LITTERATURE

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     "Cela a été une extraordinaire surprise quand Edmonde m'a demandé de lui succéder. Ce n'était pas dans mes ambitions, ni même dans mes rêves", a confié à l'AFP Bernard Pivot, tout sourire, dans le salon du restaurant Drouant où est décerné chaque année, début novembre, dans l'effervescence, le plus illustre des prix littéraires français, le fameux Prix Goncourt.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             "Bernard Pivot est un personnage d'une telle rareté, qui a tant fait pour la littérature. Nous n'aurons jamais assez de temps pour le remercier", a renchéri Edmonde Charles-Roux, désignée présidente de l'Académie le 5 mars 2002 par son prédécesseur, l'écrivain François Nourissier, disparu en février 2011, et auquel elle a de nouveau rendu un vibrant hommage.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Mme Charles-Roux demeure membre de l'Académie Goncourt, comme l'avait fait avant elle François Nourissier quand il lui avait passé le flambeau. L'Académie compte dix jurés, baptisés "couverts", leurs réunions et délibérations se déroulant au cours d'un déjeuner chez Drouant.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              "Quand j'ai été élu membre de l'Académie Goncourt en 2004, tous les jurés étaient plus vieux que moi, sauf deux ... Aujourd'hui, seule Edmonde est plus âgée", s'amuse le journaliste de 78 ans, ancien animateur de la mythique émission "Apostrophes" puis de "Bouillon de culture", figure de l'histoire de la télévision né le 5 mai 1935 à Lyon.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      "Je n'ai jamais été un homme de pouvoir, mais un homme d'influence. L'influence est plus subtile que le pouvoir", a estimé Bernard Pivot. "Maintenant, je vais avoir du pouvoir mais ma présidence va s'inscrire dans la continuité de la décennie de présidence d'Edmonde, pendant laquelle elle a restauré le prestige et la réputation du Goncourt. Si j'ai une chose à faire, ce sera de maintenir la bonne image qu'a aujourd'hui l'Académie Goncourt".

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Edmonde Charles-Roux avait adressé une lettre aux jurés pour leur annoncer sa décision: "Après m'être entretenue avec lui, je désigne Bernard Pivot pour prendre ma suite à la présidence de l'Académie Goncourt".

"Peut-on rêver mieux ? Notre nouveau président est l'homme le plus informé (...) sur ce qui se passe en ce moment dans le domaine du livre en France et en d'autres pays encore. Je vous propose de fêter aujourd'hui le oui sans réserves de Bernard Pivot".

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Entré dans le Petit Larousse en 2013, Bernard Pivot est connu pour son amour de la littérature et de la langue française. Amateur de vins éclairé, c'est aussi un "twitto" acharné. En 2013, il a d'ailleurs publié "Les tweets sont des chats" et, mardi matin, a encore posté quatre tweets avec des citations de membres de l'Académie Goncourt.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Au côté du Prix Goncourt, attribué pour la première fois en 1903, l'Académie décerne chaque année plusieurs autres récompenses.

Le Goncourt 2013 a été attribué à Pierre Lemaitre pour "Au revoir là-haut" (Albin Michel), devenu un best-seller et l'un des cadeaux de Noël les plus offerts.