Sur les rives de l’étang de Berre

“‘To defeat the Front National, it is not enough to denounce it” Etienne Balibar, Chateauvallon Encounters “For the first time, in 1984, votes for the racist National Front party topped 11%. Since then, journalists, documentary filmmakers and academics alike have been studying this new threat. Yet, almost all of them confuse striving to understand the phenomenon with wanting to militate against it. In 15 years, no convincing explanation has been found to elucidate this trend. In fact, nearly all the studies miss the mark, as their overriding purpose seems more to give expression to their authors’ disgust. It therefore seemed urgent to show the concerns of a worried, undecided and potentially FN electorate, in order to understand it. This is the purpose of the film, shot in Vitrolles and Marignane area between February 1997 and March 1998, a year which saw in three different elections. Despite our contacts with the party leaders, we resisted the temptation to go for audience ratings. As a result, Bruno Mégret, Jean-Marie Le Pen, Hubert Fayart, Jean-Jacques Susini and Gilles Lacroix make no more than fleeting appearances. The front of the stage is rather given over to left- and right-wing men and women, who, because of financial worries, racial hatred or frustrated patriotism, may find the extremist choice highly tempting. Developing the trust of those we filmed was a difficult task. We distorted none of their remarks. We showed them the film before distributing it, and they accepted it as it stood. The only commentary we provide is a sort of notebook on our travels around the Provence region, ravaged by devastated urban planning, by the memories from the Algerian War and by the fascist temptation. The result is an unusual political film, in that it has captured a sincere feeling of helplessness: ours and theirs.” (Jérôme de Missolz, Pierre Hodgson)