Simone Duvalier According to a number of her associates, she deeply resented having to relinquish that role after Jean-Claude Duvalier married in 1980 and she was demoted to "Guardian of the Duvalierist Revolution". When her son was ousted from power in February 1986, Simone Duvalier joined him and his wife, Michèle Bennett, in exile in France. She was rarely seen in public. After her son's bitter divorce from his wife, Simone Duvalier lived with her son in relative poverty in the suburbs of Paris. She died on 26 December 1997. Simone Duvalier Simone Duvalier (; "née" Ovide; 19 March 1913 – 26
Jean-Claude Duvalier for Duvalier, but offered to assist with their departure. On 30 January 1986, Duvalier had initially accepted, and President Reagan actually announced his departure based on a report from the Haitian CIA Station Chief who saw Duvalier's car head for the airport. En route, there was gunfire and Duvalier's party returned to the palace unnoticed by the U.S. intelligence team. Duvalier declared "we are as firm as a monkey tail." He departed on 7 February 1986, flying to France in a U.S. Air Force aircraft. The Duvaliers settled in France. For a time they lived a luxurious life, but eventually