“Dying, I didn’t even know it was possible, I lived so intensely. » This sentence is spoken by Jean, a student of almost 20 years old. Or rather Simon Herlin, actor, who embodies the character of this young man, the time of a striking single-on-stage. Jean cannot be present this afternoon in December 2022 in Issy-les-Moulineaux (Hauts-de-Seine), in the amphitheater of ISEP, an engineering school specializing in digital technology, to tell his story. to other students. John is dead.
The young man had just joined a major Parisian business school, after two intense years of preparatory class. “A bulimic for life”as her mother, Hélène Decherf-Défossez, likes to say, founder of the association Un instant, une vie et co-author of the piece Adrenalinewhich has counted around forty performances in schools and universities since the end of 2021 to make young people aware of risky behavior.
Jean died on March 8, 2020, climbing a construction crane in the middle of the night. He wanted to take a picture of the view of Lisbon, where he was on a “cohesion” weekend with his school’s rugby club. He had been drinking alcohol and took on this challenge on his own. “For a minute of thrills, the others are shattered for the rest of their lives”, says Hélène Decherf-Défossez during the discussion that follows each of the performances. ISEP students look stunned and there is no question of sparing them. “This story is a punch in the face, indicates Jacky Matte, co-author and director of the play. We’re not going to water it down or add pastel colors. »
The objective: to carry out prevention through theatre, by making a lasting impression. “We really see the catharsis”, appreciates a student in the second year of preparation integrated into the ISEP. In a few weeks, his promotion will leave for a semester abroad. “They are all between 19 and 20 years old. When they leave, they often leave the family nest for the first time: they are not necessarily more fragile, but they are less watched., observes Isabelle Sirot, head of preparatory classes at ISEP, who has chosen to bring Adrenaline after two similar accidents among pupils of the school, one in Prague, the other in Rome.
The role of alcohol
If it is impossible to quantify the phenomenon or to collect direct testimonies, other establishments are regularly bereaved – all sectors combined, schools or universities. “We all know someone this has happened to, confides Clélia, a 19-year-old student at ISEP, who is to fly to South Korea in February. It is easy to identify with Jean: he is my age, he is a student, abroad as I am about to leave… I once climbed on the roofs of Paris: it is quite common when the atmosphere is ready in the evening. »
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