The daring contest of France 2 celebrates the art of speaking well

France has an incredible talent as a speaker. This Tuesday at 21h, France 2 celebrates eloquence, the art of speaking well, the time of the Great oral, a contest presented by
Laurent Ruquier. Twelve candidates, aged 18 to 78, from Limousin, Val de Marne or Wallis and Futuna, will try, with the texts they have written themselves, to fulfill the criteria of a successful speech: to convince, entertain and move.

✨ D-5 before #LeGrandOral ! Who will be the best speaker, or the best speaker in France?
? Answer Tuesday at 21h on @ France2tv !
?? Presented by @Ruquier_Laurent pic.twitter.com/yxbPx6x4eP

– ELEPHANT (@ElephantGroupe) February 14, 2019

"The idea that in prime time, for two and a half hours, people's attention is just on the floor was a bit scary internally, says 20 minutes Michel Field, at the origin of the show. It seems that the emotion is going to be easier to meet with the song, as in The Voice, or with the clbadic, as in prodigies. But during the filming of Great oralwe have all been quite upset. "

Teary-eyed

There is enough to feel the tears come when Pasikavaia talks about his difficulties in perfectly mastering French or hanging on Martial's lips when he tells how he helped a man whose heart had stopped beating. There is something to be impressed by Gisele's fantasy and her ode to the badagenarians or by Mounir, the bus driver who loves poetry.

"I was very very annoying with the production because I asked a wide variety of candidates," says Michel Field. I did not want only young people who had a relationship with slam or rap, but that all ages and social backgrounds were represented. "

"Decomplex a number of viewers"

On the screen, it gives a great variety of styles, tones and accents. "I wanted something societal, continues Michel Field, that we realize that speech is a common good and at the same time a conquest. There are many people for whom the use of speech, the legitimacy to speak, are not obvious. For each candidate, speech is an issue, sometimes a daily struggle. I wish this message could pbad and uninhibit a certain number of viewers. "

It needed a setting like the Cirque d'hiver, in Paris, to serve as a backdrop to this contest that flies rhymes and twirling prose. France 2 made a bold decision by putting the words in the lead. By entertaining intelligently, the chain fulfills its public service contract. "We're in a moment where people want to talk, it's the least we can say – the yellow vests are here to remind us," notes Michel Field. But do they want to hear and listen? On the turn of viewers to express themselves.