A photochemical restoration and a digitization of the original film
in its full-length version were done with the support of the CNC.
Following the wishes of Chris Marker, Pierre Lhomme, the co-director,
then cut some 20 minutes for the theatrical version.
The 2K scans, the picture and sound restoration,
were done by Mikros Image.
THE LOVELY MONTH OF MAY
A film by Chris Marker and Pierre Lhomme
assisted by
Narrator
Executive producer
Librettist
Musician
Investigate rs
Sound men
Image men
Henchmen
Scissor women
The scene is set in May 1962,
considered by some at the time as "the first spring of peace."
Part One PRAYER ON THE EIFFEL TOWER
1st May 1962, rue des Patriarches
It's boring when you work in this heat...
It's no fun, you slave away.
For my wife, one thing counts.
"How much did you make?"
She loves me for what I earn.
Between my boss bawling me out and my wife...
I'm at peace commuting. But now I drive in.
I'm not at peace anymore.
When are you free?
When I'm driving in light traffic.
Because I work, work, work.
Sundays, Mondays, Saturdays.
Why? For money. I have loans, rent, all that.
I gotta keep working.
Some guys earn less than me.
Doing what hours? 9 am to 6 pm.
- And you? - 9 am to 8 pm.
And I'm always on my feet.
You can't do it for long, stay on your feet.
After 8 you're free?
Free to get yelled at by my wife?
Free for what? Home at 8.
At 8.30 I eat.
At 9, turn on the TV. We're fine.
We both watch on our own.
So we don't talk.
If I fidget, she says:
"Sit still. Turn the TV off."
When I get home: "I'm so tired."
I say: "Yes, you're tired."
Lucky there aren't two.
Two what?
Two channels.
You'd have to choose.
I'd buy two sets and work harder.
And vacations'?
I go to Italy.
To Italy.
You're free then?
No, a peaceful vacation is no good.
I need noise. I dance all night.
Daytime I rest in bed.
Daytime, I don't know...
My wife looks after the kids.
So I have some freedom, not much.
When are you happy?
When am I happy?
When I sell a suit.
Cash in the till.
Lots of cash in the till.
All that counts is cash.
- That's all? - Sell, sell, sell. That's all.
And the kids' health.
Knock on wood.
When the kids are healthy.
I'm not worried.
What matters is cash in the till.
And then what? You put it in to take it out.
How come?
To use it.
I buy more suits.
Not much margin.
That's modern society.
For me: suits, for others: cars or movies.
Like your work.
Why produce a movie? To make another.
What do you do with the money'?
You do the opposite now'?
I wouldn't say that.
So why do you want...
I buy suits.
You go to movies.
Me, movies?
There isn't much on.
Not much on?
What's on now'?
Cleo from 5 to 7.
I'll go see it.
And Marienbad.
" Marienbad"? Oh, no...
A bit too...
I'm a simple guy.
I'm sorry.
Who says it's for intellects?
You have to figure it out, and I...
You understand stuff'?
I won't rack my brains.
Why fork out money to figure things out?
Isn't it nice?
Sitting racking my brains,
isn't worth it.
I like these movies:
when stylish people pull pistols,
shoot each other, then make calls.
And I like...
I like historical movies.
You prefer killing or calling?
Killing, then calling.
Why do you like it?
Why? I like watching Superman.
I have a hang-up: I'm dumpy.
I like seeing the beefcake
bust everything up.
Mind being different?
It's liberating.
In what way?
I think: "If I was like him..."
And at night, I think: "I'd have done this..."
But you're not like him?
I'm not hung-up.
So long as I eat well and sleep well...
I eat well, sleep well and turn in early.
- So you're happy? - Right.
You said you weren't.
When I eat and sleep and the till is full.
Is that your aim in life?
I need it.
Let's not talk politics,
liberty, equality, fraternity, OK.
Why not politics?
Politics, politics...
Politics for me, is living well.
If we say I must be free,
my wife and kids free,
that's politics.
It's another topic. We can discuss it forever.
We can do things too. Get political?
What kind of politics?
Should we make changes?
It must remain representative.
We elect parliamentarians and they vote for us.
You have a traffic ticket, you write to Mr. Le Pen or Mr. Thorez:
"I voted for you, can you cancel this fine?"
A limited idea of democracy.
Not at all. Parliamentarians who defend us.
No point having more.
Nothing more'?
We haven't done too badly till now.
What harm has de Gaulle done me since 1958?
None.
Personally, speaking for myself,
he's done me no harm.
You'll say I'm selfish.
But if 40 million selfish Frenchmen unite,
we'd have politics.
A snack on the grass,
a picnic with your old lady...
You get the idea.
Her little transistor radio...
Be happy, have a drink...
Enjoy a nice time.
If you had time and money, would you have a TV?
TV'? Sure would!
You bet.
- Here in the shop? - No, not down here.
In the apartment, upstairs.
It's a must, isn't it.
Live life to the fullest.
We have the time.
You see it as a funeral?
Yeah, a bit like the song.
Paris's oldest sign hangs over a twist club.
Rue Mouffetard, a working-class neighborhood since the 17th century,
has recovered its patrician vocation.
Beetroot is cheaper that on the Right Bank.
But not paintings.
This ancient Roman way that trembled under a Praetorian march,
now leads to an unfathomable future.
There are cabarets, galleries,
a theatre.
10 years on, these images will be more disorientating
than those of Paris 1900.
But Rue Mouffetard's metamorphosis
applies to half of Paris, the most picturesque half.
Ifs easy to praise urban transformation
when 1 in 20 homes has no electricity,
1 in 12 no water.
Yet carriages often lose the charm of pumpkins,
Europe's future capital should include in its plan
that modest treasure defined in one word:
"friendliness."
Why do you like this area?
I love it here. The friendliness...
It's "La Mouffe." It's genuine.
It's "La Mouffe." You can't leave.
I wouldn't move for anything.
Bury me in this street.
Is there a question of you being rehoused afterwards?
- Sure. - Where will you go?
Like everyone. We'll look for a place.
Somewhere nice and calm. And friendly.
Oh, if you knew Maubeuge
I knew great love
In distant lands
POETRY 2000
NIGHT BELL FOR THE SACRAMENTS
DANGEROUS DOG
What will you miss most?
The alley.
- This place? - The back room. And here.
Anything, everything.
You have to admit it.
This is our home.
Anywhere else we'd feel deported.
The present solutions,
which are fastidious, monotonous, inhuman,
dreary, ugly and all that...
arise because no one conceives it any other way.
The basic aim is not that at all.
The aim is money.
It's money.
That's why another technique is possible.
We must explore techniques.
But first we determine the context.
Not a context where land costs 150 000 francs the square meter.
It's impossible.
That context calls for skyscrapers.
Skyscrapers can be beautiful, but in Paris...
It could work...
but multiplying them like in the 15th district is ridiculous.
What would you do on this site?
Well, ideally...
I'd start by planting trees.
Trees and greenery.
We're asking you to house people.
And then... We can't narrow it down to sites.
It's a global approach.
We can start imagining from there.
Tiny little things hidden in the trees,
like birds, and near them,
in the trees and greenery...
A ground floor'?
A ground floor and upper floors,
as high as the trees.
A bit higher, but not much.
Always in contact with nature.
On every level,
everyone will have their own little garden.
Little ponds.
Kids playing there like monkeys or squirrels,
flying from tree to tree, to each house.
We could create wonders,
joyful, connected to nature. You see?
- You know Babar? - That's it. Right.
Célesteville. I totally agree with Célesteville.
No point being rigid and cold.
Not a suburban Célesteville,
each house saying: "I'm the best."
No. People happy to live together.
Exactly. I agree.
It reflects how we dislike living together.
- It pisses us off. - Right.
We hear the neighbors.
But what you're saying means other changes besides architecture.
At one point architects must say:
"it's great to be together. Not boring or ponderous."
Are the people happy
in this neighborhood?
Some are very happy, but others...
They say this neighborhood is a bit...
A lot of gossip goes on here.
Especially here, in these projects. They're very big.
A lot of people. All nosing into everyone else's business.
Do you think the people here would move out if they could?
A lot would.
Yes, a lot.
- Would you? - Right away.
If I had a chance, I'd leave immediately.
- What stops you... - The rehousing issue.
- What did you say? - Me?
- Yes, what? - That it's prehistoric.
What's prehistoric?
- The walls. - The walls?
30 May, Aubervilliers
The News of Paris.
12 reasons why the Clotaire-Chaillot Residence
is the most elegant in Paris.
First, the façade is white Carrara marble.
Secondly, Turbo and Maserati designed the lobby fountains
that occupy the ground floor.
Alessandro Forlani painted the murals.
Soft mood music adds to the charm of these halls
and can also be heard in the elevators.
Thirdly, the elevators are automatic,
very fast, lined with stainless steel.
Where did you learn to grow flowers
and to garden?
I don't really know.
I follow my instinct.
You must have learned. It's hard to grow pansies in pots.
I sow them in my garden, then replant them.
You spend much time on it'?
Not so much.
When you're not working?
Well, I'm out of work now.
Otherwise, I do it on weekends.
I water them in the evening.
What do you think about?
I think they're pretty, I love flowers.
You're from the country?
I was born in the country. But I've been here a long time.
How do you feel about plastic flowers?
They're nice too, but not worth real ones.
- You have plastic flowers? - In my garden.
You mix them with real flowers so they'll look natural?
They're there as the others haven't bloomed.
What gave you the idea of growing flowers?
It was just an idea.
PROTECTIVE MEASURES AGAINST AIR RAIDS
ROOMS TO LET
Public meeting: "Christians and the thirst for justice "
Reading classes for North Africans
- Good news. - You're rehoused?
Yes, I'm rehoused.
How did you feel hearing that?
- I felt like crying. - You cried?
Yes. I think it was the happiest day of my life.
- How long had you waited? - Seven years.
Did you apply to the local council?
Yes. And we waited.
Then one day, a nice gentleman looked into my case.
Then on Wednesday, I got a letter saying I'd been rehoused.
I felt so happy I could cry.
The postman brought it'?
Yes. He even waited to hear the news!
- He waited? - For me to read it.
To know if we were rehoused or we had to wait.
When he heard the news, he was as happy as me.
It was the morning mail?
You waited all day for your husband?
No, he comes home for lunch.
When he heard, he was as happy as me.
How did you tell him?
I didn't say anything.
The table was set, I'd put the envelope on his plate.
When he came in he saw it on his plate.
He sort of guessed. But he wasn't sure.
When he read it he was so happy.
Was he in a good mood before?
He's always in a good mood.
But he could hardly eat.
Had you seen the new place?
You just knew you had one.
We knew. Yes.
- You've visited it? - Yes. Yesterday.
- Your impressions? - I don't know.
When I saw those big rooms I felt lost.
I felt... I don't know. I had no idea it was like that.
How many rooms?
3 bedrooms, a living room,
kitchen, water closet, toilet, and a hallway.
Big closets. I don't know where I'll put things
as we'll have so much space.
- You'll arrange it. - I'll find a way.
Have you thought about the move'?
Oh, yes! My husband and I are planning it.
We haven't stopped.
It's all we talk about, our new home.
Do you think it will improve your private life'?
- That's for sure. - A change in your life style?
We're not free with the kids around.
They'll have their room and we'll have ours.
We'll feel like young newlyweds again!
- How many children do you have? - Eight.
And a little niece we adopted.
An adopted niece?
We lost a sister-in-law recently.
We placed her 6 children in the family.
- You took a child? - Yes, a little girl aged 9.
- So you have 9 children? - Nine.
Plus you and your husband?
How do you manage to live in this room?
I have a large bed
in the bedroom, a big bed where I put 4 children.
I have a folding bedstead where 2 sleep.
And a cot for my youngest.
This child sleeps in the dining room,
between me and my husband.
Dining room... the room we use as a kitchen.
We separate it so the kids aren't with us.
And when a child falls ill?
He stays in bed but he can't rest.
What do you think of your bedroom'? Tell me.
- It's beautiful. - How will you feel?
Better, as we'll be warmer.
Warmer? But there were four of you.
- You'll sleep better? - Yes.
- This room is for you three? - The three boys.
The three boys' bedroom.
Now we'll look at the girls' room.
Come on, girls. This is your room. What do you think?
It's fine.
Happy to have your own room?
You won't have to sleep at grandma's now.
You won't have to go out at night.
Was it hard sleeping there?
Especially with the "Harkis" close by.
She was scared of going past them.
We had to take her every night.
She was so scared.
Hey, your chewing gum!
Is it still the same school?
Until the end of the year.
- Then somewhere closer'? - They'll go to the local school.
Do you mind changing schools?
You have a schoolmaster?
No, a schoolmistress.
Do you mind leaving her or don't you care?
Not bothered?
No, a schoolmistress ls a schoolmistress.
Don't climb, you'll fall.
The boys are all watching us.
Sure they are. Nobody knows you.
Look. Everyone's watching you.
He's on the grass.
We didn't have windows to look out of before.
Are you happy?
She said: "First I opened the door, I found myself in the kitchen."
Can you see the school?
No. It's on the other side.
- Who is'? - The school.
Oh, the school!
Behave yourselves. And don't fall off.
Want to? Want to?
What did you say?
- Look at the statue. - You see, there's a statue.
With a star.
And a star.
And bikes hanging!
What do you expect from life'? Want to continue?
Sure. I still like it.
I don't plan to give up.
You see yourselves as stockbrokers?
- Hardly. - Not that far.
Then as what?
- Head clerk. - Service head.
Service head after, if possible.
And then? No higher'?
Managing director. Then boss.
- Nothing more ambitious? - That's it. Sorry.
Why?
You can't be a gopher forever.
Sure. What's good about being the boss?
Earning more'? Having more power?
- Sure, I'd like that. - Power.
You'd like power?
What is money, in your view?
- Lots of things. - For instance?
With money, you can eat. That's the first thing.
And then what?
You can have a lot of fun.
What kind of fun?
Entertainments...
The theatre.
That's entertainment. Movies...
What else?
- It's a bit limited. - I don't know.
Do you have interests outside your work and entertainment?
Other things you care about? Like current events?
Yes, of course.
Because they influence the Stock Market?
It depends.
What sort of things? Like "major events"?
Yes, for the Stock Market.
What recent major events?
The Algiers putsch.
- I'll inform the Association. - Go ahead.
What gives you the right to make kids work?
We're not asking them secrets.
There are no secrets. You're interviewing minors.
Want to ask my toddler his views?
Good idea. Bring him in.
I feel like answering, that's all.
What's it to him'?
We're filming.
You're not obliged to answer.
May I ask how long you've been coming here?
Over 25 years.
And you like it here?
It's my profession.
- You enjoy it? - Very much.
Was it by choice?
When I finished my studies, I didn't plan on the Stock Market.
But I had acquaintances.
I got in through them and I never left.
What do you do?
I'm a stockbroker.
Can I ask a general question
to do with your work and other issues?
What does money mean to you?
It's a means of existence.
Which stocks have risen most today?
- Cofirep. - What's that?
An oil research company.
The day Algeria was in the worst state since '58.
Yes. The market is dependent, as I said.
Is it a coincidence?
It's not a coincidence.
Not a coincidence.
It's the big investors who said...
It's empirical. There's no explanation.
It's a state of mind. A psychosis.
Before, it would have dropped 10%. It's up 7%.
It's serious if laws don't apply now.
It's not about laws.
No. The gentleman means "natural laws."
Not legislative laws.
They have no bearing here anymore.
You said: "Woe to the man with judgment."
Yes, if he uses his judgment here, he's ruined.
Really? Do explain.
He mentioned Cofirep. I didn't follow the trading today.
He said events in Algeria should have made stocks fall 10%.
They rose.
The only ones that did.
Yesterday he'd have said: "Algeria looks bad.
- "Something will happen." - I'll sell!
"I had news from the Algiers police.
"Something awful will happen tonight."
He would have sold yesterday. Today he's right.
Right about the facts. But not about the effects.
A personal question?
When you hear bad news,
is your first reaction how it will affect the Stock Market or...
No, our first reaction is patriotic.
True for everyone?
- I speak for my generation. - I'd say the opposite.
Him and me, I'm sure.
I'd have said the opposite. Here's a striking example.
February 6th, everyone came out.
We sang The Marseillaise as Daladier had resigned.
Everyone began buying shares.
3 months later, the radicals in power rejected the government.
Everyone who'd bought shares took the rap.
Until Flandin, a moderate radical, returned to power.
In conclusion, I say: So much for your national ideals.
"Wipe your feet on them."
The same facts, the same political situation,
the same political and economic situation
can have the opposite effect
at a different moment in time.
The same situation
can go one way today,
three years from now, it can go another way.
A striking example in current events.
- You see it everywhere. - A striking example.
You have stock in Northern Rail.
It's worth 42 francs.
Everyone says it's worth 70 to 80 francs, in portfolios.
It never goes up. Pompidou gets in, it's worth 53.
That's the Rothschilds.
Nothing had changed about the affair.
People said: "Really? Good."
The Rothschilds bought it to back their candidate.
They said: "Hello, investment company? Onwards!"
And everyone went for it.
The peso won't be devalued.
Peronism nowadays is nothing like
the Peronist era ten years ago.
Nothing like it.
The Peronists will help.
"Some play the Market Other pick pockets
POET'S FAIR
"But I don't give a damn
"I'm a very happy man
"Yes, yes, yes...
"Some can't stand it Without cash, life's a gambit
"But let me tell you
"I don't know any song
"I can't even sing along
"But when broke, I feel wings grow
"When broke, I'm graceful as a doe
"I'm like a fish in his sea
"I'm happy as any king can be."
Tell me when to speak.
Monsieur Sulta, Prince Murat's envoy,
will present the doves
to the Poets' Muse of 1962.
"Within sight of my yearning eyes,
"Soar aloft, bearer of messages,
"Return to me, Show me white hands."
Bravo.
Lovely.
They didn't go very far.
Cutie, why won't you fly? Haven't I been nice to you'?
Silly. You're not beautiful.
The dove is not beautiful.
It's a dirty, cruel creature.
The owl is beautiful, pleasant, deep.
Why search for beauty in a dove
and poetry in poets?
When you have owls, painters, cosmonauts,
Inventors, lovers...
And Pierrot the cabbie.
P.P., licensed tire repairman
Stay put...
Well, well.
What do you think?
Interesting. How long have you been doing this?
- About a year. - A year?
A year. I do it when I feel like painting.
Sometimes two weeks or a month go by.
How long did this take?
This one...
I worked on it for about 20 hours.
Getting the colors right is tricky.
I do several sessions. Not continually
Sometimes I work 2 hours a day. Sometimes 3 or 5.
Or not at all. It just depends.
- Is it relaxing? - It's a hobby. I enjoy it.
What are you depicting?
- I wanted to depict Christ. - Right.
With the angels overhead.
And the... What are they called in Spain?
The priests...
You know, the monks with hats on.
- The processions. - The monks, angels and nuns.
It's the man who died at the foot of the cross.
Did certain painters influence you?
No, I want to follow my own vision.
I don't like copying.
Follow your own vision?
Not always do the same painting, like they do.
You have to find something new.
Not copy people. Find something new.
That's worthwhile.
Here's a modern art influence.
It's modern art, yes.
I get around a lot but I haven't seen work like this.
Let's hope it will do well.
I have a dozen finished paintings.
In oils?
- On canvas? - Oils on canvas.
The hardest thing to get right is the colors.
You have a system for colors?
I focus, I study... Then I put the color down.
It's hard with pale colors like that.
Do you draw first?
I draw first, then I do the colors.
It's very difficult.
Once a color is painted in, changing it is...
It all has to blend in together.
I think I'll come up with something.
- Will you exhibit? - Maybe later on.
- Where? - I don't know. A local gallery.
How do people react generally?
They like them, the colors, the whole thing.
Do they say why they like them?
Yes, they find them cheerful.
How long is it on'? A month?
Christ and the angels.
Is this another study?
Yes, a study done on...
How can I explain? A tire ad.
It was out up and dented. Look at the back.
Dented with a hammer.
I brought the lines out in paint. It's Cosmic Man.
Why?
The subject appeared like that.
I wanted to accentuate the colors
to describe the character of the cosmos,
based on the dents on the back.
What is the character of the cosmos?
The man with gadgets on his head,
the wires and everything.
19 May, Palais de la Découverte
The space capsule in which John Glenn circled the Earth
- Please, gentlemen. - I've been on line for 3 hours.
Yes, but look at all the people behind you.
Excuse me, but...
Do you read about all this?
Yes. The planets and stars.
And about rockets too.
You're interested in rockets'?
What do you think of John Glenn?
I like what he did.
It's difficult to do what he did.
To go up in a rocket without being scared or...
Don't you think he was scared?
Maybe he was, but not too scared.
It's terrible for a genuine inventor who has an idea.
I don't mean a hunch.
- His brain works nonstop, even asleep. - Asleep?
22 May, Paris Fair
- Why the name "Destiny"? - Because I've been through a lot.
The first time I had a serious accident,
I realized that I only survived
because I was lucky.
She was called "Malakoff" because that was where I lived.
I renamed her "Destiny" as I was fated to surface.
It's the story of my life. My destiny.
- You had a rough ride'? - What?
Lots of ups and downs'?
My life's always been hard.
I make it by the skin of my teeth, every time.
So luck is on my side.
I always say: "It's destiny."
What other accidents have you had?
A breakdown once, but I managed to scrape by.
A spark plug burned out in the middle of the Seine.
The pier wasn't far off.
I said: "If I can't start, I crash."
I try 4 or 5 times, the pier gets closer.
I'm heading for it.
I have one more try...
Like saying: "In the name of the Father."
The engine starts up. That's destiny.
Luck plays a big part in life.
But the best luck is hands.
They're the best capital you can have.
These hands are my capital.
A woman I know, a fine person,
told me: "Son, your best capital is your two hands.
"You may have money in the bank,
"but if you don't work to keep up your account,
"it falls apart."
So in the end, it all comes down to luck.
And determination.
If a man really wants to succeed he can, he gets lucky.
Of course, some people are unlucky.
Do we make our own luck?
We help it along?
We do our bit and luck does the rest.
But luck is two hands and the will to succeed.
Like winning a war.
- You have the will to succeed? - I think so.
Succeed in what?
I want to make it.
First, to prove to myself that I'm capable of it.
And I want to be well-known.
That still bugs me.
Why?
Well, it's to do with my family.
I said: "Right, I'm going to prove
"that my name can be world famous."
They've always seen me as... Inventors are wacky.
- Weaving spiders' webs? - Exactly.
But no matter, we don't give a damn.
What counts is the result.
We say: "You guys with your fancy equipment and stuff...
"We work on a shoe string.
"But we still get great results.
"Here's the proof of it."
- Are we doing 100'? - Yes, 100.
I can let go of the steering wheel.
You'll see, the car keeps on straight ahead.
No danger whatsoever.
We're on a track though.
With the stabilizer.
You say "we", meaning all inventors?
- Of course. - Or you mean yourself?
No, I'm thinking about the others, we mustn't forget...
I know a lot of private inventors.
Some are helped by their wives who encourage them.
They're more resilient that others
who are alone with no help.
Inventors are men too.
I think that's what is needed.
Look at all the great statesmen, without exception.
There's always a woman behind them.
It's beyond dispute. It's been proved.
Nowadays... take Churchill.
When he made a speech his wife was always at his side.
All great men have someone to help them.
We need that spare wheel.
You think Stalin had someone?
Stalin is something else. We don't know much about that aspect.
We can't know.
You think he had a muse?
A what?
Yes, the joy of making a home.
Lots of young people like us think about a home.
Making it nice.
A car. Going out.
Going for drives...
Going on holiday, even going camping.
- You like camping? - I love it.
- Do you, Mademoiselle? - Yes.
She hasn't done much but she'll love it.
And the others?
- What others? - All the others.
I think they're like us.
Why not'?
Why can't you compare them to us?
There aren't many of them, like us.
What's the difference? They love each other less?
No, but it's not the same.
Meaning?
You mean it's always been very serious between us.
It's been six years?
- How old are you'? - We're both 21.
- I'm 21 tomorrow. - 21 tomorrow.
We were 15 when we met.
We've always been faithful.
- At first, just friends. - We were only 15.
We didn't see each other often...
But we always hoped we would.
Were you neighbors?
Not at all. We weren't so lucky.
We met at a wedding.
Smile.
Once you're married with kids,
what will you want for them?
For them?
We'll try to give them the best life we can.
Sure. We don't know what sort, it depends on them.
On what they want and...
But they probably won't be like us.
Does it depend on the world? Do you see clouds ahead?
Apart from illness.
Yes, of course. Otherwise I don't see...
Ever think about major events?
I don't want to think about all that. Once you start...
Anyway, it's out of our hands.
No, I don't want to think about that.
- There's nothing we can do. - Nothing?
No. We can't take it into account.
There's no point worrying about it.
I'm off to Algeria soon.
I'm leaving in about ten days.
I know it all happens that way.
I'm not making a thing of it. I'm going there...
I don't dare think about it. I don't want to.
So there are no problems outside your own happiness?
I don't want to think about historical events...
Do you feel solidarity toward people less happy than you'?
There aren't many of them?
Yes, there are. But anyway...
I don't know. If everyone was like us...
It would be...
It would be nice. We get on with everyone.
Yes, but...
I say people can do what they like.
But you have your own opinion?
When you have children, will it change a bit?
Maybe as we get older...
Yes, possibly.
How do you feel about growing old?
Do you think your happiness will last, will it change?
I hope so.
Do you ever think about it'?
I don't know, but I believe we're happy.
Some people say after years of marriage you get a bit...
I believe in eternal happiness.
End of Part One
Lovely May, always a holiday
With lily of the valley in his hair
On his heart he wore the ribbon
A ribbon of joy for lovely May
On his heart he wore the ribbon
A ribbon of joy for lovely May
We kept it for as long as we believed him
He left while we slept
Taking the key to our romance
Lovely May won't be back again
Taking the key to our romance
Lovely May won't be back again
Lovely May, our love was so brief
Summer comes bringing regrets
The sun reduces our dreams to ashes
On the moon there are no vacancies
The sun reduces our dreams to ashes
And the moon is full, no vacancies
Lovely May, you've left your daydreams
To grow roots in the streets of Paris
Your scarf cast over lying eyes
Your red in the throat of the year
Your scarf cast over lying eyes
Your red in the throat of the year
Part Two THE RETURN OF FANTOMAS
You draw your firearm and shoot immediately.
It's like holding a stone at this height.
You should have fired before it hits the ground.
It's about 2 seconds.
That's interesting,
as it's used by gangsters, right?
The police shoot first.
But do cops or gangsters come to train here?
I'd say the police.
When did you get that target?
About a year ago.
Poujade warned us
Long live Jeanson
Here lived E. Lemarchand, fallen in the antifascist combat 8 Feb. 1962
You see. They're shooting a movie.
Was the month of May important?
Did anything happen in May?
For me, May was...
Dreary. I had no work at all.
- None? - Very tough.
Lousy weather, just my luck.
Why didn't you work in May?
Because of the weather.
Why is it bad?
The atomic bomb is bringing this cold weather.
- The atom bomb'? - Yes, sure.
Is that what you remember in May'?
No other events?
And you?
Apart from the atom bomb bringing cold weather?
No, things were normal in May.
Does the plastic bombing shock you?
Of course. It's stupid. But what can you do?
- They do it... - Because they need money.
It's to punish someone.
It's because they need money. That's why.
Yeah, it's for money.
But all those guys from Algeria have money.
- The "Pieds-Noirs" settlers have money. - So?
They're not fighting for money.
For what then? For glory?
To keep Algeria French. But that's over.
You yourself say it's over, so what's the point?
We can't do anything. It's not up to us.
Would you say we live in a democracy?
A democracy?
We will be. We'll become a democracy.
What are we now?
- A republic, I suppose. - Yes, me too.
I don't know about democracy. Maybe we'll become democrats.
Maybe.
Do you feel we're advancing?
Ask the boys at the top, not us.
But he's asking us. Answer yes or no.
Right, I Will!
But he's telling me, I can't do anything...
He should tell a gentleman who can do something.
What do you want from life?
Me? To marry and have a child.
And be happy. Have a home.
Would your child be happy in present day conditions?
If he's not into political issues, he'll be happy.
Can one be happy under a dictator?
- Absolutely. - It's tolerable?
What are you talking about?
A dictatorship is tolerable...
if it's an intelligent one.
If it's not an intelligent dictatorship?
It falls apart. No need to worry.
They fall apart
in odd circumstances. It always takes a struggle.
Or a disaster.
But a disaster you're involved in
as a victim.
Can you envisage a dictatorship where you're a victim?
We're not under a dictatorship now.
She can't envisage being a victim.
From a human point of view, all regimes are equal.
Not better or less good.
Maybe not better, but less bad.
It's mind control.
The day the press or the movies are censored
we'd have a dictatorship. - And if it comes?
It won't. It would have already.
You're bizarre.
Did I say: "Bizarre"? How bizarre.
Women have no civic sense. They shouldn't, anyway.
Shouldn't they? Why not'?
It's not their concern.
Women in politics, who vote... Ridiculous!
That's a 19th century idea.
Listen to why they choose who to vote for!
You know, In a women's workshop
if there's a handsome guy, that's what women see.
Laugh, but it's true.
You're not very spoiled.
True. Women don't only go by politics
to judge whether a man is capable of governing well.
Women have...
I don't know... It's a bit...
A man's good looks or...
Was de Gaulle elected for his looks?
That's different. He's...
Women in politics to create a political man,
women in a political assembly,
I can't see it: most of them swear by their friends,
or their husband's opinion, as we have no secrets.
You know how it is, living together.
It's like I often say:
Madam X is friend with Madam Y:
"What do you think of de Gaulle? Thorez?"
"The late lamented Léon Blum?"
"And Pierre Laval, maybe late as well '?"
And that makes 3 opinions.
2 friends plus 2 friends makes 5 friends
with the same opinions, who all vote
with no grasp of politics, unaware of what's going on.
You want to know more?
Yes, I think people should know more,
be better informed.
What do you read in the papers?
That depends on the paper.
"The Adventures of Tintin."
Which papers do you read?
I don't read any paper regularly.
"France Soir" for the gossip.
"L'Express," it's well done.
And "Match," "Jour de France." That's it.
My lofty reading matter.
What do you read in them?
Gossip in "France Soir"? And the other papers?
Don't generalize.
What news struck you most this week'?
Obviously, the Salan trial.
All the papers are full of it.
Do you feel personally concerned by it'?
23 May, Law courts
Let him through.
Wait a minute.
This isn't a public thoroughfare.
- Yes, but... - "Yes, but...!"
You go in there.
I'm the examining magistrate!
Indeed!
Get him!
Are you following what's happening?
- Yes, like everyone else. - What do you think?
I think as our generals...
were sentenced to death they should be executed.
But also the Algerians who killed our men.
Execute all of them?
Or none of them!
Pardon one, pardon all.
That's very extreme. What do you think?
I'm here to support the guy in the dock.
I was a paratrooper for 8 years.
Enough people were murdered in Algeria,
on the other side by the FLN.
Today we should be sharing his pain.
Besides, Pontius Pilate is in the Auvergne.
Can't we put an end to it'?
There was an end.
You mentioned fascism,
but I don't think they were fascists.
Communists, maybe. But nationalists.
No fighting here.
Drop it.
Move along, please.
Move along.
23 May, evening of the verdict
You're crazy. Over here!
What are you doing, Charles?
Here he is!
Wait for Goutermanoff.
We don't know where he is.
- Wait. - Don't do this to me.
Pierre, come on.
Then they struck up The Marseillaise ,
and we couldn't follow the rest.
When they stripped him of his Légion d'honneur.
Anyway, they'll give it back soon...
But they can't give life back.
Bravo!
Here's Goutermanoff!
Goutermanoff!
Here comes Gouter!
Same night, at the Garden-Club
The Madison reaches Paris
3 times!
1... 2... 3.
Three times!
16 May, same Garden-Club
Michel Gasty world twist record
What did you think? Friends? Ideas?
In his 72nd hour
Two things mattered:
to be able to prove to people
that although no one encouraged me,
they said I was no good as I was unknown,
that the way I dance, my own version is valid.
And as foreigners had always won,
to make my modest contribution to France.
Individualist and patriot?
Both, yes.
But you must think of things while dancing?
- There was... - Do you?
No. For me, you see...
I'm totally focused.
One can't share many views
so I focus on the twist,
like a scientist on a microbe.
I focus on the twist microbe.
What does dance mean to you?
How do you explain it as a need'?
For me, dance replaces
a repressed emotion.
Yes?
It's a feeling of friendship,
familiar or something greater...
Sooner or later,
you find this music
transforms you.
At one stage you lose yourself.
Like last night, I was in a trance.
I couldn't see any more.
Dancing and dancing, not knowing where I was.
I interpret the music.
Your mind goes blank.
Your body is completely relaxed.
And any tension you may feel vanishes.
It replaces a woman.
29 May, Power strike
I earn 46000 francs a month.
I pay 8000 francs rent, what's left?
8000 francs for a room. I make 46000 francs a month.
If everyone went out on strike
the Government would have to buckle under.
Can I ask what you earn'?
- How much? - I take home, all In all,
including bonuses, 42000 francs.
Naturally.
- I moonlight. - You moonlight?
It's worth it?
How many hours in all?
I work 8 hours... 7 here...
and 8 hours at another job.
Railroad workers are hard hit.
Starvation wages...
Has your strike had results?
- None. - Will you strike again?
When we must, we're ready to stop everything.
Today it's the electricity strike.
- You stand by the railroaders? - Of course.
How do you see the future?
Not rosy! Not rosy at all!
You know, I ask myself how it will all end,
because with those jokers in power...
Trust me!
Yes, I'm going. Sorry, I have a train!
- No opinions. - Really?
No, none.
It came with age? Wisdom?
Yes. I think so.
Did you have opinions at 20'?
I don't know what to say, you know...
We can't say that we think.
You seem disgusted by it all.
Disgusted? My poor fellow!
- It's an opinion. - Yes, it is.
I am disgusted.
And I'm certainly not the only one.
After 4 years in the Resistance I see this!
The month of May, for us in France,
wasn't marked by certain events?
Not to our advantage.
But those events occurred?
We remember what?
I can't recall what happened in May.
What's interesting is what remains.
I can't remember the major events.
What marks people is... The strikes.
Rotating strikes and social unrest.
For you, is that negative or positive?
Negative in what way?
A good thing or a bad thing?
It's always the same, the government is weak,
that's the cause of it.
No doubt about it.
Strikes shouldn't happen.
Who pays the price?
The workers.
Look at my hands, my thumbs.
Look at the state I'm in.
I'm 60 and I have to keep working.
I can't retire yet.
So a guy gets angry about all this,
he says: "I'm striking."
It's all he can do.
He can't go and fight the boss.
He says: "I can't eat.
"I just want to eat, not be like this.
"And for my kids..." Look at my battered shoes...
So you support the people who...
For instance, I say those people
are out on strike for me too.
Just now, you asked...
Even the people who use trains and subways
understand the situation very well,
and sympathize with the workers.
So solidarity exists?
It's normal.
- For their demands? - Right.
Apart from demands, wages and strikes,
was there any other event in May?
The major event apart from social issues
was the temperature, the weather in May.
- It was unusual? - Unusual.
And apart from that?
Other events that... shouldn't be discussed.
Silence is better?
Isn't it worrying?
In France, politics used to be the favorite topic.
Now people say: "Better keep quiet."
A big change, no?
No, we all think alike.
I don't think.
- I don't think. - You don't think?
It's the ultimate wisdom.
How do you do it?
Well, you know...
Like the Buddhists, I empty myself.
Confucius said: "See, hear and say nothing."
- Exactly. - You manage to?
It's a bit too noisy.
I'm not talking on your whoring radio.
It's a whore to the government!
Not a government radio? C'mon!
You're all lackeys! TV, French radio!
He's just doing his job.
Job my ass! Now's my chance to have my say.
I say the French are reckless. We're heading for another war!
Let her go to Russia,
she'll see!
If I could talk Russian, I would!
- You'd come back changed. - Sure!
Obviously.
Don't worry about it.
- Been there? - You don't need to go there to know it!
I've been to the USA.
- To the USA? - It's the opposite.
The opposite.
Kennedy should look after his illiterates and jobless first!
It's the same in Russia. Been there?
I don't need to go to Russia to know what's going on.
What was the most important event in May?
Potatoes went up to 220 francs.
That's a stupendous result.
And a fantastic event:
they announced on the radio,
with lots of long speeches,
that no old people would have
less than 11000 francs a month.
It's absolutely terrific:
what a wild time all those old folk will have
with 11000 francs a month.
They ended by announcing, as a victory
and a sign of France's grandeur, that in three years time
no one would have less than 15000 francs a month.
I find that simply terrific!
For myself and everyone else, the rest is trivial
besides this victory won by the elderly.
What do you expect next?
We always hope for improvement,
especially in labor conditions.
But it seems to be the man who struggles who...
And no more strikes, if possible...
Governing means foreseeing.
If we could avoid all that. And discuss...
You feel we don't look ahead?
For most people...
The future is a bit like the horizon, you never reach it.
It takes 30 years to get there, then 30 years more.
It's for our children.
Yet something amazing is happening:
the future has a lead on us,
in other words we're late.
We can't keep up.
Our dreams fall short of what already exists.
Facts are giving birth to great revolutions.
We're dreaming of leisure...
we're dreaming of... I don't know, many things.
Reality has overtaken our dreams.
What worries me is the world ls unaware.
We're unaware. You look surprised...
Yes, you were saying what we could do with leisure
and improvements, it seemed to be the future...
That's the problem. Thinking in those terms
means organized leisure,
back to the old models
that in '36, consulting engineers
thought through in rational terms.
The old models persist...
They're still imposed yet they're irrelevant.
Leisure by definition is non-work.
Can we address non-work In terms of work?
I see it more simply.
Gradually machines will bring automation and automatization.
We won't quibble over terms.
The 40 hour week will become a 30 or 25 hour week,
workers will automatically have more free time.
- A serious problem. - I'm wrong?
You're an example of the barrier against leisure:
"Gradually we'll reach 30 hours."
We could achieve it already.
We could start a 30 hour week tomorrow.
The only blocks are moral.
In many industries we've won
the fight against scarcity
that characterized the 18th and 19th centuries:
if you don't work, you die.
We've surpassed it in many industries
but we act as if we hadn't.
It's vital to know that
they could do a 30 hour week but they don't.
The barrier you mentioned is that the boss refuses.
- Not the boss... - Absolutely not.
The average French person refuses, you and me.
See how reticent you are.
You don't take me seriously?
I'm not reticent.
I want to work less and rest more.
It's everyone's wish.
How could we achieve it'?
"Could?" The conditional tense.
- How can we do it? - I'm shocked.
What do we do?
How come we're not doing it?
- Right. That... - Look...
That means you don't believe in it.
- I do. I imagine it. - But it's real!
- It's real. - I imagine it.
Look out of the window. At people working.
They're called people working. Not many laborers.
What do most people do?
They add up and subtract,
statistics, etc.
They're non-productive. They trade.
Most people in the metro
aren't manual workers.
They fiddle with data.
We have machines for that now.
But they're so badly used
it's like they don't exist.
Only they do exist. Now people say:
"Can't we use them better?"
With each step forward a structure collapses,
something obsolete emerges.
So if I understand rightly, quite soon...
Yes, I believe it.
Machines will cause non-productive people to lose their jobs.
No, lose their prestige.
- No prestige or no job? - A structural problem.
Or we invent jobs for them. But no prestige.
They believe in their work.
But once machines do it better, they can't believe.
Gas and electricity users felt cheated
by perforated cards.
They felt they couldn't check their bill.
They never used to check it.
If machines take over, might we lose the plot
and not understand at all?
That's another problem.
Perhaps the future world
will be split into two highly contrasting groups:
the initiated and the non-initiated.
It's obviously a problem.
Isn't it it connected to politics and economics?
No, as we're still within the structures
of a poverty-driven economy,
based on scarcity.
How can we break free'?
I think it will all explode.
There's a big obstacle: the Third World.
Today we obviously can't imagine
buying a third or fourth fridge
knowing a whole population is starving to death.
We know we have the biochemical means, if we want to,
to feed the whole planet quite easily.
So it's not a technical problem. It's a moral one.
Technique can free mankind.
Why don't we want to be free? I can't answer that.
Are freedom and independence
also temptations from the West?
To abandon African values
for the European values of a technical civilization?
A lot of Europeans and teachers say so.
They claim that
the contact between Africans and Europeans
introduced Africans to various things
that represent happiness for Europeans.
So they want them too.
For instance, a refrigerator ls a sign of civilization.
A washing machine, and so on.
25 May, Paris Fair
A perfect finish.
It's a simply fabulous
household appliance.
There's a drawer underneath. In steel, vitrified at 900°.
You know because you've got one. The enamel won't budge.
Can I help you, madam?
Which cooker?
We have 3 models.
One without a timer, this one with a timer.
Can I ask what you'll do with that tube?
Keep it as a souvenir of the Paris Fair.
Turn it into a blowpipe for my son.
Give it to my dad. He'll find a use for it.
Haven't a clue.
No idea?
I chose the small ones.
Necklaces for the little Negroes in Madagascar.
I'm into DIY.
I have 2 lengths of rubber.
I'll cut them.
And put them on the ends.
Then I'll have a tube.
You have lots of things, including a gas jet element.
Yes, with a gallon...
What do you think of the French?
The French?
At first, when I was very young,
my grandma always said: "Watch out for the French."
She told me to be wary of the French
because she'd been through a lot of humiliation
and things...
to do with colonization.
So she'd say: "Watch out for the French."
When my father decided to send me to France, she said no way.
She'd always been against it. She didn't want me to go.
It was understandable as she'd educated us.
- At what age did you come to France? - 13 or 14.
Your first impression?
To be honest...
the first time I saw a Frenchman here,
I thought: "They're the ones who beat us."
That's the first thing.
"So they're the ones who beat us."
That's the first thing.
- The second thing? - The second thing?
"We can beat them now!"
Me, at first,
I thought when you talked about France,
that all whites were French.
All whites were French.
I knew there were Americans,
we called them Yankees, in fact.
Then there were the Germains,
who were next door.
And then, the English.
Apart than that, there was no one.
They rammed that idea into our heads.
And they were most powerful, the most civilized.
So I came to France
and I saw Paris.
I saw Paris at night, with the lights and all.
I thought it was beautiful.
I looked at the French with curiosity,
all the whites that I met.
They were very ordinary,
totally unlike the ones I'd seen
and met in Africa.
Not at all the same.
They were rather simple.
And the ones you saw in Africa'?
We didn't touch them or see them.
They were distant.
The white man was the governor, for me.
When he arrived, like it or not,
you had to get into line
and parade past him
to the sound of bugles, etc.
He'd pin things on the old men
who'd behaved well. Stuff like that.
So I found them simple over here.
But I was wary.
Always on my guard.
Then my uncle, who is very Christian,
sent me to the Christian Brothers.
In Africa,
the priests...
I knew how they were because...
I'd seen how it all worked.
For instance, there were comrades who went to the mission,
to learn catechism,
although they went more to learn to read and write.
And they were put through catechism.
No way round it.
But when they attend our traditional ceremonies
and go to confession, they confess it.
As it was forbidden... Our things are the devil.
The devil is hell.
They converted, in my opinion,
because they'd been told:
"You'll all burn in eternal hell or go to heaven."
That's how I see it.
That's why I said
if it's to go to heaven or to hell,
reneging on my ancestors' beliefs...
My ancestors believed in them so they went to hell.
I'm told if I do, I'll go to hell.
So my ancestors went to hell.
I'd rather go to hell with my ancestors
than to heaven with whoever!
I prefer that hell.
And the priests...
So you came to the priests here?
They seemed very different from priests in Africa.
When you attended your ceremonies there
you confessed that you'd attended a ceremony,
a spirit dance,
and they gave you a beating.
With those bats. Very hard.
The Brothers here were nice and made a good impression on me.
I was okay with them.
I only fought with them once,
about our history.
There was a passage saying
the French had come to Dahomey
and had crushed Behanzin,
a bloodthirsty, petty monarch.
I tore the book apart!
I tore the book apart, I yelled and walked out.
They said history was like that, and I had to learn it.
I said: "Really?" I was furious!
I said: "One day we'll free ourselves, and then you'll see!
"You have planes? We'll build planes too.
"One day, you'll see a plane in the sky with a kind of cross on it."
I was young.
But it contradicted
the history my grandma had taught me.
She told us how our ancestors had defended themselves,
how the French hadn't conquered Dahomey overnight.
It wasn't easy for the French.
I love our history and they tell me that!
It's the only time I lost my temper.
Then they sent me to the Massif Central.
And the people there
had virtually never seen a black man.
They'd say: "Oh, look at the Negro!" Things like that.
Sometimes it made us angry.
We were very touchy. There were fist-fights.
In the end, me and my friends stayed there 3 years.
- They stopped pointing at us. - They got used to it?
Yes, they got used to it.
- And you got used to it'? - To what?
Seeing whites you hadn't really seen before.
I had, but we weren't integrated.
I wasn't integrated.
I'm no more integrated now.
I had a Chinese friend who said:
"At last we've civilized them.
"They don't point at us anymore."
That was my notion of white people.
You had white friends afterwards?
I had a few, who invited me to their homes.
Usually out of sympathy, or to show
they weren't racist and had no prejudices.
Apart from that
did you have real white friends?
10 May, Champs-Elysées
Do relationships need disguise, dressing up'?
No, they're not extras to add on,
like we saw earlier with the coatstand.
On the contrary, they correspond to
an aspect of ourselves.
We can't always live it out.
But dressing up permits this. It accentuates our self.
I don't know, I love magical things.
So I wear flowing gowns,
incredible hats...
It's to do with ceremony too, I don't know...
Where are the ceremonial places?
When are the ceremonial moments?
For me, ceremonial moments
are when I get ready for something special...
Like going to a restaurant. I love preparing for it.
I go to a special restaurant,
where I know I'll eat a special dish I'll enjoy.
I must get ready first. It's part of the ceremony.
It's a very private thing.
A moment locked in time
when I imagine everything will be beautiful.
Sometimes it doesn't work out...
But it's exciting.
Getting ready.
So preparing for something is a ceremony.
I love escaping,
everything that takes me out of reality,
everyday reality, the routine.
For instance,
I can feel when routine takes over.
Say when you're with someone...
The opposite of routine is enthusiasm.
When the enthusiasm fades
you start using words that are dead,
that stifle you like ash burying you.
So you must react, shake it up.
You have to dive into yourself
and recreate, reinvent almost everything.
To escape from those dead things that crush you.
It's very hard. You don't always succeed.
Sometimes things die anyway.
We're not always capable of...
And animals?
Animals? I'd love to have lots.
Animals reconcile me to the rest of the world.
I'm solitary as I'm scared of people's cruelty,
of what they think,
of vulgarity, things like that.
So I'm very alone, I out myself off.
I lose out on a lot too.
But I'm so scared of being hurt by it all
that I'm very solitary.
Animals really do act as a buffer between people.
I'm reconciled to the world
through their sweetness.
There...
Isn't she pretty.
Let's try another one.
And she likes it. She doesn't complain.
She feels proud.
She looks like Alcave.
Cats are amazing. They make you want to...
They're stylish by nature.
This one is really...
This is my favorite hat for her.
It's a fantastic hat: cheeky, very feminine.
It's a role.
She's playing Cocteau.
Do you feel privileged?
- As you're beautiful, say? - I'm healthy,
and not too ugly, yes.
I didn't have 10 children, limits like that.
Which would make me get more involved.
By that I mean going one way, eliminating the others.
I don't like that, as I'm too curious about everything.
- You don't want to... - No, not at all.
What's terrible is that I refuse to commit to anything.
Imagine someone who won't follow any direction:
he ends up a tramp.
I could too, easily.
I don't know... It haunts me.
Do you accept death or do you refuse it?
I don't accept it at all!
It's awful sometimes, I think of the moment we die,
the instant we hear our last breath.
I start crying for days on end, it's so awful.
- Are you very religious? - No, not very.
- Do you have faith? - Yes, I have faith.
For me, God gives mankind meaning.
Our attitude should be influenced by it.
We don't have the right to hate mankind if God created it.
That's easy for believers.
And what about the people
for whom God is meaningless?
What then?
You say you have faith, so you chose an attitude.
How do you express it?
I don't.
- Doesn't that bother you? - Of course it does.
That's why it's very difficult.
Right.
So for you, mankind is abstract,
thinking about it gives you...
I don't know, confidence, a sort of...
For instance, we filmed at Renault this summer.
Some workers were only striking
because the workshops were too noisy.
Conditions in Billancourt aren't the same as in Paris.
People suffer.
Do you feel concerned?
Concerned but useless.
Communists, who are atheists,
have found a meaning to humanity.
But between believers and communists...
- It's lukewarm. - A mass.
- Some communists have faith. - They shouldn't exist.
So there are believers and communists?
They all believe.
Who do you think are getting it right now?
- For who? - People who suffer.
Who offers the best response to mankind's expectations?
The communists.
I think the communists are much more active.
More committed than the Christians.
The spirit is different.
There's no spirit of revenge
or hatred in religion, no anger.
Communism is against something.
You must destroy before you can be active.
I feel when you talk about Christianity
you see its highest and most noble form.
Whereas with communism, you see its lowest form: anger.
Yes, but it works for it.
Are there angry Christians and noble communists?
Among the best of them, yes.
- No, Catherine. - What sort of Christians?
- The best ones, of course. - So?
For me, communism represents...
it's hard to sum up in a few words...
My reason to live and my hope for the future.
I don't hide it.
In the beginning, were you opposed to the communists?
I had some objections at first.
What did you tell them?
Obviously the main objection
back in 1946 or 1947,
that sprang to my lips and my mind,
was that communism was atheist and I was a believer.
Communists were proud of being atheists.
The world they wanted to build was without God,
a world built by men for men.
When I saw in their conversations
and actions how these comrades,
without God,
simply by their own strength and ambition,
their will, work and efforts,
aimed to change the world,
when I saw that communism was the communists,
it was easier for me to set arguments aside
and engage in brotherly action.
You came to communism through the unions?
You're a militant union member now?
How did you get involved in the unions'?
A militant came up to me,
I can see it now, at the canteen exit.
He knew or he'd just heard that I was a priest,
and I'd come to work in the factory.
This surprised him.
He was a CGT militant, he couldn't imagine
that a priest, with no ulterior motive,
would come to share the working conditions and lives
of all his comrades.
His first feeling
was certainly distrust.
But he offered me a union card:
"Do you want to join the CGT?"
I'd already thought about it.
I said yes.
So since 1946,
I've been a militant CGT member.
But the fundamental problem
wasn't simply working like my comrades.
The problem for the militants around me
was to know if I was sharing their struggle.
Did I have a union card
with no ulterior motives, was I genuine?
Had I accepted to join my life with theirs,
to join my fight,
my personal demands, with their fight?
In all honesty,
without the Church telling me one day:
"That's enough, come back to the bosom of the Church now.
"The experiment is over."
That's why, since 1946,
I was determined to make it not an experiment,
but my life.
That's the core of the problem:
The Church wanted to experiment,
hoping we'd stop short of any compromise
or too deep an involvement in the struggle.
But gradually the transformation took place.
I had to make the break. To choose.
Worker or priest.
Being both was unthinkable:
engaging in the struggle and remaining in the Church.
- You made your choice? - Yes.
When the Church asked us
in 1953
to choose the Church or the workers' struggle,
out of loyalty to my union card in 1946,
I preferred to remain a worker
and participate daily,
for the rest of my life,
in the workers' struggle.
Did your faith include transcendency?
In 1946, yes.
- Are you detached from it now? - Totally.
Is it too personal to ask how'?
It was a very gradual process.
It was very gradual and I think...
I don't say it's necessary for a militant,
but it became a conviction.
I'm so caught up in what's essential,
I'm convinced
society has to change so men can be happier...
This may sound rather brutal:
I don't have time to bother about God or whether He exists.
The Morning of The Magicians says Christ was a mutant.
- Have you read it'? - I've skimmed through it.
- The interesting bits. - Which?
If there's life on other planets, knowing what they think.
In May 1962, the dream is served up ready-made.
For many Parisians, TV is their only window onto the world.
The smaller the house, the more vital the window.
20 May, shantytown on the outskirts of Paris
You've studied?
Up until technical school, eleventh grade.
Yes?
Eleventh grade.
Then you started working?
Yes, last year.
Your first job?
Your impressions of that plant?
I stayed a week in my first plant.
When I applied, I said: "I have my skilled workers certificate.
"I saw your ad for P1 skilled turners.
"I'm not P1 but I have the equivalent.
"I can do a test, if you like."
So they agreed to give me a test.
It went well. I had a 16/20 grade.
It went very well.
So they hired me.
I had a good salary.
- The problem was... - How much did you earn?
They took me on at 310 francs an hour.
For starters, with a raise after a month.
That was your first paying job?
It was my first paying job.
I started working the next day.
And two days later,
a European in the same shop,
an unskilled worker,
found it abnormal that I, an Algerian, was a skilled worker,
which wasn't quite true as I was just starting,
and that he came in to clean the lathe at night.
He complained to the chief.
"Why an Algerian? He doesn't deserve to work.
"Having an Algerian stepping on your toes..."
An official Labor Ministry document states
that usually Algerians only find the most menial and unhealthiest jobs.
In May 1962, in the euphoria of the Evian agreements,
we tend to forget that the lowest proletariat in a colonizing country
always has a sub-proletariat
from the colonized country,
and this reality outlasts colonization.
Was it your first contact with...
With racism, yes.
How did you feel about it?
At first I was disgusted by the man.
People weren't born to hate each other.
And when he said that...
It didn't affect me as I had no complexes.
I didn't feel inferior to him.
Being insulting by him didn't make me inferior.
I'm a man like him, that's all.
So I said: "You're right." And I quit.
I didn't want to make a fuss.
Was that when there was the most racism in France?
Last year? No, not exactly.
But some Europeans, if I can say that,
did support racism.
And your second job?
My second job was later on,
as in the meantime, I had problems
with the cops.
I had trouble with them. They put me in hospital.
They put you in hospital?
Yes. It was the DST.
Were you arrested in a raid?
Not exactly. Someone snitched on me.
- Really? - I was snitched on.
It was early morning...
We lived in...
Some old shacks.
One day I had a row with...
I made a comment about discipline,
to one of my compatriots.
Soto mess me up, he snitched on me.
We found out who it was...
He's still alive.
And your relations with the police?
Here's what happened: it was a Friday morning.
They arrived at 4.30 am.
I'd got up a bit earlier and gone outside to have a wash.
I'd left my door open,
there were lots of small rooms there.
They burst in, I was lying on my bed, reading.
First a very young guy, he stank of alcohol.
He'd been drinking, he really stank.
My reaction was: What's going on?
A guy bursts into my room without knocking.
Stinking of alcohol.
I said: "Go and sleep it off somewhere else."
Then he jumped on me.
He said: "On your feet."
I didn't want to get up.
So he insisted. I got angry.
I started insulting him.
He let me insult him,
then he pulled out a badge: "DST."
When I saw it I was stunned.
I sat down, open mouthed. And watched.
5 of them came in. In front of my parents.
They brought in my parents who lived in the room opposite.
They got them out of bed and brought them into the room.
2 cops held me and they punched me.
I went berserk. They sent me to hospital.
I had a breakdown, they took me to Bichat Hospital.
I was in there for 8 days.
Was your reaction the same as when the worker insulted you?
No, it was different.
I almost became a racist.
I nearly turned racist because that guy wasn't...
He really snitched on me.
Really, he did...
Or they wouldn't have burst in.
They'd have asked me politely to accompany them.
But beating me up in front of my parents,
I can't accept that.
They could have...
And it was 3 against 1.
If there'd been 1, I might have taken a beating
but I'd have fought back.
How do you see the future?
In my view, personally,
I see the future of Algeria
as a free Algeria, first of all.
That's vital.
Freedom of thought.
And above all, in cooperation with France.
All the Algerians I know accept that,
I know lots of Algerians,
they all agree with me
as they know France is like a mother.
Only we have a mother: France,
but we have no father to govern us.
The government represents the father.
But anyway, everyone wants an independent Algeria,
but politically, economically, and intellectually
relating to France.
Would you rather live in France or Algeria?
I'll never go back to Algeria.
May I ask why?
There's nothing left for me there, anywhere.
All my relations were killed.
What matters for you in life'?
Besides politics, Algeria and the events?
What matters for me firstly, is supporting my family.
My father is old, he's 56.
I have 6 sisters and my mother.
I'm the only one who works.
What matters for me is having a better life.
And not being a worker forever.
Doing something more interesting.
Would you like a career in politics?
No, never.
Once everything is sorted out,
will you remain political?
Politics is fine for a while but...
What would you do in your free time?
There's work and leisure.
I want to go into education, teaching.
I hope that the next generation,
the one after me,
will have a bit more knowledge,
intellectually and about life in general.
You'd like to go into teaching and formation?
- How about marriage? - No, not yet.
Not yet. You think about it?
What about love?
We don't have time for love...
In Paris we're used to flirts
that last a couple of weeks.
It doesn't mean much to me.
It's nice though.
Taking a girl out dancing, and flirting, is pleasant.
But it doesn't last.
- Do you have faith? - In love?
No, you said you did. Are you religious?
There's no afterlife?
100% atheist?
I don't believe in an afterlife. This life is enough.
That's something else.
You can be sick of this one, but still say there may be more.
- Nothing more? - Nothing.
When I'm buried I'll be buried.
13 May, Place des Pyramides
Celebration of the anniversary of
Joan of Arc
Same day, place de l'Etoile
Present arms!
Good to see you.
Two agitators
Ferdinand Lop, losing French presidential candidate
(restricted suffrage)
We're woken at 6 am by the nun unlocking the door.
The doors date from when the Roquette Prison was built.
The key of the cell is that long.
The sound of the key in the lock would wake up a regiment.
We're woken up at 6 am,
then we go to the communal washroom in the shape of...
What's it called? Hexagon? Pentagon?
A sort of hexagon, I'd say.
A toilet on each hexagon tip.
There's a row of taps,
everyone does her best to wash.
- In cold water'? - Sure. No heating.
Roll-call, then breakfast.
A girl brings a pan of vile black liquid.
What else? I think that's all. Just a drink.
Then the canteen.
- Mass every day'? - No, on Sundays.
Usually everyone goes to Mass to meet up.
The nuns must be thrilled.
What are they like? Nice? Nasty?
Same as everyone: some good, some really awful.
But some are great.
The young ones.
Especially one who was in charge of my first section.
She always said she'd look after prisoners.
But there were horrible old country nuns
who yelled louder than the prisoners, they were stupid and evil.
What was the worst thing about it?
The other girls.
The end credits, which should have included the names of the participants,
have never been found and might never have existed.
You are listening to the music of Michel Legrand
which should have accompanied it.
Subtitles: Lenny Borger and Charlotte Trench
Subtitling: MIKROS IMAGE