Dissolution, alliance, surprise appointment… When political life takes on the air of fiction

“Black Baron” is outdated. Outdated. And we regret writing it, almost out of date. Landed on our screens in 2016, relaunched with two new seasons in 2018 and 2020, the excellent political series by Éric Benzekri and Jean-Baptiste Delafon revolutionized the genre.

Ambitions and betrayals, twists and dirty tricks: the soap opera, around the figure of the socialist “black baron” Philippe Rickwaert, offered a breathtaking dive behind the scenes of our public life. More real than life. Since the dissolution announced on June 9 by Emmanuel Macron, it has become seriously dated, competing with… reality. Comment from an advisor to the Head of State: “Fiction is never as strong as reality…”

Political thriller

At the Élysée as elsewhere, we come across many series fans. Brigitte Macron particularly appreciates “Downton Abbey”, dedicated to the destiny of a British aristocratic house at the beginning of the 20th century. The First Lady even made an appearance in season 4 of the very romantic “Emily in Paris”, of which she is also a fan. As for her husband, he loved “La Fever”, another phenomenon series written by Éric Benzekri, which narrates the rivalry between two influential women against a backdrop of extreme societal tensions. It has not escaped the notice of aficionados that in announcing the dissolution the President had made an almost explicit reference to it: “Added to this situation is a fever which has seized public and parliamentary debate in recent years in our country…”

Co-director of the work “Political series. The power between fiction and truth” (ed. De Boeck Supérieur), Rémi Lefebvre, professor of political science at the University of Lille, couldn’t believe it: “There, that went a little too far. It's amazing that Emmanuel Macron, in such an important and historic speech, makes reference to it. This means that its relationship with reality is structured by series, even of excellent quality. That says a lot about a form of endogamy in the political-television world. »

“From now on, we have the impression that the series are very late in the face of the decomposition of political life”

Since this event, a political thriller has unfolded before our stunned eyes. The episodes, each more incredible than the last, followed one another, from the express gathering of the left to the parade of contenders for Matignon, from the explosion of the Macronist camp to the surprise appointment of Michel Barnier and the endless budget soap opera… Without forget the highlight of the show: the boss of the Republicans (LR), Éric Ciotti, who after his alliance with Marine Le Pen ends up holed up in his office at the party headquarters besieged by his former friends… Even the most creative screenwriter would not have it never imagined. “Personally, I would never have done that in fiction,” assures a renowned series writer. I find that when politics is destroyed, it's not a great spectacle…” Rémi Lefebvre confirms this: “From now on, we have the impression that the series are very late in the face of the decomposition of political life. »

At the Élysée, Emmanuel Macron has two close collaborators who are also huge consumers of fiction. Bruno Roger-Petit, his dissertation advisor, present since 2017, and Jonathan Guémas, his special communications and strategy advisor. Two spin doctors who were designated, in June, as the main directors of the dissolution, although they deny it today. In terms of political soap operas, they have seen everything that has been done in recent years. The precursors, like “The New Statesman”, a British series from the 1980s and 1990s, which follows the journey of a cynical Conservative MP who is ready for anything. Or “The West Wing” (“At the White House”), which depicts the daily life of a Democratic American president and his advisors. The must-haves, like “Boss”, which narrates the misadventures of Chicago Mayor Tom Kane, who tries to hide from everyone the early onset dementia that is affecting him. “House of Cards”, with the evil President played by Kevin Spacey. Or the Danish series “Borgen, a woman in power”, which shows the setbacks of centrist Prime Minister Birgitte Nyborg.

As for French productions, these advisors have of course devoured “Les Hommes de l'ombre” (2012), which relates the misadventures of the ex-spin doctor of a President killed in a bomb attack. And obviously “Black Baron” (2016). They even guided Éric Benzekri in the subtleties of Elysian protocol and helped him obtain access to film at the presidential palace and on the presidential plane. Irony of history: in season 2, President Dorendeu brings together, in a new centrist party, former members of the PS and the right, and decides to dissolve the Assembly. Any resemblance to existing characters… “It didn’t inspire us,” swears a collaborator of Emmanuel Macron. No one would have imagined, on the eve of the announcement of the dissolution, what we have experienced since. » This advisor affirms: “The dissolution accelerated history, but these movements, which are currently breaking out before our eyes, were already in gestation for a long time. »

The “Black Baron” series. © Jean-Claude Lother/KWAI/CANAL+

In fact, there were precursory episodes. And in particular a resounding prequel, as they say in the world of series: the spectacular arrest of Dominique Strauss-Kahn in New York, in 2011, accused of having raped a chambermaid, Nafissatou Diallo, in suite 2806 of the Sofitel in Times Square. The images of the “perp walk” – for “perpetrator walk” – of DSK, handcuffed and framed by New York police officers, constituted a global explosion which instantly caused the great favorite to explode in flight of the 2012 presidential election. This sequence will also inspire, in “Baron noir”, the passage of Philippe Rickwaert in prison. But also the director Abel Ferrara for “Welcome to New York”, with Gérard Depardieu. As well as an episode of the American series “Law and Order” (“New York, Special Unit”) devoted to a team of police officers investigating sex crimes. However, here again, neither the film nor the series will achieve the effect of astonishment caused by the Sofitel affair.

“Netflixization” and permanent twists and turns

At the time lieutenant of Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the former first secretary of the PS Jean-Christophe Cambadélis was one of the main directors of the “DSK Élysée 2012” operation. “In the Sofitel affair, the soap opera centered on a single person,” he recalls. He was a character who went crazy, a presidential campaign hit by a news item. But it was only one episode. » A little over a decade later, the twists have become permanent. Cambadélis, again: “From the moment the debate is completely de-ideologized, political life is only made up of ups and downs and opportunities. It is nothing more than a succession of traps, twists and turns and scandals. With social networks and news channels, staffs can make moves every day. But, in the end, there is a total loss of meaning. The actors fight, but no longer know why…”

The series “Room 2806: The DSK affair”. © Netflix

The protagonists themselves also find it increasingly difficult not to get lost on this new chessboard. Condemned to be ready to react at any time, on all subjects and without making a mistake, under penalty of being the author, and very quickly the victim, of the next controversy, and therefore skipped from the next episode… The RN deputy Thomas Ménage says: “I was live on a news channel and, suddenly, I was asked to react to a news item, when I didn't even know what it was about! And there, you are so afraid of looking like an idiot…” A minister in the Barnier government said nothing else: “There is a hysterization of political life. We jump from one thing to another and we are under pressure all the time. » However, given the instability of the current situation, without any majority in the Assembly and with a host of small political entrepreneurs each playing their card for 2027, it is difficult to be optimistic. The “Netflixization” of our political life is only just beginning. Another advisor to Emmanuel Macron confirms this: “This is only the beginning. And it's going to be painful. It's going to go in all directions, with dramatic events and pressure attacks. It’s the Fourth Republic plus the news channels! »

Main scriptwriter of the dissolution operation, the president, beyond the latter, obviously bears a large part of the responsibility in this spectacle: elected on the first try, without a political party and without ever having competed in the slightest election before, he had already revolutionized the genre. “In 2016 and 2017, the Macronian epic was a totally unexpected series scenario,” explains one of his advisors. But today there is an acceleration. As if the imagination of the competitors was now imbued with this type of writing where politics becomes an intrigue. » So much so that even prominent personalities are getting involved.

“The fact that men of power feed on series as a way of accessing reality is fascinating: it is also a symptom of their disconnection”

Former Prime Minister Édouard Philippe and his closest advisor, MEP Gilles Boyer, themselves participated in the adaptation of their book “In the Shadow”, released in 2011. Both advised the director at length Pierre Schoeller, already author of the excellent film “L'Exercice de l'Etat”, to shape this political thriller about the behind the scenes of a campaign, a series recently available on France Télévisions. “It’s been a few years since reality has surpassed fiction,” says Gilles Boyer. The 2017 presidential election, with Hollande's resignation, the Fillon affair, the explosion of the left and the right, and Macron's victory, I would never have dared to propose it as a screenwriter! » The parliamentarian, who “claims the right to fiction, like anyone”, concedes: “The job of screenwriter is becoming more and more difficult…”

Rémi Lefebvre, the author of “Political Series”, confirms: “If political reality runs much faster than fiction, the latter will be late, and therefore condemned to radically reinvent themselves. Shouldn't the next successful series anticipate a takeover by the far right, or even a shift towards an authoritarian regime? » A worrying scenario that is no longer science fiction at all. And perhaps an interesting avenue for Éric Benzekri, who is currently working on a crossover which will bring together “La Fièvre” and “Baron noir”. The former PS activist, who became a successful screenwriter, was inspired by the socialist Julien Dray to portray his “black baron”: he must now make a gigantic creative effort in order to regain a head start on events. A chase between reality and imagination that says a lot about our political class.

“The fact that men of power feed on series as a way of accessing reality is fascinating: it is also a symptom of their disconnection,” diagnoses Rémi Lefebvre. “I still have a certain nostalgia for the time when political life had meaning,” regrets, as an old hand, the socialist Jean-Christophe Cambadélis. Because it must still be remembered: politics is not cinema. An advisor to the President is aware of this: “People’s lives must not become a decor. » We would almost end up forgetting the essential thing: that the viewers of this great series, as crazy as it is breathtaking, which is unfolding before our eyes are, also and above all, citizens and voters.