It was a ceremony full of rants attended by the 1.8 million César viewers. This Friday, February 23, 2024, many artists present on the Olympia stage gave speeches that were as powerful as they were committed, and tackled many political subjects. If Judith Godrèche intervened to call on her fellow actresses to fight the filmmakers who touched, harassed, assaulted or even raped them, by publicly denouncing them, Raphaël Quenard wanted to commit to the angry farmers. Actress and director Kaouther Ben Hania, for her part, called for a ceasefire in Gaza, as did Arieh Worthalter and Gala Hernández López. But that was without counting Jamel Debbouze, who came to present an honorary César to his friend Agnès Jaoui, went there with his little spade.
Indeed, while most of his speech paid tribute to the career of Agnès Jaoui, most awarded woman in the history of the Césars (she received her seventh trophy last night), Jamel Debbouze could not help but tackle the National Rally. The comedian, who made the trip with his son, who appeared publicly for the very first time at 15, joked during his speech, imagining himself becoming President of the Republic: “I will demand a photo of myself in all town halls in France… Especially in Béziers, Hénin-Beaumont and Orange”. Jamel Debbouze thus refers to Robert MenardRN mayor of Béziers, Steve BrioisRN mayor of Hénin-Beaumont and vice-president of Marine Le Pen’s party, and Jacques BompardRN mayor of Orange from 1995 to 2021, since replaced by his son Yann Bompard.
Marine Le Pen president in 2027? He doesn’t believe it
In June 2022, in an interview with Le Monde, Jamel Debbouze spoke of the rise in power of the National Rally, and the possible arrival of Marine Le Pen or Jordan Bardella to power in the coming years. The humorist, philosophical and nuanced, was convinced of a non-racist France which could not let these people sit at the Élysée one day: “If France were racist, we would all be out a long time ago. The score of the National Front is a score of people who cannot make ends meet. That’s France’s problem. They send us splendor, it’s beautiful everywhere, but not on your plate. An accountant would be needed to make a better distribution. France is an old lady who just needs to be reassured“ he declared. Answer in the ballot boxes in 2027.