Patrick Pesno, former producer of the show “Rendez-vous avec X,” died Monday, March 13, at the age of 79, his family announced. France Inter’s legendary manager took care of the cult show for more than eighteen years, from 1997 to 2015.

Every Saturday from 13:20 to 14:00 Patrick Pesnot with his accomplice “Monsieur X”, sometimes presented as a former secret service agent, more or less sensitive behind-the-scenes matters that marked the news.

For almost two decades, the principle of the show has remained the same. In a conversational style with ‘Monsieur X’, Patrick Pesneau told amazing stories about the underside of modern history. Over time, some of the charming “Mister X’s” speech turns have become famous, such as the famous one: “Let’s not go too fast”which he skilfully distills to prolong the tension.

Communicate with a little mystery

A journalist who worked in radio, television and the written press, Patrick Pesnot was in turn an excellent reporter, news anchor, producer, screenwriter, documentary maker and writer, especially of black series. But by no means a specialist in defense or espionage. “It was because I had this somewhat mysterious contact that I proposed this program at Inter 1997., he explained. The project was accepted immediately. And never questioned.

“Am I to confess, to use the famous, if unlikely, quote of the great Flaubert that ‘Monsieur X, c’est moi’? I won’t, because this enigmatic part of the mystery of “Monsieur X” also made the charm, if not the success, of this long program.during the last broadcast, on June 20, 2015, Patrick Pesno had allowed, can we read on the website French Inter.

“I made the decision to quit”he explained to Sonia Devillers, at the end of June 2015. During “L’Instant M” he was the guest of the show face to face with the famous “Monsieur X”, who was actually, and from beginning, an actor who interpreted a question-and-answer game written by the “Meeting X” team.