“It was supposed to be the best day of my life but my sister spoiled everything,” blows Anne*, 62, who always keeps “a little bitterness” by rethinking on the day of her wedding. “It was in 1996, in a small town in the south of France, with a notable son,” she says. We met a year earlier during an event in the mountains, for which I had made the communication and to which he was invited, being manager of several shops. »»
“We were both passionate about skiing, it immediately matched. So why wait to celebrate our love? She says, smiling. Except that things did not go as planned.
A chic wedding in chic conditions
“I do not remember the budget devoted to the ceremony but we had put the means,” she confides. We had not deprived ourselves, neither at the place, nor on the quality of meals and aperitifs. In this sense, we can say that it was a beautiful marriage. It was chic. “Then, with a hint of resentment in the voice, she adds:” For this particular day, we necessarily try to do as perfect as possible. But sometimes, regardless of efforts, external elements can spoil everything. »»
The external element in question is his sister, Amélie*. Even if they do not always get along wonderfully, their relationship was cordial enough for an annoyance to invite her to her marriage. “I would never have thought she would make me this.”
A culture shock
Amélie, unlike the rest of her family, who votes rather to the right, is “a trotskyist, feminist, anarchist, lfist, all ultra -ke man demonstrations”, lists Anne. “Me, at that time, I was no longer voting, disappointed by the socialists after my vote for Mitterrand,” she says. My husband and my in-laws come from a very bourgeois environment and among our guests, there were bankers, notaries, lawyers, doctors … “
When Amélie and her husband arrive at the ceremony, it is the shock of cultures. “The few times my sister had seen my husband, everything had gone very well. And then, like a united family, I told myself that they would make efforts so that everything goes as best as possible. It was still supposed to be the best day in his sister’s life. I would not have imagined that she would decide to sabotage him, ”says Anne, still disgusted.
Starting late at the town hall as well as in the church, Amélie and her husband pay the note of a luxury hotel room (by emptying the minibar) and sting the disposable cameras made available on the tables without ever sharing the photos … “But the ultimate, where she put me the most shame, it was at the end of the evening”, announces Anne.
Everyone was “stunned”
Everyone is gathered in the gourmet restaurant reserved for the event. The meal has just ended and the dancing evening will be launched. “The atmosphere was good, we drank champagne, we had eaten well, we were happy,” describes Anne. And there, my sister and her husband, clearly alcoholic, went on the table. »»
No “ding” to make a speech. “Ah that, no,” says the bride. “They started to sing the song of the Communist International,” she said. The refrain, for those who do not have the reference: “It is the final struggle, we are grouping and tomorrow, the international will be the human race”
“We were amazed,” says Anne. No one – really no one – was expecting that. In their momentum, the couple on the left continues with Breton songs. “Fortunately, they spared us slogans from Manif,” said Anne jokingly even if, at the time, she does not laugh at all. “I tried by all means to bring it down but nothing was there … She was very happy with her blow,” she explains, always indignant. We felt the leftist who wanted to put the mess. For her, she was revolutionizing a bourgeois marriage. »»
The “Blacklist” sister
On the side of his in-laws, this happening is not at all appreciated. “My sister was directly blacklisted,” says Anne. For my parents-in-law, their son’s marriage was really important. We never really talked about it, the subject was too sensitive, but I know they did not support. »»
She adds: “Around the table, there were friends and important relations of my husband’s father, the framework of one of the most important banks in France. In this environment, the image is essential. It was not just a question of behavior but of the impact that this event would have on their reputation. Anne assures that her parents-in-law did not keep her rigor. “They were smart enough to understand that I was not the cause. »»
Heavy consequences for the relationship between sisters
But Amélie’s little revolution had heavy consequences on her relationship with her sister. “It was too much drop. Since that day, we don’t talk to each other anymore, we can’t see each other anymore, we only meet on death. Anne sighs: “We can excuse clumsiness, delays … But there, the coup de l’Internation, it was clearly a desire to sabotage months of preparation. It was vicious to want to destroy someone’s happiness as she did. »»
Our file on weddings
“If she did not adhere to this universe, she could simply have refused the invitation,” insists Anne. Almost thirty years later, Anne, now divorced but “not because of this story”, still wants her sister. If Amélie intended to recruit new members for her movement during this event, it is missed. “It was really the final struggle: she lost the battle. And his sister, ”concludes Anne, a bitter smile on his lips.
* The first names have been modified at the request of the person interviewed.
