Lettre autographe signée à Paul Ramadier

At the height of the long Guy Mollet government (Fourth Republic), Guitry, riddled with debt — including fifty million owed to the tax authorities — multiplied his appeals and petitions; yet despite his difficulties, he nonetheless financed, on credit, the funerals of Paul Léautaud and Charlotte Lysès in early 1956.

This letter belongs to his exchange with Paul Ramadier, the influential minister to whom Guitry explained that his films (Versailles, Napoléon, Paris) had already brought in “more than a billion” francs to the State. A review of his case followed, with a partial remission of penalties thanks to the minister’s assistance; Ramadier agreed to plead his cause, while making clear that “the tax authorities cannot erase your debt. However, having had your case reviewed, I am pleased to inform you that your debt has been reduced by 17 million. You will therefore have to pay 33 million. I cannot do better, believe me” (quoted in C’était Sacha Guitry, p. 240).

Cornered, Guitry would secretly part with several major paintings (Manet, Modigliani, Cézanne, and a celebrated Toulouse-Lautrec, Rouge) in order to settle his debts.