The Cesar ceremony is accustomed to blows of brilliance and that of this Friday, February 24, 2023 was no exception to the rule. At 9:15 p.m., it was cut for two minutes, with a scrolling message, explaining the interruption by “an incident”. An activist in the environmental movement Last Renovation went up on stage at the Olympia, interrupting the sketch by Ahmed Sylla and Léa Drucker. This young woman, arm raised, wears a white T-shirt with the message written “We have 761 days left” (We only have 761 days left, editor’s note). Mute and upright, she destabilizes Ahmed Sylla and Léa Drucker who are to announce the nominees for the César for best short film of this 48e editing. The actor then exclaims: “It had to fallon me !” The two actors choose to have fun with the situation. During the blackout, the activist is evacuated smoothly by the security service. On the return of the live, and calm, the two actors are visibly struggling to resume their rhythm and to announce the next price. Ahmed Sylla ironically states: “She could have ironed her t-shirt”, which obviously does not amuse anyone. He has since apologized on Twitter, acknowledging that he did not understand at the time what cause was represented by the young woman: “we are all concerned by ecology, stage fright, adrenaline, the silence of the young woman, the live, I did not know what she was campaigning for”he shared on the social network.
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“Having experienced it from the inside, there is a crazy pressure, at all levels”
Since then, the 32-year-old comedian has decided to share this funny experience from his Instagram account, over several videos in selfie mode. “That’s it, the pressure is down, I can talk to you. What party ! Wow, everything was wow. It was my first time at the Césars, everything didn’t go as planned and it was crazy. In real life it was magic”, he starts first to express his happiness to have participated in the ceremony. “Okay now, I have to explain to you what happened, because you didn’t see everything (…) To have experienced it from the inside, there is a crazy pressure, at all levels”, he explains, emphasizing that even the arrival of Brad Pitt to present a César of Honor to director David Fincher was a real secret: “Even we weren’t aware that he was coming”, he admits. Ahmed Sylla continues:“So, the evening begins, it is going really well. We hear people laughing in the room, Jamel sets fire, you feel that people are happy to be there, they want to party, they want to have a good time. I know what’s at stake, I know it’s difficult for those who are in the room and it’s difficult for those who are on stage.
“I try to speak with the lady”
“The famous moment is coming. I go on stage with Léa Drucker, I embrace my teams, I gain strength. You can’t see it on screen, but inside, it’s a cyclone. (…) We play our score, everything is going well, and then I turn my head and I see a young woman on stage. I will tell you exactly everything that happened”, he says before giving all the details: “There, it happened in several stages in my head. Because suddenly, it was cut at your place. So the girl comes on stage. Me, obviously, I make my valve because I do not know who this person is, nor what she wants. She comes in, I look at Léa. I look at her, and she doesn’t speak. So when it was cut at your place, it still lasts a little while on stage. She doesn’t say a word. She remains with her hand raised with the T-shirt. I read it and I don’t get it right away. (…) I try to speak with the young lady. (…) She does not answer, I look around the room a little bit, security arrives and there has been no, no, no violence. I know there was a picture that came out where you see her being lifted up, that’s because the moment security arrived she got down on the floor. Of course, we weren’t going to drag her like a common trash bag. They carried her, they evacuated her. That’s all that happened.” And Ahmed Sylla to conclude with “I am a comedian, I am looking for valves to escape from this situation. (…) At no time did I want to make fun of ecology”, he explains still very moved to have been able to participate for the first time in this Cesar ceremony… that he is not ready to forget!
VF