return to the Markovic affair, between sex, crime and political intrigue

2024-01-03 08:30:06

Book. Fifty-five years later, the Markovic affair still fascinates. The reason is simple. This is a “incredible novel which has all the ingredients of a bestseller: a murder, a star, gangsters, the highest level of power, a scent of mystery and debauchery…”summarizes Hervé Gattegno, author ofA corpse on the road to the Elysée (Flammarion, 352 pages, 21.50 euros). For the murder, it is that of Stefan Markovic, 31 years old, whose body was discovered on October 1, 1968 in a wild dump near Elancourt (Yvelines). The star is Alain Delon, the central actor in the drama, who, after being interviewed at length at the time of the events, has since remained silent.

In the 1960s, many young Yugoslavs who had nothing to do and had broken ties with Marshal Tito’s communist Yugoslavia lived on petty trafficking in France. Employed by Alain Delon, Stefan Markovic was one of them. He also served as the actor’s understudy and frequented the posh evenings of Paris, which he walked around with a camera.

Just after his tragic disappearance, clichés of “fine parts” (in fact, quite crude montages) spread throughout Paris which went from pharmacies to police stations, from newsrooms to courthouses, without forgetting the ministries. The Markovic affair is born. It would compromise famous actresses, but also the wives of elected politicians, including Claude Pompidou, the wife of the former prime minister, put in “Republic reserve” by General de Gaulle since July 10, 1968.

Stubborn grudge

The rumor grew, and Georges Pompidou was kept away from this scandal which affected him closely. He will retain a tenacious grudge against all those who remained silent. Also gravitating around the “Markovic affair” are real figures in the industry, such as François Marcantoni, in a business relationship with the actor of The swimming pool (Jacques Deray, 1969), but also barbouzes, these Gaullist activists, half secret agents, half thugs, who interfered with the investigation into the murder of Stefan Markovic.

Also read our archive (2006): The Markovitch affair: rumors, gossip, disgust

If, at the material time, Hervé Gattegno was “too young to [s]‘remember it and not enough to ignore it’the affair still tickles the investigative journalist that he was, particularly in Monde. It combines sex, crime, power and political intrigue, all the ingredients of a state scandal.

Compared to the numerous books already published on the subject, the investigator had access to two new sources: the notebooks where judge René Patard, in charge of the case, kept the Time.news of his investigation, as well as the judicial file and administrative notes from the Ministry of Justice. Today, there may remain a slim chance of solving the enigma: the “famous leather notebook” where Georges Pompidou recorded the list of all the people who tried to kill him politically. It is held by his son, Alain Pompidou, who promised to one day entrust it to the historian Eric Roussel, his father’s biographer.

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