“I have read all the Nobel Prize winners in literature”, Éric Carrière returns to Montpellier with his accomplice Francis Ginibre

Les Chevalier du Fiel présentent leur 3e spectacle avec les personnages des Municipaux. – Pierre Beteille

The Chevaliers du Fiel will be on Friday March 22 at the Zénith for their show "Les Municipaux: la revenge". Gilbert and Christian left the road for boss status. But they don't like it.

You will be in Montpellier to give your show The municipals, the revenge, third episode on the municipals. RTT, sick leave, there was still a lot to say about the municipal government ?

We made them generic characters, so with them, we can talk about anything. The Municipality is a framework and in it, we talk about life.

What changes is that Christian and Gilbert have the opportunity to become bosses ?

As they have always been angry with the bosses, they say to themselves that this is the opportunity. They find themselves at the head of the Marseille trash service. So they live life on the other side. But they quickly get fed up and do everything to get boosted and become municipal employees again.

The municipal ones are almost a franchise. The recipe is also to surprise ?

We didn't just do The Municipalities. And far from it. It had a big impact on people, just as the Simca 1000 had a big impact on people. There are also the plays with all our characters, Mr. and Mrs. Lambert. We feel that people adhere to a concept, become attached to it. And so do we. So we decline it. Besides, real municipal employees come to see us. They are very happy, because there is no malice in what we are doing. We don't just show their faults.

We can trust you to enlarge the line.

We have to. If we have to show people the life they have, they don't need us. Artists in the broad sense of the term are a look at something. We demand entertainment, variety, laughter and lightness.

You are organizing a demonstration. This is an opportunity to involve the public. You appreciate interactivity ?

Yes. We love playing and talking with people. We can say anything about us but not that we are snobbish. Going down to the room when there are 4,000 or 5,000 people makes me happy. We talk to people. We make them play a completely symbolic role, and we recreate a kind of rotten atmosphere that there is in major political debates with no one listening to anyone, rigged elections . It is between the political meeting and the National Assembly. There is a moment when all the trends are there, the Macronists, the Lfists, the Ecologists. Everyone should expect to be part of a right or left wing of big thought (laughs).

You are over 35 years old on stage as a duo. What keeps you going ?

Neither Francis nor I would have had the idea of ​​continuing if it didn't work or wasn't as good. It's also a question of desire and pleasure. TV, cinema or radio is interesting, but our first job is the stage.

You always have inspiration ?

I think I'm one of the few in France to write three shows a year. As long as we want to live, we want to talk about the things we see. At the start of our career, I had no choice. I was writing eight sketches a day for the radio and it paid my rent. So, I didn't wonder if I was inspired (laughs). With practice, writing has become a way of life. I write every day. 

Christian's wife says that culture is boring. What are your cultural impulses ? What do you like ?

We are very eclectic in our tastes. Francis, he is more musical than me. So, he will like cutting-edge American music. Me, I'm more into literature. We like a lot of things that we don't do ourselves. I have read all the Nobel Prize winners in literature, without exception. And there are a few, you really have to check them out. I think that to look uncultured, you have to be very cultured.

A year ago, you told us about a new film. Where are you ?

It's very complicated. We found the means to produce this film. But our first culture is not cinema. So, we slowed down everything, saying to ourselves, “we do it, we don't do it, we make a TV movie or we go fishing". We are there. The project was delayed by a year. Next fall, we're going to make a film or a TV film. It's a lot of work and it jeopardizes other projects like tours which are going really well. So we put the brakes on. We are deep in thought. 

The Municipalities: revenge. Friday March 22 at 8:30 p.m. Zénith Sud, 2 733 avenue Albert Einstein, Montpellier. Price: 35 to 49 €.  I subscribe to read more