French writer and professor Mazarine Mitterrand Pingeot, the daughter of the late President Francois Mitterrand, departed after attending the funeral ceremony of France's former Minister of Culture, writer, and TV host Frederic Mitterrand, held at the Saint-Thomas-d'Aquin church in Paris on March 26, 2024. — AFP

The illegitimate child of former French president Francois Mitterrand never anticipated that revisiting the Paris apartment where she spent her formative years in secrecy would be so straightforward. From the age of 9 to 16, Mazarine Pingeot, the daughter of Mitterrand and his long-term mistress Anne Pingeot, resided in a 300-square-metre apartment within the historic Palais de l'Alma, constructed under Napoleon III in Paris's 7th district. Over three decades later, Pingeot, now a renowned writer, was granted the opportunity to revisit her past, receiving authorization from President Emmanuel Macron and the current occupants to spend 24 hours in her former residence on the Quai Branly, with a view of the Seine. The apartment is part of a complex owned by the French state, housing civil servants affiliated with the presidency.

"I didn't believe my editor could arrange it. It was remarkably swift!" the 49-year-old novelist shared in an interview with AFP. "Initially, I couldn't envision it. When I agreed, I thought: it's enjoyable, it's intriguing, it's an adventure," she said about the experience detailed in her new book, "11 quai Branly", released on Wednesday. The journey into her past was a mix of joy and sorrow.

"It was a concealed life, where I couldn't engage in much. When you're in hiding, you can't partake in anything," she noted, empathizing with "those in hiding." "I had virtually no autonomy. And I didn't assert any. My parents didn't prohibit it: I had accepted that condition." Hidden from the public eye for two decades, Pingeot grew up surrounded by bodyguards. "I genuinely liked the gendarmes as they were the individuals I interacted with," she said. "That's not typical, that filtered relationship with the world. Everything was tightly controlled." Her existence was exposed in a Paris Match exposé in November 1994.

Pingeot described her experience as "exceptional in its extremity." "It's not so uncommon, but in its scope, it's radical. I'm convinced that all the issues I discuss are things numerous children have faced, from fear to loneliness to keeping secrets." What sets her apart, she said, is "the identity of a very renowned father. It's possibly more intricate." However, she added that many others also grapple with secrets, including the identity of their parents, which she said is "never straightforward." "What captivates me is attempting to compose something everyone can connect with," Pingeot added.

It has been eight years since she officially changed her name to Mazarine Mitterrand Pingeot, a move she kept undisclosed for a long time. This is her first book signed with the name "Mazarine M. Pingeot". Her narrative is recounted in a straightforward manner, keeping her emotions restrained. "It relates to my writing style, and perhaps my personality," Pingeot said. "That's how I was raised: in my family, we didn't express our feelings much. There was affection, my parents weren't cold individuals," she said, adding that her grandparents didn't "reveal much." Under the terms of the agreement, she was permitted to spend 24 hours in the apartment.

She arrived in the afternoon and departed in the evening, assuming she wouldn't return. However, her own daughter had inquiries and wished to see more photos, prompting her return. What she remembered most about the place was the space, she said. "Almost more than what transpired inside. What occurred there was just daily life. Nothing extraordinary happened there: no impromptu visits, no grand parties," she added. "I remembered the space vividly. But much has altered." The flat has been renovated, with the carpet removed to reinstate parquet floors. "It appears nicer. But it remains impersonal," she said.

Pingeot, who writes both fiction and memoir, expressed her enjoyment in recounting her story again. "I adore this work," she said. "But I wouldn't have undertaken it if I hadn't been commissioned to do so."