Fabrice (“Koh-Lanta” 2024): “In life, I am someone who is very honest and who says what he thinks”

In the first episode, you were the first to finish the very first event, individually. Weren’t you nervous at the start?
Yes, the stress of the departure was extremely violent. When Denis told us that the two worst girls and the two worst boys would not take part in the adventure, poof! There, I really had the impression that the ground was giving way under my feet. And it was really a big shock. We had barely arrived, we had time to exchange a few words on the beach and boom! Maybe that’s still a one in five risk of not being taken.

I found it very, very hard. So yes, yes, I was completely stunned at the time. And then once I had the board in my hands, the first ball, it turns because I realize that I went a little fast. And from there, I had visualized my path on the board. I know how to show dexterity because I am used to having queens in my hands and a horse’s mouth at the end. So, who better than a rider can have tact in their hands? So, it’s a test that suited me well.

In the first team immunity challenge, you miss the baskets and take the blame for the loss. But then, you get a little pinned by your team for exposing your weaknesses to the reds. Did your emotions overwhelm you?
Yes, completely. Afterwards, I’m like that, when I succeed in competition, I’m a very good winner. When I lose, I need to verbalize, to acknowledge the failure and know why, to assume it in order to bounce back. And I didn’t pay attention to the fact that in ‘Koh-Lanta’, it shouldn’t have been done, that it could be considered an admission of weakness, that frankness, clear-sightedness about one’s non-performance or underperformance could harm me. I didn’t realize it at the time, I was as I am, true, honest, spontaneous. And in hindsight, I shouldn’t have acted like that.

We noticed that you have a way with words, especially when talking about Lola, who annoyed you at camp. For example, when you said that she was “as useful as the ‘H’ in Hawaii”. Was that thoughtful?
That came to me at the time because the situation was unusual. I was making my little fish so that everyone would have something to eat, in addition to the sea urchins or the arapèdes that not everyone likes or can digest. And at that moment, she was swimming, chatting, laughing. And it’s true that I was really pissed off. At that moment, it reminded me of a cousin who was talking about someone one day and who said to me this: ‘This person is like the H in Hawaii’. And it came back to me in a flashback and I said it at that moment. I didn’t have the “Brice de Nice” reference at all. I discovered that with the Internet users, all that, during the broadcast.

During the raft test, you were put with Lola and Frédéric on the pirogue. Were you able to put your tensions aside at that moment?
In choosing the composition of the teams, once we arrive on the platform, we all consult a little bit. And Frédéric guides a lot on the strategy, how to distribute on the two boats. And he says, ‘I will put myself at the helm, Fabrice in front, Lola in the middle. At that moment, I say to myself, ‘very good’, that will perhaps finally allow Lola to see something in me that she had not seen. And that I see something beneficial, positive in her. And so, we do the test.

You can’t see it, but the race lasted a very long time before the reds put down their paddles. In any case, we were a few meters away from them, so they put down their paddles because they didn’t want to put in the last strokes while exhausting themselves, but we had given a lot. And at that moment, I was very happy because I said to myself, Lola and I, we did the job together. Then, later, I realized through “they say” that she didn’t give that much. Criticism is normal, we’re tired. We talk about everyone. But it’s true during the first round, she said she wanted to be in Charlotte and Sophia’s place. But hey, it’s futile in fact, in an adventure.