LIVE VIDEO. Who will be the best speaker of the decade? Follow the Champions of Eloquence Trophy in Aix-en-Provence

The former winners of the national eloquence competition will compete this November 9 on the stage of the Grand Théâtre de Provence. An exceptional event, in partnership with France 3 Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur. Follow our live from 8 p.m.!

Finding the right words, the line that hits the mark, that’s their specialty. And they are as brilliant as each other! Eight champions of eloquence will cross swords this Saturday evening in front of a jury of experts and an audience of 1,300 people.

Eight talented speakers who have won previous editions of the grand oratory final. This competition, the largest of its kind in France, is organized every year in May by the Atelier de la Langue Française.

To celebrate its 10th anniversary, the association decided to bring together these memorable winners in a final verbal battle in Aix-en-Provence. The flower of eloquence competing for the title of best speaker of the decade… The show promises to be fascinating!

So we’ll see you get back on stage Thomas Szachnik (champion 2024), Pierre Faury (2023 champion, public prize), Edgar Duc (2023 champion, jury prize) Alexis Heuls (champion 2022), Eliott Nouaille (2021), Yanis Djouder (2019), Martial Jardel (2018) et Bill Francois (2017).

Who says champions, says major challenges. For this “final of finals”, they will not confront each other but will each have to contradict the quote of a great orator of History.

• Edgar Duc: “Equality is a vital need of the human soul” (Simone Weil).
• Yanis Djouder: “It takes a lot of spirit to carry a lot of money” (Victor Hugo).
• Thomas Szachnik: “The future does not belong to men” (Charles de Gaulle).
• Eliott Nouailles: “To understand is to forgive” (Madame de Stael).
• Bill François: “Art is not a lie” (Flaubert).
• Pierre Faury: “Man is the cancer of the earth” (Emil Cioran).
• Alexis Heuls: “Religion and humor are incompatible” (Kundera).
• Martial Jardel: “The French are not made for freedom” (Voltaire).

Although experienced in public speaking, our candidates will have to surpass themselves! To seduce and convince the audience, they will also have to play with words, tone of voice, nuances, tempo variations…

Their performances will be judged by the public and by a jury of five specialists: Dominique Besnehard, actor, producer and agent, Tristane Banon, novelist and journalist, Bertrand Périer, lawyer and teacher of public speaking, Marc Bonnant, also lawyer and Aude Lancelin, journalist and founder of QG media.

Our eight champions have different personalities and backgrounds. But what they have in common is a love of words and a taste for challenge!

• Thomas Szachnik, 24, completed his master’s degree at Sciences Po Toulouse and today works in publishing. Passionate about travel, cinema and rugby, he is also preparing a biography of General de Gaulle.
• Pierre Faury, 23, is a graduate of HEC Paris. His visits to Aix-en-Provence led him to develop his presence on social networks, where nearly 400,000 people follow his content around his poetic texts and his love for word games.
• Edgar Duc, 21, has tried his hand since 2023 at the Berryer conference, a crazy oratorical contest organized by the Conference of Lawyers of the Paris Bar. Currently on an internship at Dassault Systèmes, he plans to leave the world of oratory, “so you might as well do it with panache!” he said.
• Alexis Heuls, 28, is a graduate of EDHEC. As he explains with humor, his passion for rhetoric dates back to his youth, “discovering that she could help him get some breaded fish for his dominated CP comrades!”
  
• Eliott Nouailles, 27, is a teacher and goes on stage in his spare time. He appreciates Luchini, Sempé and the Panzani, admires Cyrano, Perdican, Antigone and “sometimes big words, often light words that sparkle and put us in a bubble”.
• Yanis Djouder, 24, is a graduate of the specialized master’s degree in “International Business Law and Management” from ESSEC. He represented France at the International Meetings of Francophone Eloquence and Debate with eight African countries.
• Martial Jardel, 33, is a general practitioner in Haute-Vienne. A man of heart, his eloquence greatly helped him in his project to create the Médecins Solidaires association, which today fights medical deserts through collective strength.
• Bill François, 31, graduated from ENS, is a biophysicist, naturalist and writer. A specialist in marine animals, he travels the world’s oceans to study aquatic fauna. A lover of words above all, he mixes these two worlds in his books.

The Champions Trophy is part of a special program, to mark the 10th anniversary of the Atelier de la Langue Française. This association was founded in 2014 by a handful of enthusiasts, in order to promote the richness of the French language and its heritage.

In addition to the Eloquence Days and the national competition, the team offers professional training throughout the year, introductory workshops in schools, oral preparation courses for the Brevet and Baccalaureate, etc.

She has also just launched the Grand Eloquence Final for high school students. The competition is open to Première and Terminale students in Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, Auvergne Rhône-Alpes and Occitanie.

Finally, to close this anniversary season, a nice surprise awaits the public in December: the association has invited Fabrice Luchini for a reading of Victor Hugo.

The actor, who likes to pay homage to great texts and great authors, will be on stage at the Théâtre du Jeu de Paume in Aix-en-Provence on December 7 at 8 p.m.