We all have something of Abbé Pierre. For seventy years, he has been in our hearts and imaginations. A tireless defender of the poor. France’s favourite personality. A lay saint.

It was in this clear sky that the first explosion occurred in Summer 2024: Abbé Pierre was also a predator. Astonishment. Anger. Incomprehension. How could a man who had done so much good commit such evil? Who was he really?

His sex life wasn’t his only secret. He glossed over large swathes of his life, lied to his companions, his biographers, to the French people. His dark side matched his good side. But the latter was so radiant that it overshadowed the former.

It is no longer possible to stand by the legend of Abbé Pierre.

Initial print run: 30,000 copies

An incredible book, this investigation reads like fiction. It’s very novelistic and yet everything is true… This story you tell is not only that of Abbé Pierre, it’s that of France. […] We move from post-war France to the France of the new millennium, with all that is specific in its relationship to religion and sexuality.
—Maïa Mazaurette, TF1 Quotidien

Impeccably researched and written, the book separates legend from reality, while respecting the dignity of his struggle. A tour de force.
—Nouvel Obs