Television host Stéphane Bern will be a candidate in the municipal by-election in the village of Thiron-Gardais (Eure-et-Loir), where he has owned the town’s royal and military college since 2013, restored and transformed into a museum, he announced in the local press.
“I take care of the military and royal college of Thiron-Gardais and I want to continue to defend the heritage of the commune and to put my notoriety and my know-how, perhaps, at the service of the community,” explains Mr. Bern in a brief video published on the L’Echo republican website.
According to the newspaper, the presenter, aged 60, has been “settled full-time for three years” in this town of Perche, whose mayor recently announced his resignation, making it necessary to hold a by-election. Three seats are up for grabs in this election, which will take place on March 17 and 24.
The “Mr. Heritage” of public service
Mr. Bern was a municipal councilor in the 9th arrondissement of Paris from 1999 to 2001. Long considered the “Mr. Heritage” of public service thanks to his shows like “Secrets d’histoire”, the host is responsible for the ‘Elysée since 2017 with a mission for heritage. It is for this reason that it organizes an annual Heritage Lottery to finance the maintenance of monuments in danger.
More than 275 million euros, including 155 from the Loto, have been mobilized for the benefit of the Heritage Foundation from 2018 to the end of 2023.