See you soon sixty, Florent Pagny is one of the most admired singers of French song. Coach of the show The Voice since its launch in 2012, the interpreter of Know how to love can boast of receiving an impressive salary for his role with talent. But a long time money was a problem for the artist, as explained in the show 50 'inside on Saturday February 6, 2021 on TF1. Pascal Nègre, former CEO of Universal, Florent Pagny's record company, explains how his now famous problems with the tax authorities were born in the 1990s. "Before Knowing how to love sold out, Florent had money problems. He had a lot of debt", revealed Pascal Nègre. "And so he asked his record company to lend him money. It's a loan. Because there is no bank that wants to lend money to Florent Pagny." According to the show, it is 1.5 million euros in advance that the singer would have touched who, considering that this sum was not a salary, had not declared it to taxes. In 2003, ordered to reimburse nearly 2 million euros, he refused, and saw his furniture seized by the bailiffs.
Pascal Obispo inspired by the tax problems of Florent Pagny
This episode, Pascal Obispo remembers it very well. In 50 min inside, he told how his friend called him in disaster to go and buy the seized goods at auction: "I sent someone who worked with me and we were both on the phone, he had a list of furniture to buy". This anecdote inspires him then and gives birth to one of Florent Pagny's biggest hits: My freedom of thought. "I call Lionel Florence and I tell him to try to write something about what happened with the taxes", told Pascal Obispo, who composed the track. A scathing attack against the tax authorities which did not reassure Pascal Nègre at the time : "I asked him if he was sure he wanted to add fuel to his relationship with the IRS. Now the artist decides, and the answer was yes." Here is a singer who had flair!
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