The art of accommodating the "Drag Race" cult with French sauce

• The first episode of

  Drag Race France

  will be posted on Saturday June 25 at 8 p.m. on France TV Slash.

  It will be broadcast exceptionally the same evening, at 11:25 p.m., on France 2.

• Drag Race France

  is the tricolor adaptation of

  RuPaul's Drag Race

  , a drag queen competition launched in the United States in 2009, which is a cult show within the LGBTQ+ community (lesbian, gay, bi, trans, queer) of the whole world.

• While respecting the "funny and committed" side of the concept, and the rather strict specifications, the production sought to bring a French touch to this program.

“I often say that we bought the hamburger recipe and that we made it with pan bagnat and foie gras,” laughs Raphaël Cioffi.

It was he who, starting with the cult American franchise

launched in 2009, cooked up

.

The first episode will be available on Saturday at 8 p.m. on France TV Slash and broadcast at 11:25 p.m. on France 2. On the menu for this drag queen competition: "a compendium of queer culture, slapstick repartee, humor and sequences allowing you to 'address more serious issues,' sums up Nicolas Missoffe, producer at Endemol.

Concretely, the candidates lend themselves to challenges allowing them to demonstrate their creativity, their sense of humor, comedy and fashion, and all their other talents.

Beyond entertainment, the show acts as a platform for LGBTQ+ voices (lesbian, gay, bi, trans, queer): the queens take the time to confide in their backgrounds, their experiences and their commitments...

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The LGBTQ+ community portrayed 'like a party'

Raphaël Cioffi remembers very well his discovery of the

concept , six years ago: “I was really shocked, it was the first time that I saw my community represented like that, like a party.

"The one who was the author of the sketches of

and of Jean Paul Gaultier's

immediately wanted to adapt the program in France while respecting its essence: "to speak in a creative way, without apologizing we are, and celebrating who we are”.

It's out of the question to make concessions by smoothing the rough edges.

“That was the condition.

When I went to see Endemol and France Télévisions, I met amplifiers, that is to say that, instead of explaining what had to be done and how, they understood perfectly what was involved and they beaten to do so.

“” It is a work of enthusiasts, who arrived with a real look, confirms Alexandra Redde-Amiel, the director of entertainment for France Télévisions.

To adapt a show as powerful as this, it was necessary to have the right teams, at the right time, with the right cast.

»

"The Americans loved what we offered them"

It remained to accommodate this "funny and committed" spirit with French sauce, knowing that American producers impose strict specifications.

Impossible to invent new rules or completely overturn the visual codes that make the

universe recognizable at first glance.

“For example, the Atelier [the room where the candidates prepare] had to be pink, but we had to know right away that we are in France, hence the Palace of Versailles side, illustrates Nicolas Missoffre.

The Americans loved what they were offered, they didn't ask for any changes.

Proof of this Francophilia:

is the only one, among the ten existing international adaptations, to have been authorized to modify the logo – one of the “a”s appears in the form of a stylized Eiffel Tower…

The same confidence was in place for the francization of the show's emblematic expressions.

“Coming from New York, I expected to reuse jargon, which is the essence of our drag culture.

Raph' said to me: "Don't you think that we borrow American codes because of a lack of French drag culture?"

It made me think, says Frenchwoman Nicky Doll who, after participating in season 12 of

, hosts

.

It was our duty, in providing an opportunity like this for our queens, to create a vocabulary for them and the public who discover them.

We put our heart into creating our own expressions.

How was the iconic “condragulation” – a contraction of “congratulation” and “drag” – translated?

Suspense… We will only discover it at the time of the broadcast.

One certainty: it will not be “congratulation”.

“The culture of cabaret and stripping…”

The ten candidates, they applaud.

“We missed this lexical field in French.

Using it has become almost natural”, confirms Kam Hugh.

“Drag culture is Anglo-Saxon, our own culture comes from cabaret, Chez Michou, stripping…”, recalls Paloma.

will not miss an opportunity to honor French popular culture.

The

test – a performance in playback to decide between the two queens risking elimination at the end of each episode – will take place on French-speaking songs, while, during the challenges, the texts of Dalida or Juliette Armanet, between others will be called.

"It's important to adapt," says the Bordelaise Elips.

Copying the US version using the same pop songs that everyone knows would have less flavor.

"Lady Gaga, we've heard enough of her in other

," stings Soa of Muse.

“We have great lyrics, great music.

I am very proud to know that we are going to contribute to exporting French music, ”engages La Briochée, recalling that Aya Nakamura is today one of the most listened to French-speaking artists internationally.

Let the whole world get ready to savor these sounds between two bites of pan bagnat.

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• Culture

• RuPaul's Drag Race

• France Televisions

• France 2

• LGBT movement

• Television