Although the former journalist has organized everything, he admitted that taking the last pill would not be easy.
“You have to take the last pill yourself. This gesture, it’s easy to say ‘I’ll do it’ when I’m at the seaside in Carnac. When someone hands you the pill and tells you that two minutes later you’ll be dead, it’s not that simple. But in any case, everything is ready, ”he explains.
In the interview granted to L’EquipeBiétry recounted how Charcot’s disease progressed and affected muscles and respiratory system. He said the stages of the disease were well known, with a progressive paralysis of lower and upper limbsfollowed by a damage to the throat and larynx, then some lungs. He explained that he was at this stage of the disease and that he knew he didn’t have much time left to live.
Biétry also mentioned his sports routine, which he continues to practice despite the advice of his doctors. He explained that the sport allowed him to keep spirits up and resist sickness for a while, but he knew it mightn’t last forever. He told how, before the disease was diagnosed, he was doing everything to rebuild the muscles that were leaving, which had delayed the onset of disease symptoms (source 1).
The former flagship journalist for Canal+ has marked the world of sport and the media over the past 50 years, having revolutionized the relationship between football and television. He is also known to have been a reporter for AFP during the Munich Olympics in 1972, where he exclusively revealed the details of the deaths of several Israeli athletes.
Biétry’s interview took place days following French President Emmanuel Macron announced an end-of-life bill, scheduled for the end of the summer. This announcement has reignited the debate on the right to a dignified end of life for people with incurable diseases, such as Charcot’s disease.
