A ballet of black sedans deposits men in suits and women in heels in front of the main courtyard of the Hôtel national des Invalides, in Paris. This Tuesday, March 21, the golden dome where Napoleon Bonaparte rests shines in the falling evening. The crowd that presses in the rustle of silks has difficulty in hiding its wonder. On the cobblestones stands a cinema with 700 seats, rows of comfortable red armchairs installed under a heated marquee set up for the occasion. There are stars to make you dizzy, actresses Sophie Marceau or Eye Haïdara, directors Claude Lelouch, Jean-Jacques Annaud or Cédric Jimenez, ex-footballer Lilian Thuram, rapper Abd al Malik, media men Philippe Labro and Michel Denisot, Charlotte Casiraghi, daughter of Princess Caroline of Monaco, a few senior officers, former ministers and even Thomas Pesquet who, back on Earth, seems to continue to want to touch the stars.
“Everything Dimitri is summed up in this evening, he sees big! »lance, admiring, one of his friends. “Dmitri”it was producer Dimitri Rassam, 41, who had the nerve to launch in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, with the support of Pathé, this crazy project: a version of Three Musketeers in two parts, for a budget of 72 million euros. A Pathé blockbuster, with François Civil in the role of d’Artagnan, Vincent Cassel, Pio Marmaï and Romain Duris in those of Athos, Portos and Aramis, and Eva Green as the poisonous Milady, which has already attracted more than a million spectators since its release on April 5.
The four musketeers arrive on stage on horseback and the hooves click on the centenary stones. A show worthy of the golden age of Hollywood, which the guests will remember for a long time, moreover forced to store their mobile phones in hermetically sealed bags. No press or big speeches before the screening: in these times of social anger, the organizers have seen fit not to add too much. The day before, Place Vauban, located a few meters away, was suffocating under tear gas and resounded with clashes with the police.
After discovering the first part, D’Artagnan, guests gather around champagne buckets and mini croque-monsieur at Castel, a famous Parisian night spot. Dimitri Rassam goes from one to the other, smiling and courteous. The “Mr. Perfect” type that must annoy more than one: a top-of-the-range pedigree (he is the son of actress Carole Bouquet and the brilliant and self-destructive producer Jean-Pierre Rassam), a handsome athletic physique , a princess’s daughter for wife (the famous Charlotte, mentioned above), a career led at full speed.
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