Dressed in a navy suit that is brightened by a lighter blue shirt, he holds a pair of glasses in his hands. He fiddles with them but does not wear them. The accessory signals to the viewer of “La Grande librairie” that he has before him a man who is studying. But the outfit and posture, chic, are not those of a bookworm, and few historians or journalists are as elegant.
On the set of the France 5 literary show on May 2, Philippe Collin’s appearance is a clever mix between the attire of a businessman and that of an intellectual. It could be compared to that of a mischievous academic. Invited for the publication of his first novel, The Ritz Bartender (Albin Michel), the journalist shows himself as he is on the microphone: educational and passionate about his subject, Parisian life under the Occupation.
At 49, he seems older because he is so serious. However, he has reasons to be light-hearted. The podcasts he produces for France Inter are a phenomenal success: 20 million cumulative downloads for “Face à l’histoire”, the generic title of these series which began with a portrait of Napoleon, in 2021. The most listened to are those on Léon Blum and Louis-Ferdinand Céline. His audio biographies of Pétain and Jean-Marie Le Pen have also done very well.
Haunted by the social origins of his heroes
The producer, who invented a radio grammar, is today one of the stars of France Inter. In each of his broadcasts, he gives the form of a story punctuated by formulas which ensure his signature and maintain a dramaturgy: “Remember this name” ; “In conclusion of this first episode, remember that…” Without pedantry, he guides the listener like a teacher.
Proof of the anchoring of these “works” cut like haute couture in our imagination: interviewed on BFM-TV after the dissolution of June 9, LFI MP Mathilde Panot claimed to know well “the story” of Léon Blum and the Popular Front, because she had “listened to by bike” the podcast the previous summer. To the journalist Benjamin Duhamel, who was receiving her, the MP stated that Manuel Bompard, Clémence Guetté and herself had more parliamentary experience than Léon Blum had in 1936. However, the statesman led the SFIO group in the National Assembly between 1919 and 1936: “It’s a disaster, comments Philippe Collin, in the bar of the hotel where we have an appointment, which is not the one at the Ritz. She must not have listened to him properly because she said nonsense.
You have 86.9% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.
