after the book, a play shows “behind the scenes of power and counter-power”

We are on May 6, 2012, the evening of the second round of the presidential election. The president-elect thanks the crowd in the Place de la Bastille: this is how the play begins. This president, whose name is never mentioned but who is obviously recognized as François Hollande, is Scali Delpeyrat who embodies him, in A president shouldn’t say that, the theater adaptation of the book which marked the end of his five-year term : “I did not try to put myself in the shoes of François Hollande. Rather, I tried to put myself in the shoes of a president. What I wanted to embody was something of the order of the presidential function. I said to myself: I am the president, I did not say to myself: I am François Hollande. This is not what I was asked, moreover.

“A theatrical, even cinematographic story”

The book was adapted for the theater by its authors, Fabrice Lhomme and Gérard Davet, these two journalists from World who for five years met in private, every first Friday of the month, with François Hollande. With the key to a book, published in October 2016, which had devastating consequences, participating in the decision of François Hollande to give up running for a second term. “We realized a posteriori that there were indeed the ingredients of a theatrical story, if not cinematographic, explains Gérard Davet. Behind the scenes of power, of the presidency of the Republic, but also behind the scenes of an editorial staff, in a newspaper. In a way, behind the scenes of power and behind the scenes of counter-power.”

Throughout the play, the president recites his confidences: on Emmanuel Macron, who according to him is not in a personal strategy (the future will prove him wrong), on footballers or on the loneliness of power… Thibault de Montalembert, that the fans of the series “Ten percent” know well, single-handedly embodies with great intelligence the two journalists of the World. He is supported by a young colleague. “The piece shows the preparation of the book, emphasizes Thibault de Montalembert. Apart from the president’s verbatims, which come from the book, we are inside an editorial office. It’s not in the book at all, and we see what the internal relationships are: the enmities, the jealousies… We also see the relationships between politics and journalism, information. The piece is complementary to the book.”

The play shows the humanity of this president: his weaknesses, his flaws, his mistakes, but also his strength at the most tragic moment of his five-year term, that of the attacks of November 2015. It can be seen at the Théâtre Libre, in Paris, until April 22.