People from Greater Casablanca

Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 48. Chapters: People from Casablanca, Jean Reno, Nawal El Moutawakel, Richard Virenque, Guy Forget, Arthur, Philippe-Joseph Salazar, Said Boujaadia, Alain Souchon, Abdullah Tabarak Ahmad, Shlomo Amar, Shada Hassoun, Mohammed Bin Ahmad Mizouz, Abdul Latif Nasir, Gad Elmaleh, Mehdi Ballouchy, Drew Hastings, Elam Jay, Abraham Serfaty, Frida Boccara, Noureddine Naybet, Elarbi Khattabi, Yitzhak Levy, Sofia Essaïdi, Karim Alami, Bigg, Alber Elbaz, Daniel Pennac, Hajry Redouane, Ibrahim Bin Shakaran, Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, Maurice Ohana, Ghizlane Samir, Khalil Azmi, Ahmed Reda Madouni, Larbi Benbarek, Hicham Arazi, Adil Mezgour, Yitzhak Peretz, Mohamed Oulhaj, Graciane Finzi, Rafael Suissa, Lydia Hatuel-Zuckerman, Nabil Dirar, Salaheddine Bassir, Charlie Biton, Mustafa El Haddaoui, Mouhcine Iajour, Francine, Princess of Montenegro, Zineb Oukach, Philippe Morillon, Abdelkrim Merry, Mohamed Ben Moujane, Zakaria Aboub, Muriel Barbery, Rafael Edri, Charles Bénitah, Jannat Mahid, Maguy Kakon, Mustafa Merry, Eli Aflalo, Jean-Paul Bertrand-Demanes, Reda El Amrani, Amine, Abdellatif Zeroual, Migidio Bourifa, Alain Ambrosino, Anne Bragance, Tayeb Saddiki, Asher Hassin, Rafael Eldad, Gabriella Licudi, Abdallah Zrika, Mostafa Nissaboury, Mustapha Oukacha, Shmuel Avital, Georges Mamelonet, Henri Belolo, Sofia Marikh, Dominique Bedel, Mike Flynn, Maria Jammal, Mohamed Ben Joullon, Laïla Marrakchi, Hicham Mesbahi, Jacques Ben Gualid, Abbes Harchi, Pierre Assouline, Maati Bouabid, Driss Ouadahi, Achraf Tadili, Sady Rebbot, Samuel Hadida, Nadia Yassine, Imad Kotbi, Merieme Chadid, Hakim Noury, Christine Hocq, Alain Gottvallès, Mohammed Kabbaj. Excerpt: Richard Virenque (born November 19, 1969, Casablanca, Morocco) is a retired French professional road racing cyclist. He was one of the most popular French riders with fans for his boyish personality and his long, lone attacks. He was a climber, winning the King of the Mountains competition of the Tour de France a record seven times. In 1998 he was the central figure in a widespread doping scandal. Virenque finished twice on the podium in the Tour de France (third in 1996 and second in 1997) and won several stages, among them Mont Ventoux in 2002. He is the 18th rider in the Tour to have won stages over 10 years apart. Virenque, his parents, his brother Lionel and sister Nathalie lived in the Iseba district of Casablanca. The family was affluent, employing both a gardener and a nurse. His mother described Richard as a gentle, kind boy, full of life, who enjoyed helping her in the garden. His idol was Michael Jackson. His father, Jacques, ran a tyre company. As a child, Virenque began cycling by riding round the garden of the family's house. "It wasn't much of a bike," he said. "It had no mudguards, no brakes, and I had to scrape my foot along the ground to stop." Virenque often skipped school to fish on the beach. He told a court during the Festina doping inquiry (see below): The family moved to La Londe-les-Maures, near the Côte d'Azur, in 1979 when he was nine. There his father failed to find the same sort of job and relations between his parents suffered. Jacques and Bérangère Virenque divorced soon afterwards and Virenque said he was devastated. He couldn't stand being in school any longer than he had to, he said, and he left to work as a plumber. Cycle-racing did not immediately inspire Virenque. His brother, Lionel, cycled, read specialist magazines and watc...