For viewers, seeing Sidaction every year is a habit, even an obvious one. However, Line Renaud, who is at the origin, received garbage letters, when she decided, thirty-five years ago, to get involved in the fight against AIDS.
“Thank you Line” This is the title of the program broadcast on France 2 this Saturday March 27 at 9:05 p.m. It is not the artist but the vice-president of Sidaction who will be in the spotlight. Pascal Obispo, Julien Clerc, Patrick Bruel, but also international stars like Elton John and Sharon Stone will pay tribute to Line Renaud for its unwavering commitment to the fight against AIDS. Honors deserved because she is the first French celebrity to have publicized this disease of which she saw the ravages in the United States. « Without Line, Sidaction wouldn’t exist and many research programs could not have been carried out ”, ensures in the columns of Parisian this Saturday March 27 the president of Sidaction Françoise Barré-Sinoussi, Nobel Prize for the discovery of HIV.
The annual show of France 2 was recorded at the Paradis Latin, the place where it all began at the end of 1985. Dalida, Raymond Devos, Nana Mouskouri or Thierry Le Luron… All the stars of the time were around Line Renaud, then under the fire of criticism sensed by actress Elizabeth Taylor, who had launched a similar operation in the United States. “You don’t know what you’re getting into, you will receive insulting letters, Liz Taylor warned me. And I received some, but I answered and I explained what AIDS was », remembers Line Renaud in The Parisian.
It was at the time of transforming this gala of the Association of artists against AIDS into a major televised operation, involving all the channels that Line Renaud drew the wrath of her detractors. « It was not easy. I was hated by the public. I was told: ‘Let them die!’ », had she already confided in 2020 in the columns of Figaro. But saving the sick was far more important to her than her popularity. « It has become my reason for being. I think it was meant for me, I’m a diehard and I love people ”, she analyzes in The Parisian.
92 years old and still engaged
In thirty-five years, many battles have been won, but the fight is not over. And Line Renaud, who recently recovered from a stroke, does not intend to abandon it, even if the couturier Jean-Paul Gaultier is now fighting alongside him as an ambassador. “She calls me regularly to find out where we are, the progress of research, the problems we are encountering. She is 92, she could be quiet. But no, it is she who calls us and argues us repeating: ‘Call me if you need, vYou ask me and I do ‘ », reveals in the daily newspaper the president of Sidaction Françoise Barré-Sinoussi.
” I see her always so generous with people affected by HIV. Line takes time with people, there is emotion on both sides during these meetings. And she is faithful. Some patients she worked with sometimes in the 1980s or 1990s tell me that Line recognizes them ”, confirms with the newspaper the general manager of Sidaction Florence Thune. « This is the cause of my life and I will be until the end so that we can find », Launches Line Renaud in The Parisian. According to the newspaper, she has created a research endowment fund that will ensure that her legacy goes to the benefit of researchers. One way for her to be sure that her fight against AIDS will continue, even after death.
Article written in collaboration with 6Medias
Photo credits: Cyril Moreau – Coadic Guirec / Bestimage
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