Plus belle la vie


Plus belle la vie 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 since 30 August 2004, it is currently shown on France 3 on Monday to Friday evenings at 8:15pm. The show began with seventeen main actors and gained more over time.
On 11 July 2008 France 3 broadcast its one thousandth episode, a milestone in French television. The series set a second record on 8 June 2012, with its two thousandth episode. On 22 April 2016 the soap passed the bar of the three-thousandth episode and on 21 February 2020, the fourth-thousandth episode.

Plot

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

ActorCharacterSeasons
Colette RenardRachel Lévyseasons 1–5
Cécilia HornusBlanche Marciseasons 1–present
Sylvie FleppMirta Torresseasons 1–present
Hélène MédigueCharlotte Le Bihacseasons 1–5
Serge DupireVincent Chaumetteseasons 1–present
Michel CordesRoland Marciseasons 1–present
Thierry RagueneauFrançois Marciseasons 1–2 et 8
Pierre MartotLéo Castelliseasons 1–9 & 12–present
Rebecca HamptonCéline Frémontseasons 1–present
Geoffrey SauveauxLucas Marciseasons 1–2
Dounia CoesensJohanna Marciseasons 1–10
Ambroise MichelRudy Torresseasons 1–10
Aurélie VaneckNinon Chaumetteseasons 1–10
Sofiane BelmoudenMalik Nassriseasons 1–4
Ibtissem GuerdaAicha Djellalseason 1
Lætitia MilotMélanie Rinatoseasons 1–present
Richard GuedjCharles-Henri Picmalseasons 1– 2 & 7
Alexandre PottierAntoine Frémontseason 1
Juliette ChêneJuliette Frémontseasons 1–4 & 8
Virgile BayleGuillaume Lesermanseasons 1–13
Anne DécisLuna Torresseasons 1–present
Alexandre FabreCharles Frémontseasons 1–present
Laurent KerusoréThomas Marciseasons 1–present
Thibaud VaneckNathan Lesermanseasons 1–8 & 10–present

Recurring Cast

Impact

At first it was difficult to attract viewers. However, after striving to create more dynamic story lines, by the second season Plus belle la vie had an audience of five million. On Valentine's Day 2006, a plot involving Nicolas Barrel's death drew an audience of 6,329,600. On 17 November 2008 Plus belle la vie received its highest ever ratings, with over 6.8 million viewers and a 24.9% audience share.
The series regularly averages an audience of 5.3 million viewers with a 23.2% audience share each weekday evening.