Plus belle la vie (More beautiful life) is a French television soap opera based on an idea by Hubert Besson and characters created by Georges Desmouceaux, Bénédicte Achard, Magaly Richard-Serrano and Olivier Szulzynger. On air from 30 August 2004 18 November 2022, it was shown on France 3 on Monday to Friday evenings at 8:15 p.m. The show began with 17 main actors and gained more later.[1]

Plus belle la vie
GenreSoap opera
Theme music composerMaidi Roth
Country of originFrance
Original languageFrench
No. of seasons18
No. of episodes4665 + 29 specials
Production
Executive producersHubert Besson, Telfrance
Production locationsMarseille, France
Running time24 minutes
Original release
NetworkFrance 3
Release30 August 2004 (2004-08-30) –
18 November 2022 (2022-11-18)

On 11 July 2008, France 3 broadcast its 1000th episode, a milestone in French television. The series set a second record on 8 June 2012, airing its 2000th episode.[1] On 22 April 2016, it broadcast its 3000th episode, and on 21 February 2020, its 4000th.

Plot

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The series follows the daily lives of the inhabitants of "Le Mistral", a fictional neighbourhood in the Mediterranean port city of Marseille, where wealthy and less than wealthy families co-exist. It focuses on their evolving love lives and friendships evolve and on the criminal intrigues in which certain residents of the neighbourhood are involved.

Main cast

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Lætitia Milot, candidate of Danse avec les stars as Mélanie Rinato
 
Hubert Besson, creator and producer of Plus belle la vie
Actor Character Seasons
Colette Renard Rachel Lévy seasons 1–5
Cécilia Hornus Blanche Marci seasons 1–18
Sylvie Flepp Mirta Torres seasons 1–18
Hélène Médigue Charlotte Le Bihac seasons 1–5
Serge Dupire Vincent Chaumette seasons 1–18
Michel Cordes Roland Marci seasons 1–18
Thierry Ragueneau François Marci seasons 1–2, 8 & 17–18
Pierre Martot Léo Castelli seasons 1–9 & 12–18
Rebecca Hampton Céline Frémont seasons 1–18
Geoffrey Sauveaux Lucas Marci seasons 1–2 & 18
Dounia Coesens Johanna Marci seasons 1–10, 14–15 & 18
Ambroise Michel Rudy Torres seasons 1–10 & 18
Aurélie Vaneck Ninon Chaumette seasons 1–10, 16 & 18
Sofiane Belmouden Malik Nassri seasons 1–4
Ibtissem Guerda Aicha Djellal season 1
Lætitia Milot Mélanie Rinato seasons 1–14
Richard Guedj Charles-Henri Picmal seasons 1–2 & 7
Alexandre Pottier Antoine Frémont season 1
Juliette Chêne Juliette Frémont seasons 1–4 & 8
Virgile Bayle Guillaume Leserman seasons 1–13
Anne Décis Luna Torres seasons 1–18
Alexandre Fabre Charles Frémont seasons 1–18
Laurent Kerusoré Thomas Marci seasons 1–18
Thibaud Vaneck Nathan Leserman seasons 1–8 & 10–18

Recurring cast

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Actor Character Seasons
Fabienne Carat Samia Nassri seasons 1–18
Jean-François Malet Jean-François Leroux seasons 2–12
Valérie Baurens Agathe Robin season 2–6, 8 & 18
Cécile Auclert Véra Madigan seasons 2–5
Amalric Gérard Jean-Baptiste Gauthier seasons 2–4
Élodie Varlet Estelle Cantorel seasons 3–18
Jean-Charles Chagachbanian Franck Ruiz seasons 3–6 and 11–18
Franck Borde Florian Estève seasons 3–7 & 14
Ludovic Baude Benoît Cassagne seasons 4–14
Stéphane Henon Jean-Paul Boher seasons 4–18
Pascale Roberts Wanda Legendre seasons 4–13
Coline d'Inca Sybille Cassagne seasons 4–9 & 18
Audric Chapus Raphaël Cassagne seasons 4–8
David Baiot Djawad Sangha seasons 5–14 & 18
Marwan Berreni Abdel Fedala seasons 5–18
Léa François Barbara Évenot seasons 5–18
Rachid Hafassa Karim Fedala seasons 5–18
Françoise Bertin Josiane Laval season 5
Catherine Benguigui Violette Garcin season 6
Anne Canovas Anémone Vitreuil seasons 6–7 & 9–18
Caroline Bourg Elsa Bailly seasons 7–18
Joakim Latzko Gabriel Riva seasons 7–18
Avy Marciano Sacha Malkavian seasons 7–18
Geoffrey Piet Jonas Malkavian seasons 7–12
Stéphane Bierry Stéphane Prieur seasons 8–14
Gladys Cohen Seta Malkavian seasons 8–13 & 15–17
Sara Mortensen Coralie Blain seasons 8–15
Stéphanie Pareja Jeanne Carmin seasons 8–18
Marie Réache Babeth Nebout seasons 8–18
Jérôme Bertin Patrick Nebout seasons 9–18
Charles Schneider Principal Rochat seasons 9–18
Céline Vitcoq Wendy Lesage seasons 9–13
Lola Marois-Bigard Ariane Hersant seasons 13–18
Marie-Christine Adam Marie-Christine Walter seasons 16

Impact

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A movie theater in the Panier district of Marseille, inspired by Plus Belle la Vie

The series struggled to find its footing in the first season, but after striving to create more dynamic story lines, by the second season Plus belle la vie enjoyed regular audiences of five million viewers. On Valentine's Day 2006, a plot involving Nicolas Barrel's death drew an audience of 6,329,600.[2] On 17 November 2008 Plus belle la vie received its highest ratings ever with over 6.8 million viewers and a 24.9% audience share.[3]

For several years, the series regularly averaged audiences in excess of 5 million viewers and audience shares above 20% each weekday evening.[4] In recent seasons, its viewing numbers have gradually declined.

This ratings slump worsened at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and, on 5 May 2022, France Télévisions announced the end of the series which took place on 18 November 2022, following "a substantial shift in viewing habits" after 18 years on air.[5]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b ""Plus belle la vie" débarque dans le Nord !". francetv info.
  2. ^ "Toujours plus belle la vie". parismatch.com. 19 September 2014.
  3. ^ "Audiences : record historique pour "Plus belle la vie"". Archived from the original on 2011-07-15. Retrieved 2011-03-08.
  4. ^ "L'audience encore plus belle jeudi soir". Archived from the original on 2011-07-27. Retrieved 2011-03-08.
  5. ^ "Arrêt de "Plus belle la vie" : La date de fin du feuilleton de France 3 officialisée (MAJ)". 5 May 2022. Archived from the original on 2022-07-22. Retrieved 2022-07-22.
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