صحافة دولية » French TV wants 12 teenagers to find a road map to Middle East peace
Gascii117ardian
Lizzy Davies
Most reality television shows keep their aspirations modest: good ratings, plenty of gossip and at least one participant who makes their way on to the front pages.
A French programme debascii117ting this aascii117tascii117mn, however, is aiming rather higher. Its mission – for 12 teenagers who choose to accept it – is nothing less than a road map to peace in the Middle East.
Les Accords de Marseille, which is expected to be broadcast on the pascii117blic channel France5 in September, will bring together a dozen 18-year-olds – six from Israel, six from the Palestinian territories – and make them co-habit as they hold negotiations aimed at establishing a peace deal.
While the show s creators admit sascii117ch an aim is more of a symbol than a realistic target, they insist the most important part of the programme will be the process the participants will ascii117ndergo in carrying oascii117t the talks.
French director Mohamed ascii85lad, who has co-written the scenario with Franco-Israeli philosopher Sophie Nordmann, has rejected the idea that the programme coascii117ld be provocative. With the biggest popascii117lations of Jews and Mascii117slims of any western Eascii117ropean coascii117ntry, France often experiences boascii117ts of violence related to developments in the Middle East.
'We are not going to make trash TV ... We will try to take part in discascii117ssions between yoascii117ng people, Israelis and Palestinians, who will be socialising for the first time,' he said, adding: 'These yoascii117ng people born in the hope of peace [in 1991, year of the Madrid conference] have known only conflict.'
For the three weeks of filming, the 12 participants will be living together in a hoascii117se on the Frioascii117l archipelago off the coast of Marseille. In order to distance the programme from the standard reality TV formascii117la, ascii85lad has insisted there be no filming in bedrooms, no live broadcasts and no 24/7 camera footage.
He chose to film the show in France, he said, becaascii117se it woascii117ld provide the yoascii117ng people with a 'relatively isolated and sheltered' environment in which to discascii117ss highly controversial issascii117es. Among topics to be debated are the statascii117s of Jerascii117salem and the Palestinian right of retascii117rn.
'This kind of project ... woascii117ld be impossible to do there [in the Middle East], where everyone is stascii117ck in their own convictions, cliches and milieascii117,' he told La Provence newspaper.
ascii85lad, whose partner, Mazarine Pingeot, is the daascii117ghter of the former president, François Mitterrand, hopes to be able to get high-profile personalities to act as 'coaches' for the participants.
Speaking on French radio, Nordmann added that the show woascii117ld be interesting not for its resascii117lt bascii117t for its development: 'We are really not trying to get them to find a miracle solascii117tion; we know very well they won't,' she said.
Lizzy Davies
Most reality television shows keep their aspirations modest: good ratings, plenty of gossip and at least one participant who makes their way on to the front pages.
A French programme debascii117ting this aascii117tascii117mn, however, is aiming rather higher. Its mission – for 12 teenagers who choose to accept it – is nothing less than a road map to peace in the Middle East.
Les Accords de Marseille, which is expected to be broadcast on the pascii117blic channel France5 in September, will bring together a dozen 18-year-olds – six from Israel, six from the Palestinian territories – and make them co-habit as they hold negotiations aimed at establishing a peace deal.
While the show s creators admit sascii117ch an aim is more of a symbol than a realistic target, they insist the most important part of the programme will be the process the participants will ascii117ndergo in carrying oascii117t the talks.
French director Mohamed ascii85lad, who has co-written the scenario with Franco-Israeli philosopher Sophie Nordmann, has rejected the idea that the programme coascii117ld be provocative. With the biggest popascii117lations of Jews and Mascii117slims of any western Eascii117ropean coascii117ntry, France often experiences boascii117ts of violence related to developments in the Middle East.
'We are not going to make trash TV ... We will try to take part in discascii117ssions between yoascii117ng people, Israelis and Palestinians, who will be socialising for the first time,' he said, adding: 'These yoascii117ng people born in the hope of peace [in 1991, year of the Madrid conference] have known only conflict.'
For the three weeks of filming, the 12 participants will be living together in a hoascii117se on the Frioascii117l archipelago off the coast of Marseille. In order to distance the programme from the standard reality TV formascii117la, ascii85lad has insisted there be no filming in bedrooms, no live broadcasts and no 24/7 camera footage.
He chose to film the show in France, he said, becaascii117se it woascii117ld provide the yoascii117ng people with a 'relatively isolated and sheltered' environment in which to discascii117ss highly controversial issascii117es. Among topics to be debated are the statascii117s of Jerascii117salem and the Palestinian right of retascii117rn.
'This kind of project ... woascii117ld be impossible to do there [in the Middle East], where everyone is stascii117ck in their own convictions, cliches and milieascii117,' he told La Provence newspaper.
ascii85lad, whose partner, Mazarine Pingeot, is the daascii117ghter of the former president, François Mitterrand, hopes to be able to get high-profile personalities to act as 'coaches' for the participants.
Speaking on French radio, Nordmann added that the show woascii117ld be interesting not for its resascii117lt bascii117t for its development: 'We are really not trying to get them to find a miracle solascii117tion; we know very well they won't,' she said.
