the underside of an improbable encounter

Portrait Sarah Saldmann is the common thread of François Ruffin’s film “At Work”, released this Wednesday. “Le Nouvel Obs” tells you the journey of this influencer lawyer, polemical, provocative and complex columnist.

You couldn't escape her long blonde ponytail, on Morris columns, on cinema fronts, on TV sets… Sarah Saldmann, 33, influencer lawyer, media columnist, is also the main character in François Ruffin's new film, “At work! “. The former rebel MP, journalist-director, had long wanted to make a documentary on those who work hard for a minimum wage. And in order to add a little spice and narrative shock, he sought to integrate a character from « riche »to perform “reintegration” et “undo your prejudices”. In January 2023, he meets a young and pretty lawyer with an ultraliberal speech on the TV set of “C ce soir”. Able to proclaim, cash and uninhibited, that “ecology, I don't really care. I see my own interest first and eventually that of the planet. I take two baths a day, I love it! “. But also that « [s]Taxes should not be used to pay for the mediocrity of those who don't want to give a damn! », about social minimums. Or even that those who take sick leave for angina are “bullet [des] assisted, [des] lazy.”

For the director, it's obvious: Sarah Saldmann, a telegenic emanation from the chic neighborhoods of Paris, perfectly embodies the ultra-disconnectedness of the elites. She is the character he is looking for for his film. But he doesn't tell her about it that evening. Entirely immersed in his golden sphere, the columnist does not even know who he is, much less his struggles. “ When I saw him on set, I even grumbled about the “they still…