To enter the office of Michel Montana was to face the dilapidated facade of the newspaper The Marseillaise Cours d’Estienne d’Orves, the dressing room where the receptionist greeted you while wolfing down a sandwich and then going upstairs following the steps of a staircase where the tommettes had lived. The host of the place precedes you and praises the Henri Salvador prize, just out of the hands of an artist, who sits on his desk then evokes the show which will enamel the competition that year. ” You will enjoy the images on TV. It’s gonna be awful “. The one who young sold at the CriéeThe Marseillaise was also a king of com.
- Michel Montana at his Mondial la Marseillaise à pétanque © Philippe Maillé
Pagnolesque, singer, communist, showman
Director of external relations for the newspaper La Marseillaise and president of the Mondial la Marseillaise à pétanque, his office does not resemble that of a CEO. It offers a merry mess. The walls, a bit faded, are lined with photos like in a restaurant accustomed to welcoming stars at its table. Pagnolesque, singer, communist, showman the decor is in the image of Michel Montana: eclectic. It gives an idea of the importance of the character. Michel Montana smiles with Alain Delon, François Pinault, Eddie Barclay, Henri Salvador or even Nicolas Sarkozy. We also find him with the director of the Cuban Communist Party daily Granma, the Italian Communist Enrico Berlinguer, the former Communist deputy Guy Hermier or the presenter Yves Mourousi. Without forgetting the elected officials and financiers: the mayor of Marseille Jean-Claude Gaudin, the president of the general council Jean-Noël Guérini and the president of the regional council Michel Vauzelle. Well ahead also the lawyer Paul Lombard who gives him the Legion of Honor. Each photo was worth a comment and the man with suspenders showed great pride in having rubbed shoulders with these characters.
Self made man
Michel Montana is an assumed name. He was born Tordjmann. Montana is for showbiz as was Montand. Born in Algeria in 1931, he moved to Marseille with his parents before the war. Sephardic Jews, the family narrowly escapes a roundup and is in hiding during the conflict. Michel gives up on studies and barely masters the language of Molière. He joined the Communist Party like many Marseilles from working-class neighborhoods. He sells and advertises “La Marseillaise” during the week. On weekends, he sings in cabarets. Try to break into Paris. The war in Algeria catches up with him. He was mobilized for three years and then returned to the department of the newspaper. A Stalinist, he above all has a sense of commerce and interpersonal skills. To finance the newspaper he will seek the money where there is some. He frequents the bosses and the financial world. He would have been as comfortable with Castro as with Bernard Arnaud!
Little Tordjmann has made his way. “Le Mondial la Marseillaise à pétanque” has grown and welcomes former glories and the entire Marseille establishment when it opens. ” It’s the Roland Garros of petanque said Yves Mourousi. 4,500 triplets come from all over France and some twenty countries, 150,000 spectators watch the matches. ” He was a jealous and exclusive goalkeeper “of the Mondial La Marseillaise à pétanque”. It was HIS baby “, indicates Bruno Le Dref former director of the antennas of France 3 Provence-Alpes-Côte-D’azur accustomed to working with him for the retransmissions of the competitions. The event survived its founder following a dismissal that he took badly. He is gone but hats off to the artist!
Joel BARCY
