Ghislain Delaval gives the floor to four experts who decipher the subtle art of the manufacture of the presidential image.
by Alain Constant
Making a presidential image is a delicate art. How to “do” president and at the same time appear close to people? For the tenant of the Elysée, the balance is fragile: to expose himself too much is to take the risk of breaking his image. But not to expose themselves enough, it is too much to stay in the shadows.
This unprecedented documentary makes four witnesses speak. The experienced photographers Jean-Claude Coutausse (collaborator of the world) and Sébastien Calvet, the former boss of Paris Match Alain Genestar and Marc Brincourt, a connoisseur of the weekly archives where 15 million shots are gathered.
All tell how the various presidents of the V e republic learned to play with the photographers. “Between photojournalistic and communication, the difference, it is the sponsor!”, Recalls Jean-Claude Coutausse, before adding: “Disobedience is one of the main qualities of the photojournalist”.
disobeying sometimes means just not following the pack of colleagues, place yourself, alone, in an unexpected location. “In the photos of Sébastien Calvet, we often see the other photographers. He took a step aside,” said Alain Genestar. Symbol of this side step: the amazing photo of candidate François Hollande in Tulle on the evening of the first round of the 2012 presidential election, jumping from the gallery and seized by theft by Calvet.
unusual unusual posture
The traditional official photo of the president is an obligatory exercise which leaves little room for unbridled creativity. Even if the lucky man chooses his portrait painter (Jacques-Henri Lartigue for Giscard, Gisèle Freund for Mitterrand, Bettina Rheims for Chirac, Philippe Warrin for Sarkozy, Raymond Depardon for Hollande, Soazig de la Moissonnière for Macron), the end result, that The photo is taken in the gardens or in the Library of the Elysée, is rarely surprising.
But surprise the head of state in an unusual posture is an exercise that sometimes leads to photos rooted in collective memory. So asleep chirac in a long-haul flight, covered eyes, hands on the stomach and elongated legs; or Sarkozy crossing the steps of the Elysée in shorts after a jogging.
How to avoid falling into the trap of outright communication? “It was not Sarkozy who invented the presidential photo People, it’s Pompidou”, recalls Alain Genestar. Staging his wife Claude, being photographed at the wheel of his car in the countryside, on a boat off Brégançon (Var) or shrimp fishing on a Breton beach, Pompidou was the first to really understand how to play with his image.
After him, Giscard, elected at 48, will try to give a more modern presidential image, with mixed results. Mitterrand will be able to play with photographers, Chirac too. Sarkozy will try the Kennedy card at the beginning, highlighting his wife Cécilia.
In 2014, three years before his election, Emmanuel Macron, young Minister of the Economy, appeared holding the arm of Michel Sapin (Minister of Finance and Public Accounts). The symbolism is strong: it is him, Macron, who directs. “Political photo is bringing the personality back as close as possible to people,” said Marc Brincourt. It is also to show his strength.