JUDGES JUMP ON THE DELON BIOGRAPHY THAT NEVER WAS

from Roger Faligot

PARIS

The alarm bells began ringing in earnest when the Paris courts, not content with ordering the withdrawal of books already published, slapped a ban on a book that had yet to be written. The book, an unauthorised biography of Alain Delon, the colourful film star, existed only in the form of an 18-page synopsis submitted by Bernard Violet, the author, to Grasset, the Paris publishing house.

French laws on delving into private lives are notoriously strict. Delon himself, about whom scurrilous stories have circulated on the Paris gossip network going back to the era of Georges Pompidou's presidency in the 1960s, is especially protective of his privacy. No biography exists of the actor, whose fame in France compares with that of Brigitte Bardot or Gérard Depardieu. As soon as Delon, 62, became aware of the existence of the project his lawyers were dispatched to court. On 5 August they readily obtained an injunction to prevent the book or the synopsis being published on pain of a Ffr30,000 ($5,040) fine for each infringement, pending a full hearing on 14 October.
Traditionally in the case of an unauthorised biography which could include libellous assertions or details of the subject's private life, the person concerned can apply for an injunction when the book is published to prevent it from being distributed pending a later court hearing on the contents.

This happened last September, when two journalists made unproven allegations that François Léotard, the former leader of the Union de la Démocratie Française (UDF), was implicated in the murder of Yann Piat, a national assembly deputy. The book was pulped and the authors hit with huge fines.
But an injuction against a non-existent book is unprecedented since the days of the monarchy before the French Revolution, when authors were regulary sent to the Bastille. Violet's recent biographies on Jacques Cousteau, on the terrorist Carlos and on the collaborator Maurice Papon have been praised as serious investigative works and attracted a wide readership.

More fuel was then added to the fire. By Coincidence the actor Helmut Berger, who is publishing his memories, gave an interview to Stern magazine which revealed details of his long-lasting affair with Luchino Visconti, the film director. Delon's name came into the interview.
More seriously, the French weekly magazine Marianne, which specialises in investigations, obtained and published the Delon lawyers'statement and the text of the court injunction. "Delon wanted to use the law to prevent a book being written; we are now able to let the public know what nhe is hiding", said Jean-François Kahn, the editor of Marianne.

French law stipulates that publishing documents produced before a court is permissible. Delon's lawyers failed on 20 August to obtain a second injunction, this time to have the issue withdrawn and destroyed.
Violet is suing his publishers for breach of confidentiality after learning theat his editor at Grasset, Laure Adler, a former television producer and adviser to the late president, François Mitterand, had leaked the synopsis to Delon.
There is no doubt that a biography of Delon would be eagerly awaited. His encounters with Mémé Guérini and Gaetan Zampa, who were notorious Marseille gang bosses, and the knowledge he gained of their milieu, are said to have helped him portray similar charcters in films such as Le Cercle Rouge ( The Red Circle). Delon's relationship with the actress Romy Schneider has already been discussed in books published in Germany and his friendships with stars and directors such as Visconti, whose film Rocco and His Brothers made the young Delon famous in the 1950s, would attract a large readership.

But the key to everything would be if Violet shed new light on the so-called "Markovic scandal" which entrammelled the French prime minister, Georges Pompidou, and almost stopped him becoming president in 1969. Markovic was a Yugoslav with a criminal record who acted as Delon's secretary until he was found murdered. Writers and journalists are becoming seriously concerned at what they see as censorship and intimidation by the courts: the Delon ruling was the fifth time in recent months that judges have intervened. Prominent authors and journalists are now launching a petition in support of Violet.

The EUROPEAN 24 August 1998
copyright Roger Faligot