The schedule was well thought out. It is on the occasion of Europe Day this Monday, May 9, that the series Parliament returns for a new season. This fiction tells the adventures of Sami Cantor (Xavier Lacaille), a young parliamentary assistant. In the first season, he discovered very naively the mysteries of the European Parliament by defending a text to ban fishing for shark fins. Two years have passed and Sami changes employers in the introduction of season 2. He leaves the incapable Michel Specklin, a stashed French MP played by Philippe Duquesne, to join Valentine’s office Cantel, an ambitious newly elected MEP.
We won’t tell you more about the twists and turns of season 2, which generally offers an even deeper dive into European institutions. The director of the series, Noé Debré, explains to us how the success of season 1 (2.5 million views on the France.tv Slash platform) allowed him to push the political side of this comedy for this successful sequel.
A filming in the parliament of Strasbourg
This is one of the highlights of this season 2 of Parliament. After the success of the first episodes, Noé Debré and his team had the approval of European parliamentarians to shoot the continuation of Sami’s adventures at the headquarters of the European Parliament in Strasbourg (although the series takes place in Brussels).
« We shot the first season mainly at the Committee of the Regions, an annex of the European Parliament in Brussels. Strasbourg is a great playground. We shot last summer in the middle of the parliamentary recess. It was empty , so we could do a bit of what we wanted. We were frustrated to shoot in Brussels, because we were in a very small building and we couldn’t really show the immensity of the parliament »says Noé Debré.
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A focus on new institutions
In Season 1, the viewer follows Sami’s apprenticeship as a parliamentary assistant. When he arrives in Brussels, the young Frenchman knows nothing about the functioning of the European Parliament. Thanks to his bagou, he quickly meets characters who explain to him – at the same time as on camera – the functioning of the institution and the balance of power that exists there.
In the opening episode of Season 1, the Italian lobbyist Guido Bonafide thus explains to Sami what the mission of an MEP is. « A regulation is like a law. We call it a regulation, so we don’t offend the national parliaments. And your MP’s job is to propose changes to this law ».
« A regulation is like a law. We call it a regulation so we don’t offend national parliaments »
Guido Bonafide, Italian lobbyist
In season 2, director Noé Debré and screenwriters Maxime Calligaro, Pierre Dorac and Lily Lambert focus on the European Commission and the Council of the European Union. After getting the deputies to vote on his amendment on the ban on fishing for shark fins, Sami must, in fact, defend his amendment during tripartite meetings between representatives of the European Commission, the Council of the European Union and the Parliament.
« As we managed to interest people in the European Parliament, we said to ourselves that we had to continue. In season 2, we follow negotiations between the Parliament, the Council of the European Union and the European Commission. So that Sami had his amendment voted on in season 1, the legislative process is not over. We wanted to take an interest in that to dig into season 1 and not start again on the same pattern »points to Noé Debré.
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A more assumed political comedy
The strong point of Parliament, it is to be very funny. In season 1, the humor of the dialogues is the means used by the scriptwriters to interest the spectators in the European institutions.
« On the first season, we were afraid that the series would not be interesting, so we pressed the comedy side to hook people. But I found that in season 1, the negotiation scenes were very successful. In season 2, so we press on these scenes. I decided to assume more to do a political comedy »smiles Noé Debré.
If the slider is pushed for a little more realism, Parliament remains a comedy with wacky scenes. This is good, because MEPs have a lot of humor according to Noé Debré. « People who work in the institutions say themselves that they work in the ‘bubble’. There is something dizzying, because MEPs make decisions that impact millions of citizens. And at the same time, they « are quite incognito. As they are not attached to image problems all day like French politicians, they are less rigid in the way they communicate with the media and there is a lot of humor in parliament ». judge the director.
The episodes of season 2 of the series Parliament are broadcast every Monday evening at 9 p.m. on France 5 from this Monday, May 9. Both seasons are available in full and free of charge on the france.tv Slash platform.