Television: 40 years ago, Philippe de Dieuleveult disappeared

Forty years ago, on August 6, 1985, Philippe de Dieuleveult disappeared in Zaire, in circumstances that have remained unrest. At the time, the animator of “The treasure hunt” was a star of the small loved screen of the youngest, like elders. It is therefore an understatement to say that the sad news had aroused immense popular emotion, in the French -speaking countries where the game imagined by Jacques Antoine was broadcast.

Broadcast from 1981 to 1984, “The treasure hunt” made the heyday, in particular, of antenna 2 and the TSR. Broadcast and co -produced by the French -speaking television community, this adventure and reflection game took the public every week to distant countries, at a time when traveling was very expensive. And where, the Internet does not exist, it was exceptional to discover, under the conditions of the live, distant regions. The audiences for this program were such that the sacro-Saint Sunday evening film on TF1, so far unavoidable, was regularly beaten.

Dressed in red, transceiver on the chest and communication helmet on the ears, Philippe de Dieuleveult was, aboard his helicopter, a kind of modern day tintin. Nice, warm and respectful of local traditions, he was also a great sportsman capable, always in the conditions of the live, to parachute, climb on the rope, ride a horse or go on a motorcycle to discover the three treasures hidden by the producers on the other side of the world. For 45 minutes, Dieuleveult was guided by the voice of two candidates who remained in the studio in Paris alone, in the midst of substantial documentation.

This fatal August 6, 1985, Philippe de Dieuleveult had participated for several weeks in an expedition, “Africa-Raft”, on the Zaïre river. That morning, at the height of Inga’s rapids, the host and his six comrades on two major catarafts disappeared. Did they drowned in the tumultuous waters of the river, as official theory wants? Or were it victims of a military blunder, the Zaire army having taken them for terrorists, following a strange alert of the French authorities, as affirmed, in support, a long investigation carried out by the nephew of the presenter of “the treasure hunt”, Alexis de Dieuleveult? To date, forty later, this affair which has everything of a state secret has still not been definitively resolved.

There are, for viewers, the sweet memories of “treasure hunt”. “For my part, I especially remember these heaps of books, doc, and paperwork at home, on the table, the armchairs, on the ground … These research of details and anecdotes, which sometimes, even often, had no voice in the chapter, for lack of time allocated. And then I remember the time offices, when the show took place at the end of the world and it was necessary to be in the studio by time, midnight or 2 a.m., or even 6 a.m., at the time of the dairy. I remember my deserted Paris crossings, in my little car, to arrive at the Boulogne studio, ”confided in 2018 to the 2018 matin.ch The co -presenting partner, Elsa Manet, who officiated alongside the host Didier Lecat (Read the box)on set.

In Gabon, Spain, Switzerland, Cuba, Sri Lanka, China, ex-USSR, Colombia or Norway, Philippe de Dieuleveult allowed a whole generation to browse the globe: “The producers returned to identify with monceaux of doc and very specific ideas depending on the places chosen for the treasures we found in the not very large play, was allocated, a sort of tiny shambles. And it was rushing, it phosphoo … I had my say. But we had to hang on to the producers, ”said Elsa Manet.

Even today, Philippe de Dieuleveult remains in the hearts of viewers. Internet sites and a special Facebook page are devoted to the host and his cult program. On Youtube, we find all of the famous television hunts imagined by Jacques Antoine, thanks to a group of fans led by Jean-Jacques Fauquette, himself an admirer of the early hour: “Philippe de Dieuleveult was perfect in this role of” hero “. He imagined this red combination that everyone remembers, and he was ready for anything (or almost) to win the candidates. In addition, he moved by helicopter to the 4 corners of the planet! We all wanted to be in his place! ”