Host Paul Arcand announced on Friday morning that he was taking an “indefinite” break from his show on 98.5 FM due to health reasons.
He spoke about this himself on the microphone of “Puisqu’il peut se leva”, the program from which he had been absent since Thursday.
“I have a health problem […] which requires treatment for an indefinite period,” he explained in a telephone interview with his successor at the helm of the show, Alain Crête.
Mr Arcand is suffering from a “pretty serious” infection that requires treatment and is forcing him to put his professional life on hold while he recovers.
“If I had been gone for two or three days I wouldn’t have said anything and that would have been fine, but it could take longer and quite honestly I don’t know how long it will take,” he admitted.
After feeling bad for a few days, it was finally his partner Anick who convinced him to see a doctor.
“If you have signs, you better listen to them. To be honest, it was my wife who told me: “That’s enough nonsense, you’re going to get treatment”, then she was absolutely right because it could have been worse,” the radio presenter admitted.
Because Mr. Arcand did not want to say more about his illness, he asked his listeners to respect his privacy during this time.
“As soon as I can resume my activities I will, but I don’t know when,” he added.
A wave of support
A few minutes after his announcement, several personalities had already expressed their support for Paul Arcand, most notably Prime Minister François Legault.
“Health is most important. Take good care of yourself, Paul Arcand. I can’t wait to do an interview with you again to shake things up a bit,” he wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
Health is most important. take good care of yourself @PaulArcand. I can’t wait to interview you again to shake things up a bit 🙂
— François Legault (@francoislegault) November 10, 2023
For his part, the leader of the Bloc Québécois, Yves-François Blanchet, stressed that “the absence of such a figure on radio, even temporarily, leaves a void that is difficult to fill.”
Journalist Thérèse Parisien wished Mr Arcand to “get back on his feet quickly so that he can liven up our mornings”, as presenter Sophie Durocher reminded us to “listen to your friend when she tells you to go to the doctor go!”
Speedy recovery for Paul Arcand. Guys, listen to your friend when she tells you to go to the doctor!
– Sophie Durocher (@sophiedurocher) November 10, 2023
Recall that the presenter had made the decision not to step behind the microphone of his morning show in the fall of 2024 and will be replaced by Patrick Lagacé.