While “Plus belle la vie” bows out this Friday evening on France 3, Allociné met Léa François, Barbara’s interpreter, to ask her questions about this twist-filled finale.
After 18 years on the air, France 3 broadcasts this Friday, November 18 the final bonus of Plus belle la vie. For the occasion, Allociné spoke with Léa François, who has played the character of Barbara for more than 14 years, in order to discuss her latest plot, but also this episode which will reshuffle the cards.
Allociné: Even if the stories around Estelle and Luna are important, you remain the main character of the latest prime of Plus belle la vie. Did you have the pressure to carry the premium on your shoulders?
Lea Francois : So completely. I was under pressure, especially since I didn’t have to give birth on set (laughter). So yes, I have to admit that it really stressed me out. I shot the prime as I entered my ninth month. So I had a little pressure on that side.
Despite this, I felt very good, and I was ready for the challenge. And then I was especially very happy to be able to be part of the end despite my pregnancy. It was great ! I was delighted to have had the score entrusted to me because it was a beautiful gift. I was very touched.
And the plot spoke to me. I think the authors made a good episode, which changes the destinies of everyone. Spectators will have the pleasure of finding many of the characters they have enjoyed since the beginning. This is something that also made me happy for them. I hope they will like it because we laughed, there was comedy.
What was your reaction when you read the script and especially when you discovered the end reserved for Barbara?
I was very happy to see all these endings. There are some characters who have a true trajectory, while others have an ending that remains more open. But either way, there’s a lot going on, and the characters take different paths. I was afraid that the spectator would be left with too open ends and that the series would not really end.
But this is not the case. It’s not really an end insofar as the neighborhood doesn’t explode and someone doesn’t die, but I find that there are real trajectories. And that really made me happy, especially for the viewers because we don’t leave them hanging. It will then be up to them to imagine the rest.
What was the hardest scene to shoot? And what was the funniest?
The one that was the funniest is the very first, the one that opens the prime. It’s both an action scene and a comedy, so it was really fun to shoot. The writers made me a scene à la Bridget Jones for this ending.
It was quite funny to see Barbara who continues to get into trouble. It’s so complicated that it becomes funny. it made me laugh a lot. I think that I will also share after the broadcast on social networks behind the scenes and behind the scenes of this scene.
Regarding a difficult scene, I don’t really have one in mind because everything went well. Of course, there were things that were sometimes difficult to shoot because I was very pregnant. But as I felt good, everything went well. Everyone was very careful with me, I was lucky.
For me, it was the last scenes we shot that were more complicated. We gradually realized that these were the last. The most difficult scene of the prime is my last sequence, which I shot with Joachim (Latzko, editor’s note). This is the last combined daily and prime sequence that I did on the series.
So that was the hardest because I was really focused on not crying. There were a lot of emotions. Usually on the set we always say a lot of bullshit before the “Stock“, and there with Joachim we didn’t talk to each other, because we felt very fragile. I told myself that we had to manage to go all the way.
Do you have any idea of the scriptwriters’ inspiration for this final bonus which makes many nods to American romantic comedies?
Whether it’s the authors or the production, everyone gave us leads. But I think that the inspirations of the authors were not necessarily the same as those of the production or the director. The producer, Claire de La Rochefoucauld, told us that it was a bit of a Love Actually.
I don’t remember exactly all the inspirations but there were several references. What is certain is that they wanted it to be a choral, funny plot, which is done in a good mood and with as many actors as possible. And I think they have succeeded in their bet.
To return to the relationship between Abdel and Barbara, which is at the heart of the final bonus, 6 months ago, the two friends had put the cover back but had finally decided that they were not made for each other. . Was it always in the minds of the writers to end them together?
Yes, I think this couple has always remained in the minds of the authors, just as it has remained in the minds of the spectators. Ultimately, when you think about it, our characters have been apart for a much longer time than together. But the phase where they were together marked the spirits a lot.
There are relationships that have been much longer for our characters, but people continue to ask us in the street, ten years later, if Barbara is going to get back together with Abdel. And I see right now the messages on social networks and everyone hopes that it is Abdel the father of the baby and everyone hopes that there will be a rapprochement before the end.
These two characters have missed each other many times. He was the one coming back, but she was in love with someone else, or vice versa. They were never very synchronized.
And the one time they were, it was so unsettling, because they’ve stayed so close that they’ve considered each other best friends for years, and when they got back together in early year, they found it too weird. But they each have a hard time imagining themselves with someone else.
Are you satisfied with the end of your character in this bonus?
Yes, I am very happy. I think it’s a great ending, and the circle is complete. I find it great.
Is there anything you would have liked to see happen for your character in the final prime?
Of course, we all still had a lot of desire for our characters, because the end finally came very quickly. And besides, I think that there were plenty of intrigues that the authors had started to start, that they couldn’t complete as they would have liked. There are things that are a bit rushed.
Personally, I still had a lot of desires. I wanted to see her evolve in her restaurant with Thomas. Some time ago I said that for next season I wanted to try to get a star for the Marci.
It was a bit of a two-way thing in our heads because we knew there would be no next season. I would also have liked to see Barbara with a baby. There are a lot of things I would have liked to see but that’s the way it is. And I think it’s great, and I think that this finale can leave the possibility of imagining a little what will happen behind. It’s a really nice ending.
Are you proud of your latest plot? Was it important for you to talk about the denial of pregnancy?
Yes I was really proud. I am really happy. I had the chance to end the series with a societal subject, and I’m very happy about it because it’s the DNA of Plus belle la vie. Yes it’s cool to have suspense with detective stories, but I find that the essence of the series is all the same all these social subjects, or at least these facts that people can identify with and those things that open the dialogue.
Talking about the denial of pregnancy comes down to all that. I’m very happy to have been able to talk about this. I have many testimonies that come to me when the plot has just begun. And just for these messages that I read, I am happy.
Denial of pregnancy is not that well known, we don’t talk about it that much. And I was surprised to also read all the testimonials, which didn’t understand why Barbara suddenly had a belly, whereas the day before she had nothing. There are a lot of people who are unaware that this can happen.
I tell myself it’s because we don’t talk about it enough, and it’s something that’s not well known. I am therefore touched to have been able to bring this subject. Obviously, there are several ways to experience pregnancy denial.
But with what the authors wrote, and the testimonies that I was able to have in my entourage, I tried to propose something, which may not necessarily be the way all women have experienced it obviously, but I’m very happy that I was given this opportunity.
What has been the intrigue that has marked you the most since you joined the series?
I have many. But sincerely, I think that this very last plot on the denial of pregnancy will mark me for a very long time because it was very special for me to play it while being really pregnant.
There were all the emotions that mingled between my real pregnancy, my fake pregnancy and the emotion of the end, because it was also the last episodes of the series. It really is a storyline that I will remember all my life. I could show the pictures to my daughter with my big belly.
I really enjoyed every moment I had with my partners because I knew it was the last. There was also the plot of alcoholism which marked me a lot for different reasons. But I really think that this very last one will remain the most striking and the strongest in emotion for me.
Did you recover objects belonging to your character when the filming of Plus belle la vie ended?
Yes ! I picked up a blue beaded necklace that Barbara has had on pretty much every episode for years and years. I left with it because I thought it was so representative of Barbara. I put this necklace on every morning.
And suddenly I continue to put it back from time to time, it really brings back memories. It may seem odd but just in the wardrobe of our characters, a piece of clothing, an accessory, a piece of jewelry, it’s something we put on every morning, with which we have a lot of memories. We get attached to it.
What are your plans after Plus belle la vie?
In my case, the timing was still crazy because I was finishing shooting in September and I gave birth in October. So right now I have a good baby project on the go. So I will especially enjoy my family.
And then for the after, I will return to the theater and on film sets. For the moment we don’t know exactly what will happen, it’s a bit of a leap into the void. I had a breakneck pace for 14 years. So for the moment I don’t know yet how it will turn out.
But I only take positive things from this adventure. I broke down. I was only supposed to stay three months and I stayed for 14 years. I enjoyed every moment. That’s the end, that’s how it is. I take the rest with just as much optimism.
I tell myself that I will have more time to enjoy my family because the periods when I will be working will be more concentrated. I will no longer go to Marseilles every week.
I already have a play planned. I played in “Hide me if you can” which will surely resume in Paris. And I’m starting a play next year called Les Guêpes. And on the filming side, I have a few leads to the right and left. I hope to find the way to the trays soon but I have nothing concrete for the moment.