“After this evening, you might think I’m a feminist… Yes… And I like men! “, spear Caroline Vigneaux on the stage of the Folies Bergères at the end of the 35th night of Molières which she has just presented. A ceremony in honor of live performance including the prize list turns out to be balanced and that it was strongly colored by her feminist commitment. It started with a bang for the comedian, and literally since we saw her arriving on stage in the company of the Paris Fire Brigade playing the theme song for “Champs-Élysées”, by Michel Drucker.
The example she often used to explain how she imagined this evening, festive and entertaining. But first the rules: thanks are forbidden, she asks the winners to talk about their show, to make people want to go there… So, to be useful and save time, she goes there, with her thanks to everyone, families, colleagues, emphasizing the “exes who in front of their television have serious seum ! Cheh ! »
Rachida Dati spared
“Everyone, except Madam Minister,” she interrupts. Or, you recover the 204 million from us, you don’t touch the intermittency, and we release you in time to be ready for Paris town hall. Deal? »
And Rachida Dati, all smiles, gives a thumbs up. The subject of budget cuts from which the show is suffering or the threats weighing on intermittency will return, the minister will be spared throughout the evening which will see magicians and mentalists, circus performers and actors, musicians and singers parade on stage.
At ease, natural, Caroline Vigneaux holds the helm of an exercise that is not always simple, but does not succeed in avoiding the pitfalls of moments sometimes falling flat or off base. The arrival of the extinguished Olympic flame or this passage where young actors – whose show is nevertheless formidable at the Libre theater – interpret scenes from “Cyrano” or “Romeo and Juliet” by constantly changing roles, playing it two, three on the instructions of Caroline Vigneaux… It’s supposed to be stunning, the result is a little messy. We nevertheless understand the message of freedom, of being what we want as we want…
Dedienne and her declarations of love, Reali crowned
The flow of award ceremonies comes in waves. The first, that of the actor in the private sector, goes to Vincent Dedienne for “A Straw Hat from Italy”. These prices, “it allows modest people like me to make declarations of love on stage,” he breathes, surprised. He makes one to the director, Alain Françon, to his partners. And then to Jean Robert-Charrier, director of the theater. “The first time I heard your name was here, pronounced by Jean-Pierre Bacri,” he whispers. He forgot to say what a good cook and lover you were.”
“Don’t you have MeToo on your butt?” » Bruno Solo, for his part, is picked off as soon as he enters. He denies. ” On ? So, when is it due? », insists Vigneaux. ” Nothing ? Not even a little sexual assault? A costume designer, a makeup artist? » “Ah yes, a makeup artist… but she’s my wife.” “She consented? “. “She said yes to the town hall, we have two beautiful children.” “A man can have a real career without attacking other women, it’s a beautiful message, and many need to hear it,” asserts the mistress of ceremonies. “We can still have great stories in this profession,” adds the actor.
After six nominations, the seventh is the right one for Cristiana Reali, crowned best actress in the private sector. When filming, she is only there in video, throwing “Obrigada” all the time and ending up wearing… a crown.
Vigneaux without bra
There will soon be around fifteen queens on stage, dancers representing the greatest possible diversity performing on “Le corps des femmes”. “But what kind of woman’s body does he have that we’ll never leave him alone,” Mathilde sings. It’s powerful. In the message, in the form. The room rises. Among them, white t-shirt without bra, Caroline Vigneaux assumes, arms crossed and chest forward, claiming her right not to wear one, asking everyone to respect those who make this choice…
Sophia Aram and the “silence” after October 7
Another strong moment, Sophia Aram who comes to point out the “silence” of the world of culture after October 7. “We should pay attention to our silences (…) in the hubbub of our easy indignations, the silence, even relative, after October 7 in which 1,200 Israelis were massacred is deafening,” she asserts. And to ask: “How can we be in solidarity with the thousands of civilian deaths in Gaza without being in solidarity with the Israeli victims? How can we demand a ceasefire from Israel without demanding the release of Israeli hostages? » She then presented the Molière of comedy.
The same one will go back on stage to remove the humor statuette, then showing herself to be funny and grating. “That’s the advantage when you put on a show on all the teubés of the time, conspiracists, anti-vax, extremists of the right and the left, I dedicate this Molière to them, she slips. On the networks, they must already be inviting me to introduce it to me in the foundation, she snaps. Truly, I dedicate it to all the others.” There will be other meanings and messages. Zabou Breitman calls for “resisting self-censorship”, “you’re not afraid that…”. Anne Roumanoff to get off the screens.
Kevin Razy and Jean-Louis Garçon, from the cast of “Passeport”, by Alexis Michalik, note the lack of representation of diversity among the nominees. Elsa Zylberstein, for her part, evokes the actress’s pleasure in being shaped like modeling clay. “Two centuries of feminist struggles to end up in plasticine,” squeaks the mistress of ceremonies who has little taste for the comparison… Molière of the actress in the audience for “Zucchini” adapted from the novel by Gilles Paris on childhood, Vanessa Cailhol dedicates his victory to the social workers and shouts a “thank you mom!” » thunderous.
“Grandma, you said you wanted me to have a Molière! »
If thanks are prohibited, the winners are cunning, as Jean-Pierre Darroussin predicted. And that’s good. In these moments, this is also how emotion is expressed. That of the youth, fresh and energetic of Ethan Oliel, a masculine revelation for “The Circle of Missing Poets” who thinks of his grandmother. “Grandma, you said you wanted me to have a Molière before you went up there! He’s here, but that doesn’t excuse you from staying with us for a long time,” he tells her before shouting out a big “Carpe Diem!” “.
“Everyone go and make yourself loved!” », throws Eva Rami to the public and viewers, with tears in her eyes, hailed for her only on stage “Will love! “. No matter how good you are, when emotion grips you… Facing the audience standing up to greet him as he receives an honorary Molière, Francis Huster is moved. And don’t talk about him, but about Molière and his “real heroines”, listing them with passion, Agnès, Elvire, Dorine… before harshly castigating the men, “Tartuffe hypocrite and rapist”, “Harpagon, obsessed with money and money” and other “perverted Don Juan”. In tone and well felt.
Emotion still for the team of “ 4,211 km », a show about Iranian political exiles in France which received the Molière for private theater, the best show. Aïla Navidi, the author, dedicates it “to all the exiles, the uprooted and those who fight for freedom”. And to trigger the third and final standing ovation by adding wanting to “be disobedient like all Iranian women”, and continuing beyond the allotted minute, to think of the Iranian rapper Toomaj Salehi, sentenced to death for a song in Iran.
