Michel Côté’s youngest son, Maxime Le Flaguais, cried profusely following the “tsunami” of tokens of love and many tributes received upon the death of his father.
“We knew we had a father like no other, but this tsunami of love, it was just beautiful. I have never cried so much in my life, said Maxime Le Flaguais on Thursday. My father left us in a media storm, yes, but a storm of love. He didn’t leave us on a rotten little raft, but on a super nice boat. »
The day after the intimate funeral of his father, who died last Monday, Maxime Le Flaguais met the media, shortly before welcoming the public invited to pay a last tribute to his father in the burning chapel at the Monument-National. An invitation made by the National Theater School that the actor attended.
The youngest son of Michel Côté, who spoke as a spokesperson for the family, insisted on the testimonies which paid tribute to the person who was his father. Before greeting the actor of C. R. A. Z. Y., From father to cop or Omertà.
“What really touched me the most was people saying, we’re losing a great man. I knew he was a good person, but I didn’t know how good. As Sophie Lorain said to Everyone talks about it, you can be a notoriety and still be an asshole. Which was not the case with my father. »
Michel Côté feared that he had been absent for his children during his rounds of Broue, which meant that he had to be absent several evenings a week, but Maxime Le Flaguais deemed these fears unfounded. “I never felt like I had an absent father. On the contrary. When he was there, he was really there. He played with us, he taught us everything. »
Maxime Le Flaguais returned to the cancer of his father, who received a bone marrow transplant last February, giving some hope to the family.
“He was given a 35% chance of success,” he said. On the one hand, it was a lot, on the other, not really. There are times when we believed in it, others not. At first he had rejection symptoms, which were normal, but then we realized that it wouldn’t work. »
According to him, from that moment on, Michel Côté’s attitude changed. “He wasn’t crying anymore, he spent time with all of us. He met his mother and his two brothers who came from Lac-Saint-Jean. He spent time with my brother [Charles], his children, with my daughter […]. What he bequeathed to me in his last months? He left me with incredible strength. He taught me how to die. With dignity. Strong. Happy. He told us that he was happy with his life. He was at peace. »
Throughout his illness, Michel Côté was stoic, Maxime Le Flaguais told us again, speaking calmly. “He was very strong through the trials of his life. A man made of steel. In the disease, he was super strong. Maxime Le Flaguais recalled a time when he and his brother were by his side, each holding a hand. “He woke up suddenly, he saw us, and he went back to sleep smiling. »
What does he bequeath to the Quebec public? “He made us laugh and cry,” Maxime Le Flaguais simply replied. That’s why we do this job. That’s why I do this job. It’s hard to explain. We see it as entertainment, but it’s much more than that. It is a mirror of society. It’s important as a job and my father did it really well. He was a great actor. »
Michel Côté is survived by his wife, actress Véronique Le Flaguais, his two boys Charles Côté (Isabelle Roy) and Maxime Le Flaguais (Caroline Dhavernas), as well as his grandchildren Théo, Olivia and Françoise. The general public is invited to pay their last respects this Thursday, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. and from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., at the Monument-National.
