It was a special morning. A bitter-tasting morning for the two flagship animators of 7/9. Mathieu Sarda, collaborator of France Inter, died Sunday, June 7, 2020. He was 41 years old. Described by the famous red radio, where he worked for ten years, as the “France Inter morning's linchpin”, he was considered an essential member of the morning. On Tuesday, June 9, Léa Salamé and Nicolas Demorand paid him a poignant tribute at the end of the show, shortly before 9 a.m. The quavering voice, Nicolas Demorand begins: “We couldn't finish this 7/9 without a few words of farewell to a friend. You did not know his name, you did not hear his voice on the radio, and yet he was here a face known to all and he was above all the soul, the soul of this morning. His name was Mathieu Sarda, he was 41 years old and he left us on Sunday evening. France Inter is in shock, our little 7/9 team is in shock. This lover of theater and literature preferred the backstage and walked the corridors, the control room, the offices with a quick step, the notebook in hand to speak to everyone, to take notes and to imagine possible programs. Yesterday, for the first time, we did not hear his ‘So how are you?’ At 6.30 am when he arrived on the radio, smiling and pinned down. ‘So, how are you?’, The ritual question that did good to me and Leah and told us that nothing that would happen during the day would be serious. ”
"Our heart is a little torn this morning"
Léa Salamé continues, for her part: “The success of the morning show is him. The happy marriage between political guests, artists, intellectuals, between emotion on one side and reflection on the other, it is him. Whenever we were reluctant to take such a guest, Nico and I, he insisted: 'But if, do it, it's good for the listeners, it's good for the morning.' So we listened , and each time, Mathieu was right. In our jargon, we call that a chief programmer, but the word is not enough to describe what Mathieu did. His presence at all times, his intelligence, his requirement and above all his kindness. He was actually the conductor of this morning show for almost ten years. First with Patrick Cohen, and then with us. We worked together every day, seven days a week when needed. Nothing could happen to us because Mathieu was there, behind the glass of this studio and this morning he is no longer there, behind the glass, and we don't have his gaze, and we don't have his smile. ” The knotted voice, the journalist adds: "Mathieu was the finest, most delicate being of all. Grace was him. He was our friend, he was my friend. Sorry to share our grief with you, dear listeners, but our hearts are a little torn this morning. ” Finally, Nicolas Demorand takes the microphone again to conclude: “France Inter and the whole 7/9 team thinks of their family, their two young children, Rosine and Gustave. We all think of their mother. We all think, finally, of Arnaud, his companion. We embrace them all from the bottom of our hearts. It is said that silence is the case for the truth. In any case, we will all miss you terribly, Mathieu. ”
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