Monique Plaideux had planned every detail. Her notary was to be the first one notified of her death. The elderly lady, aged 94, had no family or friends, let alone children to visit her. Since her husband's death, in 2010, the pensioner had lived alone. Her notoriously difficult temperament didn't invite comradeship. How many times had she been heard shouting at the staff of Château Mont-Joli, the luxury apartment complex where she lived, in the hills above Cannes?

On October 5, 2023, the notary was, as planned, the first to receive a call. Plaideux had left only two names with the funeral company responsible for organizing her funeral: those of her lawyer and her chauffeur. A third name was inscribed in her will, that of her sole legatee: Marine Le Pen, the leader of the French far right.

In January 2024, Le Pen visited Château Mont-Joli as a new homeowner there. She had inherited a 102-square-meter apartment on the eighth floor of an apartment building, featuring a 20-square-meter terrace. From up there, the view of the Mediterranean Sea is breathtaking. The park below, bristling with palm trees, features a swimming pool and tennis court.

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