Creative Economy

Les bronzés, a saga that lasts!

During the César ceremony, the Academy awarded for the first time a "birthday Cesar" to the Splendid troupe for the unmissable saga of Les Bronzés. A great reward, widely acclaimed by Internet users. Back on this success that lasts for decades.

18 Aug 2021 - 1 min read

Hey you ! 

Say “Camion Camion” – “Pouet Pouet” ! This line rings a bell? It’s because, like the vast majority of French people, you have seen the saga of Les bronzés. Cult films, which had the honor to receive in 2021 the first anniversary Cesar in the history of this ceremony. We return with you on the success of this saga and its revival via social networks.

The anniversary Cesar for Les Bronzés

At the beginning, there was a band of 4 friends from the Pasteur high school in Neuilly sur Seine: Christian Clavier, Thierry Lhermitte, Gérard Jugnot, Michel Blanc. And then, 3 other guys joined the ranks to form what is known as the Splendid troupe: Josiane Balasko, Marie-Anne Chazel, and Bruno Moynot. It is this troupe that interpreted the famous film Bronzés, directed in 1978 by Thierry Leconte. The script is nothing other than an adaptation of the play they were performing at the time in the theater: “Amour, Coquillages et Crustacés.” This film has since become a true classic of French cinema, seen and re-seen sometimes hundreds of times by some viewers. 

An honorary prize, a year made of exceptions

Usually, the honorary prize is rather awarded to an American actor or actress: Michael Douglas (2016), George Clooney (2017), Robert Redford (2019), Brad Pitt (who finally retracted) (2020). This year, a bend to the rule has been made! And it is Laurent Lafitte and Blanche Gardin, co-hosts of the evening, who had the honor of announcing this happy news. For the first time, the honorary César has become a “birthday César”. To justify this news, the Academy found a (nice) pretext: the 40th anniversary of the opening of the Theater Le Splendid Saint-Martin.

A revival through social networks

The Bronzés, it is an institution and everybody in France knows the cult replicas. And Internet users have had fun summarizing a good part, during and after the ceremony. They were also numerous to show their support. Here is a small selection of the best tweets. 

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A question is on our minds: when will we have a ceremony with a trophy awarded directly by the Internet users via a vote on social networks? We know the vote by SMS, via a call, via some applications (especially for the Eurovision), so … So, according to you, which ceremony will go first?