Who would have thought that the European institutions could be the subject of a comedy series? Not many people at the start. Except France Télévisions! The fiction Parliament turns out to be one of the best of the moment.
The public was not mistaken: 2.5 million views on the france.tv platform for the 1st season. As for the European administration, it obviously appreciated it since it opened the doors of the Strasbourg Parliament for the filming of season 2. A second part which has been online since Monday, May 9, Europe Day , on the France Télévisions website. And for those who have not seen the first, it finally arrives in linear, on France 5 this evening at 9 p.m.
Parliament is therefore a dive into the mysteries of European power, with its incomprehensible jargon and barbaric acronyms. Despite this, we discover how the laws that influence the daily lives of Europeans are thought out, negotiated and passed. So an educational aspect, but from a burlesque, funny, entertaining angle.
“That’s the point of the series: having fun while learning”
Xavier Lacailleon franceinfo
Xavier Lacaille, the main actor of “Parliament” embodies Sami, a parliamentary assistant in the service of an incompetent in season 1 then an ambitious in season 2. “I think we are quite close to reality, the situations are believable. Admittedly, the characters are wacky and a little crazy, so it goes down the drain, but the stakes are real” believes Xavier Lacaille, also co-screenwriter of Validbig hit on Canal+.
For this new season, the filming took place in the Parliament of Strasbourg, proof that the series pleased the Eurocrats: “We had rather positive feedback because we don’t hurt the institution. And the comedy, the satire come to make everyone agree. We are not here to be serious, to be austere, to take sides . But to make a fiction with characters that we love and for whom we have a lot of empathy”, believes Xavier Lacaille. As for Michel Speklin, lazy and ignorant French MEP, brilliantly interpreted by the former “Deschiens” Philippe Duquesne.
We already know that Parliament will have a sequel, which will begin filming in the fall.