INTERVIEW
Taking a very hard look at the situation in the suburbs and neighborhoods in France, the film Les Misérables by Ladj Ly is in competition for the Oscars, which will take place at night from Sunday to Monday, in Hollywood, in the United States. For the occasion, Europe 1 Sunday received Xavier Lemoine, the mayor of Montfermeil, the city of Seine-Saint-Denis where the film's plot takes place.
Xavier Lemoine, mayor attached to the Christian Democratic Party, welcomes, at the microphone of François Clauss, a film "powerful in its writing". According to him, it testifies to the situation of Montfermeil at the time. It is a film "fair and true, fifteen years ago", "a film of hope". "It shows a situation that has existed, that I do not deny, that we have experienced but fifteen years later, we are at a completely different stage," says Xavier Lemoine.
Fruit of "collective work"
As proof of Montfermeil's transition, he adds that the film "was not shot in the city". An observation which is explained by the "fact that there was a collective work", according to him. He claims to have carried out a renovation work on his city first, an essential change before undertaking any substantive changes. "We started with the urban by restoring dignity and pride", in particular by "the quality of architecture, town planning and public space", before implementing "social, educational and cultural policies ".
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According to him, through Les Misérables , Montfermeil even sets an example. "It shows, at one point, the absence of public power. As soon as it returns and becomes credible, then things can change," explains Xavier Lemoine.
To support this film at the Oscars, around 40 children from the city, members of the football club or the film school of Ladj Ly, went to Hollywood, where the 92nd ceremony takes place. "Pride for the entire population of the city," comments Xavier Lemoine.