Saucisse (–2014) was a

dachshund The dachshund ( or ; German: "badger dog"), also known as the wiener dog, badger dog, and sausage dog, is a short-legged, long-bodied, hound-type dog breed. The dog may be smooth-haired, wire-haired, or long-haired, and comes in a variety of c ...

who gained fame in France as the protagonist of a book series. He was a candidate at the 2001 mayoral elections of

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

, and appeared on the third season of '' Secret Story'' in 2010.

Biography

1998-2000

At an early age, the dog was found in the garbage by the Société Protectrice des Animaux (Society for the Protection of Animals). He underwent several operations and was finally saved. He waited eight months behind the bars of his cage before being adopted by the team of L'Écailler du Sud, a Marseille publishing house of detective novels, notably by the writer Serge Scotto who made him his mascot and named him Saucisse ("Sausage").

2000-2014

Saucisse quickly became the hero of many novels and his reputation began to spread across the Marseille region. On 14 September 2000, a square in the city of Marseille was inaugurated and named after him, becoming the Place du Chien Saucisse.() He gained wider fame for his candidacy during the 2001 municipal elections in Marseille in the first area (1st and 7th arrondissement) as the mascot of an alternative eponymous list led by Stéphane Joiris with the slogan "For a more human ''sauciété'' ociety" This list managed to rank sixth with 4.5% of the votes, defeating the candidate of the local party

Rally for France The Rally for France (french: Rassemblement pour la France (RPF); also briefly known in 2003 as Rally for France and European Independence or ) was a political party in France of the right. It was founded in 1999 by the Gaullist and former Interi ...

by almost 1 percentage point. Thereafter, Serge Scotto registered his dog to the

2002 French presidential election Presidential elections were held in France on 21 April 2002, with a runoff election between the top two candidates, incumbent Jacques Chirac of the Rally for the Republic and Jean-Marie Le Pen of the National Front, on 5 May. This presidential ...

. Serge Scotto introduced his dog to many celebrities, taking him to trade shows and literary gatherings. Saucisse appeared on many television shows including ''Vie privée, vie publique'', hosted by

Mireille Dumas Mireille Dumas (born 10 September 1953) is a French journalist, television producer and presenter. Biography Mireille Dumas was born in Chartres in the department of Eure-et-Loir, the fifth of six children. Her father as a teacher and died whe ...

, ''La Méthode Cauet'' or ''On ne peut pas plaire à tout le monde'' by Marc-Olivier Fogiel. Saucisse was photographed with many people such as Ève Ruggieri,

Bernard Werber Bernard Werber (born 1961 in Toulouse) is a French science fiction writer, active since the 1990s. He is chiefly recognized for having written the trilogy ''Les Fourmis'', the only one of his novels to have been published in English. This se ...

Florence Foresti Florence Foresti (; born 8 November 1973 in Vénissieux) is a French comedian and actress. Life and career Following her high school studies in literature, theatre and dramatic expression at Saint-Just de Lyon, Florence Foresti entered a scho ...

and

Raymond Devos Raymond Devos (; 9 November 1922 – 15 June 2006) was a Belgian-French humorist, stand-up comedian and clown. He is best known for his sophisticated puns and surreal humour. Early life Devos was born in Mouscron, Belgium, close to the Frenc ...

. During these few years, Saucisse continued to follow Scotto and was "used" several times by the latter as a media figure to expose certain injustices such as the kidnapping of Florence Aubenas and

Hussein Hanoun Hussein, Hussain, Hossein, Hossain, Huseyn, Husayn, Husein or Husain (; ar, حُسَيْن ), coming from the triconsonantal root Ḥ-S-i-N ( ar, ح س ی ن, link=no), is an Arabic name which is the diminutive of Hassan, meaning "good", "h ...

. The dog also helped his master during all these years in his columns for the daily ''Métro''. In 2002, a vintage wine named "Cuvée Chien Saucisse" was created in Roquemaure. In 2007, Scotto composed a duet he sang with his dog, accompanied by the group Musard entitled "Petit Chien des Rues" ("Little Dog of the Streets"), in reference to the Saucisse's early life. On 17 September 2009, in the reality show ''Secret Story 3'',

Benjamin Castaldi Benjamin Castaldi (; born 28 March 1970) is a French television host, columnist, radio host and producer. He is the former host of '' Secret Story'' which is a spinoff of '' Loft Story'' that he hosted as well. Biography Family Benjamin Castald ...

announced the arrival of a new resident, aged 77 years old, for the following week. Thus, on 24 July 2009, after many rumors on this subject, Saucisse entered the house and was renamed 'Secret' for the occasion. He entered with his own secret which was : "I was candidate for Mayor at the City hall of Marseille". This secret was on the list of secrets since the beginning of the 3rd season. During his participation in the reality show, Saucisse was only with other candidates from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm daily and consulted his veterinarian twice every day. The money he won was given to the

Société protectrice des animaux Lactalis is a French multinational dairy products corporation, owned by the Besnier family and based in Laval, Mayenne, France. The company's former name was Besnier SA. Lactalis is the largest dairy products group in the world, and is the sec ...

. However, he left the house on 31 July and his secret was not discovered by other contestants. Saucisse died 22 November 2014, aged approximately 16 years old.

Bibliography

* Collectif, ''La fiesta dessoude, dix nouvelles policières à Marseille'', L'Écailler du Sud, September 2001, 186 p. () * Georges Foveau, ''Myster Circus à Avignon'', Rouge Safran, January 2002, 120p. () * Didier Van Cauwelaert, ''Rencontre sous X'', Albin Michel editions, April 2002, 250 p. () * Collectif, ''Du noir dans le vert'', L'Écailler du Sud, October 2002, 143p. () * Gilles Del Pappas, ''Mémoires d'un goûte-sauce'', L'Écailler du Sud, November 2002, 110 p. () * Collectif, ''Meurtres sur un plateau'', L'Écailler du Sud, September 2003, 200 p. () * Henri-Frédéric-Blanc, ''La mécanique des anges'', Le Rocher editions, February 2004, 266 p. () *

Jean-Paul Delfino Jean-Paul Delfino (born 1 August 1964 in Aix-en-Provence) is a French writer and screenwriter. Bibliography ;Literature * 1999: ''L’Ile aux Femmes'', Noir * 2000: ''Tu touches pas à Marseille'', Métailié Noir * 2000: ''La Faction'', Atou ...

, ''Droit aux Brutes'', Adcan editions, March 2004, 160p. () * Serge Scotto, ''Saucisse dans le métro'', Jigal editions, October 2004, 144 p. () * Serge Scotto, ''La gloire de Saucisse'', Jigal editions, October 2005, 128 p. () * Serge Scotto, ''Saucisse président'', Jigal editions, March 2007, 136 p. ()

References

External links