The Markovic affair

The Markovic affair was a political scandal in France in the late 1960s, involving French President Georges Pompidou and movie star Alain Delon.

It began when one of Delon's bodyguards, Stevan Marković, was found dead, causing his brother to start a feud with Delon and his friends, one of whom was the French President, Georges Pompidou. Both Delon and his long-standing friend François Marcantoni were questioned by the police immediately after the murder. Marcantoni was originally charged for the murder, but after further questioning by the police, he was released. Later, the drama continued when supposedly inappropriate photos of Madame Pompidou were found. Commissionaire Aimé-Blanc, who was involved in obtaining the photos, stated that they were planted by old Gaullist clans who had long-term animosity against Pompidou. This led to controversy over whether the photos were real. Marković's murder was never solved.

Marković was the ex-bodyguard of movie star Alain Delon. A major gambler often suspected of cheating, Marković was especially known for throwing high class parties where, it is alleged, he would set up cameras throughout the house, especially in the bedrooms. He had thus collected plenty of questionable photos of the guests, which could have damaged their social status. These pictures most likely were used for blackmail, especially since he approached several newspapers trying to sell them. Surprisingly, some of these photographs were alleged to be directly targeting Delon and Marcantoni themselves. However, the most important photos Marković supposedly possessed, were scandalous shots of Pompidou’s wife. This was a major concern to Pompidou since he was preparing to run for France's presidency. Then on October 1, 1968, in the village of Élancourt, Yvelines, on the western outskirts of Paris, the body of Stevan Marković was found in a public dump. Although there were many people who had reason to kill him, his murder has never been solved.

It was alleged that star actor Alain Delon communicated with French gangsters, such as Z, Bimbo, and Petit René. Suspiciously, many of them met violent deaths after meeting Delon. However, Corsican François Marcantoni was Delon’s closest gangster friend. When Delon's bodyguard, Marković, mysteriously died, Marcantoni and Delon came under investigation. One of the factors pointing in that direction was a letter of Stevan Marković to his brother Aleksandar where he wrote: "If I get killed, it's 100% fault of Alain Delon and his godfather Francois Marcantoni." Marcantoni was initially charged with the murder. However, after being questioned by the police, the charges were eventually dropped and the crime was never solved.

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