What state of mind are you in a few days before the return of ZEvent?
We have prepared a lot for this new edition so we are looking forward to it, we are excited and happy.
Last year, ZEvent didn’t take place. Looking back, do you regret this choice?
Not at all, we needed it to refocus the event on what we liked and what we liked less. We also wanted to rethink a new formula with which we are in line and also break the idea that we always have to do bigger, stronger. Sometimes, you have to take a step back. For this new edition, we made some adjustments.
This year, there will be 5 associations, the Bureaux du Cœur, Solidarité Paysans, COP 1, Secours populaire and Chapitre 2, why?
We have wanted to do a theme around poverty and precariousness for a long time. We had trouble finding a single association. Helped by the Fondation de France, we turned to a multi-collection which allows us to reach more people and more causes.
In addition to the usual participants present, you have selected 100 steamers for this new edition who will be at home. On what basis was the selection made?
Only one, that of the hours viewed in the last 365 days. The idea was not to choose those we like or not, but those who have a community and can help us raise money for the kitty. This year, it’s a test, next year, we want to open it to everyone. In theory, I would have liked to open it to more people this year, but the technical team told me that it would not be possible.
Media outlets like BFM or 20 minutes have written articles in which they indicate that the list of steamers is not unanimous. How do you experience this feedback?
I admit that it slips a little on my mind. As usual, there are always controversies. Obviously, we must not ignore all the criticism, we must listen to it, it has already allowed us to move in the right direction, but we must also know not to take all of it into account either. Personally, I have distanced myself a lot from the networks over the past year.
In previous years, ZEvent has been the subject of political exploitation. Do you fear the same thing this year?
To be honest, I don’t really care. Everything that is mainstream touches a lot of people and becomes political. If the causes we defend can move the lines in politics, so much the better. The ZEvent is for everyone and it’s a bit for better and for worse.
Everyone is happy that ZEvent is back, but what would be nice is if it didn’t exist anymore, because that would mean that the world is better. Do you hope that ZEvent will end one day?
If we had always focused on a single cause, we could hope so. Since we change causes every year, there will always be a theme to defend. That’s the paradox of charity, we all want it to happen, but at the same time, it absolutely must no longer happen.
