Anthony Delon sent a public message to Paul Belmondo on Wednesday, May 6, using a television appearance to reach out while he remained caught in a family conflict with his brother Alain-Fabien and his sister Anouchka over their father Alain Delon’s inheritance.
The message, aired on Télématin on France 2, was part encouragement and part invitation. Anthony told Belmondo, “Salut mon pote ! C’est vachement bien ce que tu fais, j’aime bien le titre Le complexe des inséparables.” He added that Jean-Paul Belmondo “doit être fier là-haut,” then urged him to come for a weekend to Douchy, describing it as quiet, serene and ideal for meditation.
That matters because Paul Belmondo is not just another name in the audience. He said he has been friends with Anthony Delon for a very long time, and that their bond resembles the friendship between their fathers. Belmondo also said his play, Le complexe des inséparables, is scheduled to run at the Apollo theatre in Paris from Saturday, May 16, to Tuesday, September 22.
The exchange carried a second layer that went beyond theatre promotion. Belmondo said he was saddened to see family disputes repeated in the press, saying many families go through the same thing and that it is unfortunate when it spills into public view. “Nous-mêmes on a des problèmes, on essaie que ça reste chez nous,” he said, drawing a line between private trouble and public spectacle.
The timing gives the message extra weight. Jean-Paul Belmondo died on Sept. 6, 2021, and Anthony Delon’s nod to him was meant as a tribute as much as a friendly note to his son. It also landed while Anthony’s own family dispute remained in the background, making the cordial appearance on television look less like detachment than a deliberate attempt to step away from conflict and speak in the language of memory, respect and old loyalties.
There is also a plain contrast at the heart of the moment. Anthony Delon invited Belmondo to Douchy, a place he described as calm and suited to meditation, while his own family situation was being discussed in terms of inheritance and division. The message did not resolve that conflict, and it was never meant to. It showed instead that even in the middle of a public family rupture, Delon was still reaching for the older, quieter code of friendship that linked the two families long before their sons were on television talking about it.
The answer to the question raised by the appearance is simple: Anthony Delon was not opening a new front, but trying to keep one relationship intact while his own family quarrel played out in public. Belmondo said the same thing in his own way, by stressing that some problems should stay at home.
