François Michelin shares an insight into his emotional life

Almost precisely seven years after Edouard Michelin’s fatal accident, his father and legendary head of the Michelin-clan, François Michelin (87), has granted French weekly magazine Paris Match a rare interview and divulged a glimpse into his emotional life. François Michelin, whose daughter-in-law, Edouard’s wife, Cecilia died of cancer in 2011, today lives in retirement home in Auvergne, free from every luxury.

Understandably, he has quarreled with God over the drowning of Edouard, aged 43, during a deep sea fishing trip. Everything they’d built up together collapsed all of a sudden. However, at his time of life the deeply religious Christian finds comfort in his belief in an eternal life that knows no death, rather only dramatic changes. Even following Edouard’s death, life hasn’t lost all meaning for him; there is a meaning in everything and God answers all questions.

François Michelin is unconcerned that no family member currently leads the Michelin Group. The question is only whether Jean-Dominique Senard has a feeling for the company or – loosely translated – an understanding of how the company ticks and why it does so. It has always been common knowledge at Michelin that the customer is the boss of the company. And it must constantly be spelled out that nothing can be achieved without people. Over the years there have been many high achievers from outside the family within the Michelin Group. François Michelin appears to be very satisfied with Senard. 

 And the grandchildren? Edouard left six young children behind, the oldest of which had just reached adolescence at the time of his death. The children’s mother, Edouard’s widow Cecilia, died of cancer in autumn 2011, aged just 44. No, François Michelin didn’t want a change of direction and he decided against advising his grandchildren to join the company in due course. Such pressure cannot be placed upon young people.

When it comes to French politicians, François Michelin doesn’t always seem happy. He says he was closest to François Mitterrand. Michelin did not agree with everything Mitterrand undertook, however Mitterand made an honest effort to understand things and implement them accordingly. For François Michelin, dabbling in politics was never an option. He occasionally offered his industrial expertise. Very few politicians have had a real mission; many are only too happy to hide facts, and the only reality for them is the day they are re-elected – and they align everything towards this.

François Michelin seems more enamoured with German economic policy, which is – in marked contrast to its French counterpart – successful. And while Michelin usually allergorises so eloquently, he simply describes the current French President’s plan to introduce a 75 per cent tax on the highest earners as, in a nutshell, bullshit. Whoever wants to move something needs money, and in industry nothing happens without money. Money should be a servant, but not a master. You need money to make a piano, and without it you’ll never be the best pianist, either. 

To highlight the risk that the French Government’s taxation plans may drive very rich people out of the country, the interviewer gave the example of industrialist Bernard Arnault, who intends to acquire Belgian citizenship for tax purposes. This is unthinkable for François Michelin. However, Michelin has also left his country, admittedly in a completely different way. It is many years since exporting tyres around the world from France has been viable, so Michelin went out into global markets.

And has François Michelin’s fortune served him rather than acted as a master? He answers this question in his usual manner. He’s looked after many things but kept these quiet, and not even associated his name with them. This is something he doesn’t intend to change.