“A French Affair”, a TF1 series on the Grégory affair, traces the drama experienced by the Villemin family from the inside. The question has fascinated since 1984: how has an ordinary family overcome such a tragedy?
“A French Affair”, a mini-series on the Grégory affair, started on Monday, September 20, 2021 on TF1. The case continues to fascinate, 37 years after the death of the little boy. What drives France to follow so closely the drama experienced by the Villemin family? Asked by aufeminin, Aimée Buidine, producer of the series, underlines its magnitude: “it is not so much a news item as a fact of society, which says something about France”, she emphasizes. Interest in the story stems from the fact that this drama struck a very ordinary family and that“a societal environment is described, with a strong sociological dimension”.
Julien Madon, co-producer of the series, believes that ” thehe Grégory affair is also the story of an environment where silence is king, where intra-family jealousy weighs heavily when a brother has succeeded better than another and is rejected by his clan “. The series retraces in six episodes the most striking moments of this affair which says so much about human relationships, and proposes through fiction to enter the intimacy of the characters. Julien Madon explains that these reconstructed scenes are extrapolated from documentary elements and that “The goal has always been to be credible and respectful.” This brings out a strong dimension of the Gregory affair, a murder story, but also deep feelings.
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The Gregory affair or love stronger than death
Aimée Buidine is sure: “Each case embodied touches us naturally and this is the case with this little boy and his family, whom we have never really stopped talking about for 37 years”. What the producers point out is that this affair “is also and above all an incredible love story, that of the Villemin couple. Couples who resist a child’s illness, and even worse his death, are rare, because the situation is so destructive that it takes singular strength to resist. “
However, the couple held on, despite the separations linked to the incarceration. They still live together, far from the scene of the tragedy, and have continued to build their family: they now have three children. If they were not consulted during the development of“A French affair”, “We pay tribute to their resilience, their humanity and their love“, says Jérémie Guez, co-creator of the program.