Édouard Philippe spoke at length on Thursday about the alopecia he suffers from, this loss of hair and hair widely commented on within the French political class, and which he assured that it did not prevent him "from to be extremely ambitious for [his] country".
"This is what happened to me: I lost my eyebrows, and I don't think they will come back anymore", explained, taking off his glasses, the former Prime Minister during an interview with BFMTV from his office. of the town hall of Le Havre.
"My beard has turned white, it's falling out a bit, the hair too. The mustache is gone, I don't know if it will come back, but I would be surprised," he said. "I have what is called alopecia," continued Mr. Philippe.
This is the first time that Edouard Philippe has spoken on television about this autoimmune disease which affects the hair system.
"I would have liked (..) perhaps hoped that it would not be a subject. But I am obliged to note that there are many people in good faith who look at me, who see this, who ask questions", recognized Mr. Philippe, whose evolution of features arouses a number of comments and speculation in the political class, particularly within the majority.
"You will always find people who are a little miserable to explain that behind that, there must be something a little more serious. That's life", swept the mayor of Le Havre.
But "There are many people who experience much more difficult things in France". And "I suffer from it at 52. (...) A teenager, a teenager struck with alopecia at 15, it's a whole different story", "I'm lucky", did you -he says.
"It is useful to say that alopecia is something that can start very young or very old, that it is a loss of hair. That it is neither painful, nor dangerous, nor contagious , nor serious". And "I am lucky (...) to be able to tell those who suffer from alopecia that the main thing is not how we look at them, it's what they are".
Can this illness handicap the rest of his political career, especially in view of a presidential election in 2027?
"I don't think so at all," he replied. "That doesn't stop me from being extremely ambitious for my city. It doesn't stop me from being extremely ambitious for my country."
“I think the French can be curious about what is happening, questioning”, recognizes the mayor of Le Havre who explains himself “in total transparency” and does not intend to “spend [his] time talking about that either. times, it's a hair story, it's okay, what!"
02/02/2023 21:07:36 - Paris (AFP) - © 2023 AFP
