This documentary from France 5 which tells Boris Johnson "the illusionist"

France 5 broadcasts a documentary on Tuesday evening on British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, "the Brexit illusionist".

The director Walid Berrissoul and the co-author Florentin Collomp returned to Europe 1 the rise of this colorful character in the program Culture medias.

INTERVIEW

He has become the face of Brexit.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has successfully exited the United Kingdom from the European Union after months of long and difficult negotiations.

France 5 returns Tuesday evening on the rise of this character much more complex than it seems, in a documentary entitled "Boris Johnson, the illusionist of the Brexit" (8:50 pm).

Director Walid Berrisoul and co-author Florentin Collomp drew up his portrait on Tuesday in the

Culture media program

on Europe 1.

>> Find Culture-Médias in replay and podcast here

The herald of Brexit born into a family of convinced Europeans

Before becoming a Brexit spokesperson, Boris Johnson was born and raised in a family of staunch Europeans.

His father, Stanley Johnson, was even one of the first British officials sent to Brussels in 1973, the year the UK entered the EEC, the ancestor of the EU.

In the France 5 documentary, he tells the story of the Johnson family in Brussels, light years from Brexit.

"There were very interesting people, a very good state of mind. I lived in Uccle, one of those green and very pleasant suburbs of Brussels. The children went to European school, they learned French and to be good little Europeans, "says Stanley Johnson, who voted against Brexit.

"That's what is fascinating about Boris Johnson, the man who will be remembered as the one who pulled Britain out of Europe. He is one of the British politicians who knows Europe best: he He grew up there, he spent his early childhood there, he was in a multicultural and multilingual environment ", summarizes the co-author of the documentary, Florentin Collomp.

A journalist with a "special relationship to the facts"

A few years later, after studying at the prestigious Eton College and at the equally elitist University of Oxford, Boris Johnson intended for a career as a journalist as a correspondent for the

Daily Telegraph

in Brussels, from 1989 to 1994. In the Belgian capital, he is already distinguished by his talent as an "illusionist" and his euroscepticism.

"As a journalist, he understood how to interest readers even if it means sacrificing the truth. He had a special relationship with the facts," notes Walid Berrisoul.

Several correspondents in Brussels, such as Jean Quatremer from

Liberation

, tell in the documentary how Boris Johnson did not hesitate to invent totally false stories, with the sole aim of obtaining "a beautiful story".

"He has a very in-depth knowledge of the European Union but which he used for his own benefit and for his own ends," said Florentin Collomp.

The curator who has become a "bobo" for mayor of London

In the early 2000s, Boris Johnson was elected MP for the Conservative Party in the House of Commons.

"He has forged this character a bit messy. When you see him in public, he pretends to look at his notes and search for his words, while he knows very well what he means. It creates an effect. and above all, this funny character is created, which makes people laugh, "explains Walid Berrisoul.

In 2008, he created a huge surprise by winning the mayoralty of London, after having described himself as ... "Boris the red".

“That sums up the character perfectly. He had been sent to the pipe breaker by the Conservative Party, which thought that London, a city on the left, was impregnable. With his charisma and his humor he completely changed his discourse: he became pro-immigration, for the naturalization of illegals… He becomes a sort of 'bobo' candidate and for 8 years, as mayor of London, he was the preferred politician of the British ", analyzes Florentin Collomp.

The Brexit illusionist

In 2016, as his mandate as mayor of London came to an end, Boris Johnson made a new about-face and declared himself in favor of Brexit.

He becomes the standard bearer of the "leave", without imagining for a single second an exit from the European Union.

"He thought he was the loser and set a big milestone for the rest of his career. When Brexit wins, he did not know what to do," supports Walid Berrisoul.

“It was a campaign of protest and referendum. We wanted to say that this campaign was not made to be put into practice. No one had written a plan in case of victory in the referendum on Brexit. that is the problem facing the country today, ”continues Florentin Collomp.

"He continues to tell a story to a part of the British who voted for him and for Brexit, and he tells another story to a part which is more skeptical and who wanted to stay in Europe", judges Walid Berrisoul. "He's an illusionist because one wonders if Brexit has the same meaning for a fisherman in the south of England, for a worker in the north-east who used to vote for Labor and now votes for the Tories or for a trader in London. Boris Johnson skillfully manages to embellish it all in a tale which aims to restore Great Britain to greatness. "