncologist manages chemo my last chance. I can still hear him say, “I knew you were dreaming of dying in your sleep, but the doctor talked about the possibility that you would get better with this treatment. We could not refuse. Thomas is surrounded by friends. But I would like so much that he knows in his turn the happiness of being a parent …