Represent (2023) s01e05 Episode Script

A NETFLIX SERIES
[newscaster] Tonight, join us live
for the great debate between rounds.
The fate of France will be decided
in a few days,
and face-to-face,
the two campaign outsiders,
Stéphane Blé and Corinne Douanier,
will debate and be judged
by the French people.
Between the two, I'm not sure.
They suck equally.
[newscaster] The great presidential debate
is tonight, live at 8:00 p.m.
- [door opens, closes]
- [chatter over radio]
I checked the electors' list,
and she didn't vote, Stéphane's wife.
[sighs] Don't bother.
He's telling everybody
she's been in Normandy since the IVF,
but she never did the IVF.
A friend of mine at the clinic
mentioned she was MIA.
That Lamine kid disappears,
then his wife disappears.
That seems like a lot.
It happens to coincide with a dealer kid
winding up in a coma. Hmm?
[clicks tongue] Yes.
It seems like a lot.
I don't think for a second
that idiot will be the president.
[chuckles]
- [man] We're live in 30 minutes!
- [Simone] Stéphane? It's your mom.
I'm here with Father Gontran,
who came from Abidjan.
- He'll bless you for the debate.
- [knocks]
[Yasmine] What are you doing?
The debate starts in 30.
We need Stéphane on set now!
- Two minutes.
- [Yasmine] What's he doing?
- See you soon.
- [Stéphane groans]
- It hurts too much. Let's cancel.
- Huh? No, no. We're not gonna cancel.
- So just breathe.
- [groans]
- Just relax.
- I can't do it. It's too painful.
- The stage fright is making my ball throb.
- Just breathe. Just breathe, Stéphane.
- Just breathe. Just breathe. Listen to me.
- [groans]
Let me tell you this now.
- I'm not proud of this.
- [groans]
Look, I misled you, okay?
I wasn't born in Sarcelles.
I'm from a-a quiet little suburb
in Seine-et-Marne.
My parents had money,
and I got into politics,
all because my father was in politics.
There's more.
I was never Aimé Césaire's
great-grandnephew.
- As for feeling Black, I never have.
- You for real?
- And I really hate going to Guadeloupe.
- [groans]
When I was little,
Malcolm X was not my hero.
No, it was Patrick Sébastien.
Well, not all his work.
Uh, the candid cameras.
Seriously, he did this one
with Thierry Lhermitte.
I'm not sure if you know that one.
- He invites him
- I really don't give a flying fuck.
Right. Okay. Listen.
Why would I tell you this?
Because
you opened my eyes to the ghettos.
[sighs] Oh, fuck.
What you taught me is that,
well, living in that area,
it makes you strong.
It's not a flaw.
And you're not perfect,
you know, Stéphane.
Sorry to tell you, man. But you're honest.
And for honesty,
I only know one honest person really.
It's Stéphane Blé, just so you know.
[sighs]
So now, this debate,
you need to do it for the forgotten,
for the oppressed people,
for the-the-the voiceless people,
you understand?
Are we doing this debate or what?
- Okay.
- We're going?
- Let's go.
- We're going?
- Okay.
- Okay!
- Ow! Careful!
- Right.
- You gotta change this diaper first, man.
- Huh?
[upbeat electronic music playing]
Could you enhance him a bit?
Because it's very dark.
Can't you, uh, tone the color here?
Just enhance.
Well, just, can't you get
get him to stand out?
Hey, you know,
the cosmetics they have aren't vegan.
- [William] We don't give a shit.
- [Stéphane groans]
[William] Can't you add a little green?
- Doesn't green and brown make
- No, he'd just look gray.
I am here for a battle.
[William] His skin tone needs
to be enhanced.
I don't know how you do that.
Because he's just
He really needs to pop.
[man] We're live in two minutes.
[inaudible]
[vibrating]
[phone unlocks]
- Oh, well, now. How are you?
- All right. All right, all right.
- Despite a bunch of trials on my ass.
- [woman 1] You always manage.
- [woman 2] Virginie, we need you on set.
- Yeah, all right.
- Éric, I have to go.
- Hey. Lay into those two, okay?
- Relax. I know my business.
- [Éric] I know.
Listen, uh, this just occurred to me now.
Uh, it seems a bit bizarre that Blé's wife
just disappeared, doesn't it?
Maybe you should grill him about that?
- No, I won't just invade his privacy.
- True. That's true. Uh, and his cousin?
- Did you know he's a drug dealer?
- What?
I can never stop talking.
No, I mean, his cousin,
he runs a trap house. Yeah.
Five years we've been trying
to nab the guy. Désiré's his name.
Yeah, he and Stéphane
are thick as thieves.
Just imagine how they poison kids,
with heroin, cocaine, the whole shebang.
Anyway, I won't bore you.
You know all this, right?
[chuckles] You know your business.
Take care, darling. Break a leg.
Okay. Later, Éric.
- [woman] What's going on?
- Oh, I really don't feel well right now.
- [William] What's wrong? What do you mean?
- Drink this. Holy water.
It's here straight from the little stream
near my parish.
That's a bad idea.
This stuff here, you're gonna get worms.
- No way. Stop. Yes.
- No, he won't. Here, now. Drink.
- [William] No! Whoa! No! Don't swallow.
- [woman] Oh, my God! Gross.
- Now he's gon
- [man] We are live in one minute.
[William] Oh, okay. So who's the champ?
You are, okay? So bring it home.
- Everything depends on this. We can do it.
- Give us a sign if you need us.
Let's go, let's go. You'll be awesome.
I believe in you. I believe in you!
- You got this.
- [Corinne] Stéphane.
I'm really pleased we're able to share
this moment of democracy here.
Me too. Thank you.
[man] We are live in 30 seconds.
He's gonna take down that loser.
- What's that?
- Uh, uh, I'm sorry. [chuckles sheepishly]
[Stéphane sighs]
Uh, excuse me?
I suppose it's too late
to do a toilet run, huh?
- Oh, you really mustn't.
- No, it's beginning.
- Too late. So sorry.
- [host] All right, let's go.
- [sighs]
- [man] We are live in five, four
- Three, two, one.
- [heartbeat thumping]
[man] Cue credits.
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
THE DEBATE
- [audience applauding]
- [dramatic music playing]
Good evening, everyone.
Over 60 million citizens waited
for this moment,
and now, it's finally arrived.
The debate between the two candidates
in round two of the presidential election.
Corinne Douanier and Stéphane Blé,
both largely unknown.
- Next Sunday, one of them will
- [Stéphane cries out]
- become the 26th president
- Oh, dear God!
- of the French Republic.
- Anything wrong, Mr. Blé?
- Nothing. No worries.
- Are you ready?
We're real men. I'm not, uh No crying.
- [Sébastien] Can we start the debate?
- Of course. Let's. [chuckles]
Well, let's look at the intentions
of the voters as the show begins.
As you can see from the polls,
France has not yet decided.
To help you make up your mind,
we're going to look at their profiles.
- Douanier, Blé, the match.
- [Stéphane whines] Oh, man.
- Let's begin.
- Whoo!
[audience applauding]
PROFILES
- [woman 1] Okay. Okay, okay, okay, okay.
- [woman 2] It's pretty good, the schools.
- [Corinne] Hello!
- [Virginie] Who is Corinne Douanier?
Is this the old man from Sarcelles?
[Virginie] We went to meet up with her
in her headquarters
and followed her throughout her day.
- But revegetation will happen in sync.
- Yeah, yeah.
[Virginie] An activist at all times,
Corinne Douanier holds degrees
in economy and history.
She is fluent in seven languages,
including Afghan and Mandarin.
- And how's Terry?
- He's doing better.
- That's great.
- [woman] See you soon.
Have a nice day.
She became mayor of her village
when she was 18.
- Oh, hello, Sandrina.
- [Sandrina] Hello, Corinne.
Hey, you two,
my VHS of Sacrifice of Tarkovsky?
- You borrowed it.
- Oh, I'm sorry.
- Well, I'm not a library. I'm mayor.
- Yes, I'll remember.
All right. Have a nice day.
[Virginie] The one who sings her praises
is her loyal spokeswoman,
Églantine Richet, who is deaf and mute.
I first met Corinne
DOUANIER'S SPOKESWOMAN
just after my accident.
And I was really moved
by her desire to heal this ailing world
in a very real way.
And on three. One, two, three.
[Virginie] And whenever the candidate
has some time to herself,
Corinne prefers to dedicate it to others.
She's clearly the reason I'm alive today.
Around 15 years ago,
after bocce ball, I just fainted.
I fell to the ground, and she
she just appeared.
She knew what to do. CPR immediately.
She brought me back to life.
All that and with a broken arm.
- [Corinne] Come on! Go!
- [Nathan] She was truly heroic that day.
[panting] Hang on! Stay here!
Stay here! That's it! [chuckles]
No, it's true.
We're under a lot of pressure.
But that doesn't mean we don't relax
a little bit every now and then, right?
[panting] Even when we're Shit.
[chuckles breathlessly]
saving lives. Let's go!
[Virginie] Well known
in the nonprofit world,
Corinne defends a social model
that's based primarily
on the return to natural products,
ecofeminism, and downsizing.
One evening, we saw on TV
what was happening in the Mediterranean
with the migrants.
- Oh. I mean, the, uh, the refugees.
- The refugees.
Sorry. Excuse me. We don't actually
approve of that term. Sorry.
And, well, in just three days, about
Where were we?
- [smacks lips] The Mediterranean.
- You see? Right.
We're on an NGO ship to save lives.
In our village, we have the lowest
CO2 emission rate in all of France.
And it's all thanks to her.
We need more to pitch in,
and we can fix the climate overnight.
It's simple and effective.
PROFILES
[doorbell chimes]
Hey. Hello, TV.
I didn't have time to throw anything on.
I'm really sorry.
But, I mean, why hide this body?
- [Virginie] Who is Stéphane Blé?
- I was a huge sports guy.
[Virginie] To find out,
we met with him
at his apartment in Bobigny.
[grunts] I was in soccer, yeah.
I was a champion, even.
Champion of fair play.
Nicest team in all of France.
This is a portrait
of my grandpa here. Film.
He was an infantryman
who took part in the World War II landings
before he departed.
He was thrown overboard. [chuckles]
And not playfully. They forced him, yeah.
- [Virginie] Only two months ago
- You fit, man?
[Virginie] Stéphane Blé worked
as a monitor at this youth center.
And then, this happened.
When you're getting fucked over working,
sleeves don't matter.
[crowd] Whoa!
Are you looking for a slogan
for your campaign?
It's ' "Liberty, equality, brotherhood."
- [crowd] Whoa!
- [Virginie] He has a knack for punchlines.
Which he developed
during his years in the projects.
Look at this. Isn't this beautiful?
The blend of cultures,
the energy of hip-hop.
I wanna do some freestyle for you.
Do you mind if I do a freestyle?
Listen to this, son. Yeah! Hey!
[raps] Suffrage is universal ♪
Adds a bit of style
To the core of our democracy ♪
Huh!
Because things 'round here
Are gettin' crazy ♪
Guess we'll see ♪
And meta, metaphysics ♪
Let's play fair ♪
This game will change you
Aye! I'm out today ♪
- Stéph, what's up?
- What's up, ladies?
[Virginie] Stéphane's greatest strength
is his roots in his neighborhood.
He knows the field, the kids,
and their discontent.
They told me you smoke. Be careful!
[girl] Hey, fuck your mom!
- Peace, joy, vote Blé.
- Amen.
Peace and joy. Vote Blé.
[Virginie] Since he's very close
to his family and to his roots,
Stéphane insisted that his mother be part
of his close entourage.
- Ah, you'll vote for him, right?
- Of course. We're gonna mobilize.
[Stéphane] I'm just gonna show myself
as I really am.
I'm not gonna lie like politicians.
Look. See? Nothing's been hidden.
It's true that getting
to the second match of this campaign
has been a boost for people around here.
A boost to brothers, a boost to sisters.
A boost for me too.
And hoping for a little
bank account boost.
That's the truth.
[chuckles] I'm kidding. I love humor.
He's not perfect,
mm, but he has one quality,
he puts others first.
You want coffee?
If the people around him are unhappy,
then he's just unhappy too.
I'm out of coffee. Yeah.
Do you want a tea?
It doesn't look like much,
but it's important.
See, this is the real reason
I'm here today.
Thanks to my city.
It's given me everything.
I'll give it everything. That's the plan.
THE DEBATE
- [audience applauding]
- [dramatic music plays, fades out]
And now, you know a little more
about the candidates.
And it seems to be that, right now,
the French are seeming to lean
towards Mrs. Douanier more than Mr. Blé.
[Virginie] But nothing's been decided yet.
So, Mrs. Douanier, your first question.
Why should the French decide
to vote for you?
Good evening.
PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE
Greetings to the many-gendered
viewers here.
Hello, Mr. Blé.
Tonight, France has a chance that's unique
as it has decided to put away the entire
ancient class of political corruption
and entrust its responsibilities
to an entirely fresh face.
Well, that fresh face, I can do it,
and I wanna do it.
And tonight, I won't tell you
what I'm going to do,
but I'll say what we are going
to do here as a team.
No man is providential.
No woman is providential.
But I say that there are
over 60 million French
who are providential
to their brothers and sisters.
[audience applauding]
- [audience cheer]
- [hosts] Thank you.
Now, Mr. Blé, the same question to you.
Why should the French decide
to choose you?
No, it's true. She's good.
If I weren't competing as a candidate,
for real, I'd vote for her.
You're fair play. That's good.
- Okay, I don't speak 12 languages
- No, but I only speak seven.
Oh, can I ask you something?
My spokeswoman's interpreter
hasn't arrived.
She's lip-reading right now.
If you could please articulate?
[enunciating slowly]
I am not a college degree hold
She's deaf, not stupid.
- You're the one who said
- Just a little.
- There.
- [Stéphane] Okay.
I'm a guy you can describe as "normal."
But not like a president who's "normal."
I'm normal in the sense
that I know the struggle of real folks.
But if it's in Corrèze or the streets,
it's the same struggle.
Now, I'm not here to mislead you.
I'm not promising everything.
But I am promising to do my best.
[audience applauding, whooping]
- Go Stéphane!
- Thank you.
He's got a fan club. Thank you. Thank you.
[Virginie] Thank you. Thank you both.
Now, let's continue on with The Duel.
- Yes.
- [Corinne] Duel? This isn't war.
I'm not at war with Mr. Blé.
I respect him.
- And we'll exchange views.
- Hamdoullah.
No, it's just for
Hamdoullah. That's respect. I'm not here
- Well, anyway, here comes The Duel.
- That's ridiculous.
THE DUEL
[Virginie] Mrs. Douanier,
some say you're too radical.
[Corinne] I think, today,
we no longer have a choice.
We need radicals, and downsizing,
even demographically.
Did you know that, in France,
there are couples who still continue
having three children?
Three children.
It's absurd! It's irresponsible!
And Mr. Blé, can you tell me
how you'd answer this?
You know, uh, my wife and I
are trying to have a kid,
and I never stopped
to put that question out there,
of how much waste the child will produce.
- You know?
- Yeah.
I just thought about
how much love we would share.
Oh, well, that argument.
That's super selfish.
- Me, selfish?
- I think of the planet.
Well, but that's my conviction,
that our children are going to restore it.
And they'll save it, thanks to education
and an awareness of nature.
Call me selfish then,
but you're a defeatist.
- [audience applaud]
- Your response?
- [supporters booing]
- Yeah. Defeatist?
Or am I just responsible?
[Sébastien] Calm down, please. Thank you.
One hour into the debate, I propose
we check the updated voting intentions.
Based on the figures, it seems that
Mr. Blé has just gained a slight lead,
but, of course, the next segment
could shake things up.
Uh, we are now going to welcome
someone who matters,
or who has affected the lives
of our candidates,
and who will provide
well, shine a light
on their personalities.
Next, we have our Guest Surprise.
SURPRISE GUES
[Stéphane] Who is it?
Who is it, who is it?
Who's my guest?
I can't tell you
or it wouldn't be a surprise.
Some people in the hood lie,
say we're friends, but I don't know them.
They're haters and phonies.
Uh, anyway,
let's welcome our first surprise guest
for Corinne Douanier.
The guest is Chahiba Daoudzada.
[audience applauding]
[Corinne] Oh, my!
[triumphant music playing]
[man] There's a step.
- Pfft.
- [Corinne] Chahiba!
- What is this now?
- [Chahiba] Corinne!
- This is a masquerade.
- It's been so long! How are you?
- Oh, I'm fine.
- [Sébastien] Have a seat.
- Welcome, Chahiba.
- [William] She's not blind at all.
[Virginie] Thank you
for coming on the show.
Stéphane. Stéphane.
- [Virginie] A very powerful reunion.
- We can feel We can feel many emotions.
- Right, Mrs. Douanier?
- Yes.
Welcome, Chahiba.
- Now tell me, uh, who is Chahiba?
- Well
Sorry.
No problem. Take your time.
Actually,
Chahiba is Afghan.
We encountered each other years ago
through a great program called She-lter.
Because "she-lter," meaning "she,"
a woman making shelter.
- We understand.
- Of course.
- Stéphane.
- [Corinne] She's Afghan.
- Tortured by the Taliban.
- She's not blind. She can see.
rejected by her family,
because she's blind and gay.
And type 2 diabetic.
- Oh, true.
- [William] No. She's not blind!
[fakes sneeze] She's not blind!
- [Sébastien] Sir, please.
- She's not blind.
When she sat down,
she quickly looked back. She did.
Now, if I were blind, I'd sit this way.
- She clearly looked.
- Sir, please listen, sir.
Sir, please.
You also financed her education, right?
No, yes, it wasn't me.
- Let's just say, the structures
- Keep going. I don't think she's blind.
- I just Let's, quick, just verify.
- No, but
She didn't put her cane in front.
She walked this way, stepped to the side
- [Corinne] Is this a joke?
- [Virginie] Mr. Blé, listen.
- You can't stay on set like this.
- No, no. No worries.
It's completely disrespectful, sir.
- What's going on?
- [Sébastien] Mr. Blé.
- [Stéphane] She's blind.
- [William] No, she's not.
- Sorry. Sorry. I apologize.
- [William] No. Don't apologize.
- She's blind.
- [Virginie] You can't behave that way.
- You just humiliated her here, live!
- She's blind. So sorry.
- [Sébastien] We agree.
- She's a woman, disabled, in exile.
- You humiliated her on live TV!
- She's not a lesbian!
- [Chahiba] I used to worse.
- Lesbian, bull!
I saw Taliban's eyes twice in my
in my life.
I'm not scared or afraid
of this kind of man.
Uh, Chahiba, what do you wish
to tell the French people
about Corinne Douanier
to guide their decision?
- Oh, French people
- [William] She's cross-eyed!
- [scoffs] Yeah.
- are very lucky.
They must realize
that Corinne is a wonderful woman.
Today, I'm, uh, studying at Harvard,
where I follow a triple degree.
Sustainable development, human rights,
and history of LGBTQ+ persecution
in the Arabian peninsula
in the seventh century.
- Thankfully to Corinne.
- [Corinne] There you go.
This is proof that,
when a community offers a chance
to a person in exile, often,
the person is an asset
for their new country.
- [William] That's not what she said.
- Yes, that's one point of view.
[speaking in Arabic]
[interpreter, in English]
May the light guide your steps, Chahiba.
Thank you. Thank you.
[William] Everything except France.
Afghanistan, the US
- Sorry. This is all over the place.
- Pardon?
- Please, sir.
- Calm down. This is unacceptable.
- I work with Stéphane Blé. William Crozon.
- [hosts chattering]
[Corinne] No, it's not all over the place.
We're talking about her journey.
And yes, it began in Afghanistan,
where a woman was abused
- Oh, yes?
- forced into exile.
Crossed the Mediterranean
at her own peril.
- All that and blind? Hmm!
- She managed to get here, was taken in
- Crossed the Mediterranean blind?
- William!
- She'd have sunk.
- [Stéphane] William!
that France cannot offer her.
Point and match, friend.
Mr. Blé, calm your team down, please.
- I wanna apologize to Chahiba.
- No.
I did have doubts.
- Also, my adviser gave me bad advice.
- [William] But I didn't.
I'd like to hear what you have to say
on the issue of inclusion.
- Your plans are what?
- Respond. That's interesting.
It's great she's asked me this.
- I've waited for it from the start.
- Ah.
You all know that, recently,
I was shot, right in my testicle.
- Yeah?
- Mm-hmm.
The effects of that
[Sébastien] You're saying this to Chahiba,
who's been through worse,
so let's get to your surprise guest,
someone who you care about immensely,
who has a strong character,
and who you know by heart.
Who is it? Granite?
- No, sorry.
- [Virginie] It's not.
Do you mean Grateau?
- It's Claude, your father.
- That's right!
- Let's meet Claude!
- Claude is here?
[audience applauding]
- What are you doing here? Huh?
- [Sébastien] Ma'am.
- [Simone] Get out!
- [hosts] Hello, Claude.
- Take a seat right there, please.
- Oh, my son!
Ah, finally! [chuckles]
[Virginie] Claude, uh,
you've just arrived from Abidjan,
and you and Stéphane
haven't seen each other
in about, what, 20 years, is that right?
- Twenty-seven years.
- Absolutely.
Eight weeks, four days.
- Life took us apart.
- [Simone] What life took you apart? Huh?
You took off with Clémentine,
who was married to Isidore,
my very own cousin!
To satisfy your own needs,
you damn idiot! Puh!
I wasn't getting it at home,
so I had to look for it elsewhere.
You asked for too much.
I didn't let you bully me!
Well, then, as I was saying,
life took us apart.
- I decided to travel the world.
- [Simone] He's a sex addict!
- [Virginie] Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
- For my trade. Import, export, transport.
But I always held you in my heart, my son.
Still, you probably could've called
in 27 years. I mean
Well, you know how it is.
- No.
- There's bad reception out there.
For 27 years, bad reception? Really?
Well, actually, speaking of initiative,
if you would please dial 0-0-2-2-5
- Oh! Display it here, the number.
- [Virginie] No, not possible.
You could help support
a real estate project
brimming with all types of class!
- No.
- [Stéphane] Dad.
- Claude!
- What are we talking about here, sir?
Don't be interrupting me, girlie.
- Pardon? You're calling me "girlie"?
- [Sébastien] Hold on.
- What are you doing, Dad?
- Super.
The presidency is the arena of men.
Not for some lady with, uh,
perverse sexual preferences.
- Wow! Wow! Wow!
- The sorry truth.
- I, uh
- Yes.
I am distancing myself officially
from comments made
by the individual next to me.
- You know, in Cameroon
- I'm sorry.
that exact kind of fool
gets six years of prison time.
- And then a very pricey fine.
- And that's what kind of person?
Huh? Huh? Who?
Yes. Respond.
Lesbians.
- [Sébastien] No, sir.
- Oh.
- [Virginie] Unacceptable.
- [Corinne] Stéphane.
For your own good,
you have to shut him up.
This cannot continue.
Great having you, Claude.
[speaking in Mina]
[Corinne speaking in Mina]
[in English] Oh, Mrs. Douanier,
you speak African?
Please, don't
But "speaking African" is just
No, fine, it's Mina.
I know a little because I spent
six months in Grand Popo.
Huh? [speaking in Mina]
- [in English] Yes.
- [speaking in Mina]
[in English] No, we're not
You know what?
- You are incredibly rude.
- Get the hell outta here!
Get out!
- [Chahiba mutters]
- No, it's fine. Don't worry.
- [Virginie] Sir, I must ask you
- We can't understand you.
[Virginie] Claude, you need to calm down.
- [indistinct overlapping arguing]
- Stop, sir.
Someone please take my friend back
away from all of this?
Because when people scream,
it reminds her of the Taliban.
- Thank you. It's all right.
- [arguing continues]
[audience clapping]
[Sébastien] We've been together
for nearly two hours.
- The broadcast is nearing its end
- All right.
- and here are the latest polls.
- Come on, man.
Yes, Mr. Blé has 21 percent of the voters,
against 35 percent for Mrs. Douanier,
who's in the lead.
However, half the French population
have not yet decided
who they will be voting for.
Yes, in place of a stilted conclusion,
written by our team of folks in PR
who tried their best,
we're moving on to The Question.
THE QUESTION
- [audience applauding]
- [dramatic music plays, fades out]
THE QUESTION
Mr. Blé, we'll begin with you.
This is your question, Mr. Blé.
- What is your position on radical Islam
- Drug-trafficking.
- That works.
- [Virginie] Yes.
According to several sources,
you are directly connected
to traffickers within your district.
And some are even members of your family.
Is-Is there only one question?
If you get to the Elysée,
who will be safe?
The French or your family?
The voters or the traffickers?
Ooh! [chuckles]
Suck on that, Blé! Suck on that!
Suck on that! There, there, there!
- [laughs] Look at him, look at him.
- [Sébastien] It's an easy question.
[inaudible]
- [Sébastien] Mr. Blé?
- Still got champagne?
[laughs] Look at this!
We have to celebrate this. Look at him!
He's shitting himself.
He's shitting himself!
- [laughing]
- [text message alert]
- Hey, I'll even crack a new case.
- Hmm?
PIERRE: THE LOTFI KID IS OUT OF HIS COMA.
HE'S ACCUSING LAMINE!
[laughing] Oh, fuck!
[laughing heartily]
[Sébastien] We're live
and listening, Mr. Blé.
[high-pitched ringing]
[Virginie, echoing] France is listening.
- [ringing continues]
- [echoing] Who would you choose?
The French or your family?
The voters or the traffickers?
[Sébastien] It's an easy question.
It's simple. It's yes or no.
- Mr. Blé? We're listening.
- Yes, okay, okay.
Yes, all right,
there are drug-traffickers in my family
- [William] Fuck.
- in my associates, yes.
But let me say this.
When you're Black
and there's nothing but poverty,
your options are limited for you.
You know you'll be working harder
than most folks,
but you'll be getting less
than everyone else in the end.
To that end, there are those
who choose to get by in life that way.
So, in the projects,
we need to stop undervaluing us,
for more potential,
for more vision, for more curiosity.
We can't let ourselves be limited.
So I'm asking the people of France
to vote on Sunday for Stéphane Blé,
to prove it's possible,
coming here from nothing
and still rising to the highest office.
- There.
- [whooping]
[applause continues]
So, then, uh, you do have a cousin
who traffics drugs.
- The French will take note.
- You missed what I said.
Uh, we'll be going ahead
with Corinne Douanier,
and asking her The Question.
Mrs. Douanier,
according to our information,
you sponsored Stéphane Blé,
just a few months back, so he could run.
So if you would explain,
two months ago, you supported him,
and tonight,
you're battling in front of the French.
That seems a bit hypocritical.
Yes, yes, yes.
I sponsored Mr. Blé. Absolutely.
See, two months or so back,
I met, at my HQ, a man,
a monitor in the area, honest, sincere,
wanted to change the system,
so, yes, I decided to offer him a hand
for the good
of the democratic process, yes.
However, Mr. Blé, the man I see
sitting across from me this evening
is not the one I thought I knew,
to tell the truth.
During this campaign,
you acted like everybody else,
compromise after compromise.
- You said things then contradicted
- [Stéphane] Me?!
Yeah! Example, did you say,
"liberty, equality, security"?
Did you say it or not?
- Yes.
- [Sébastien] Really?
- There.
- [Stéphane] I said it.
- [Corinne] There!
- I was with the police.
There! You spouted "security" with fuzz.
What did I say?
You turned into a politician. Know what?
You wanna overthrow the system?
You've become the system.
You've joined with the oppressors! There!
- Wait, are you kidding me? Wait, sorry
- [Corinne] No.
- Now I'm one of the oppressors?
- Yeah, yeah.
And 400 years of slavery?
That doesn't ring a bell?
Colonization, you know what that is?
Two thousand years
of oppressing women is what?
- Oh, all right!
- Yeah.
And there were also African women slaves.
I'm saying you can't win
if you're a woman.
And that could be changed
once I'm elected. There!
Because you're the archetypal kind of man
who's entitled just because he's a man.
Men like you have been guiding us
and leading us to humanity's demise.
That's enough! It needs to end! Stop!
- [audience applaud, whoop]
- For the future, for the planet.
For our children, for France.
Long live France.
[ringing tone]
- [ringing tone]
- [line clicks]
- [Marion] Yeah?
- Did you watch?
[Marion] I got the gist.
- We all did.
- Okay, you watched.
You saw how bad I messed up?
[Marion] No, the beginning wasn't bad,
but then they threw everything at you.
Nasty, with your dad.
Yeah, it was super nasty. Are you kidding?
And Lamine, how's he?
Stéph, you won't be president.
He needs to surrender.
We'll find him a good lawyer
who can prove that he fell into a trap.
He won't listen to me,
but you can convince him.
- Listen
- [Marion] Please.
I still have a shot.
Let me get through round two,
then I'll handle everything.
- Stop panicking. It'll be all right.
- [sighs]
I'll call you back, honey.
Don't worry. I promise.
I love you.
- [door opens]
- Wow!
[Stéphane sighs]
- [William] I don't know what to say.
- [sighs]
That was pretty bad.
I mean, it was really bad.
But we can make it.
There's still pockets of abstention.
They're pretty large.
We'll pick up some votes
and make a comeback.
Don't worry, okay?
Look at Chirac in '95.
He was just a total shock.
Nobody believed he'd win.
That said, you need to get serious,
for real.
- Listen to me
- [knocking]
Yeah, just a second.
We're working. Listen to me here.
- Stick to the basics.
- [man] Open the door.
- The social
- [knocking]
Yeah, just a second!
- Social, social. We're together now.
- [pounding on door]
You listen when I say something, okay?
- I'll listen as well.
- [pounding]
- I-I-I need to, uh, process
- [man] Police!
- [man] It's the police, Mr. Blé. Open up.
- Police?
- What did you do?
- I didn't do anything.
- I didn't do anything. You didn't?
- I don't know what they want.
- [pounding]
- Then why are they here?
I didn't do anything. I don't know.
- [sighs] Fu just tell me if you did
- I didn't do anything, for real!
- I know I didn't do anything.
- Get the door!
- You're making a mistake, we didn't
- Mr. Blé?
He's here. That's him there.
The boy, Lotfi, who was hurt
in your neighborhood last week,
he's out of the coma.
He has formally identified Lamine Touré
as his assailant.
No.
Lamine is part
of your campaign team, right?
- Uh, y-y-yes?
- No.
- No? No.
- [William] No, no. Oh, no. Lamine?
Not at all. He was a volunteer.
He just helped hand out some pamphlets.
I gave him a restaurant, uh, coupon once.
Now, is that considered a paid salary?
I don't think so.
He hasn't been part of anything, so, uh
Okay, you can clarify all this
at the station,
because Lamine is missing,
and you're suspected of helping him flee.
- Follow us, please.
- [William] No, please. You can't do this.
- No. There are journalists here. Please.
- My son is innocent.
- Wait, please, sir.
- [reporter] Where is Lamine?
We need to know where you've hidden him.
["Étranger au Paradis"
by Gloria Lasso playing]
[camera clicking]
[music continues]
[music fading out]