Génération Mitterand

The fate of three French people for whom the important thing was the rose. Michel is a factory worker in Belfort. Marie-France is a journalist in Paris. Luc is a teacher in Vénissieux. Born in the 1950s, all three voted for François Mitterrand in May 1981, convinced that a socialist candidate coming to power would usher in a new society. In 2022, their votes diverged, going to Marine Le Pen, Emmanuel Macron and Jean-Luc Mélenchon. To understand what divides them, each in turn shares “their” Mitterrand. With humor, these three voters retrace their journeys across the two seven-year presidential terms. It was an era marked by anti-racism, the rise of the National Front and the construction of Europe. Through their accounts, they bring forth a thousand characters and recount their hopes and sorrows, as well as the upheavals of successive governments, revealing how politics influenced the course of their lives. Text: Léo Cohen Paperman and Émilien Diard-Detoeuf Direction: Léo Cohen Paperman With Léonard Bourgeois-Tacquet, Mathieu Metral and Hélène Rencurel