We visited the studios of “Plus Belle la Vie” with the fans

They stampeded with impatience in front of the entrance to 37, rue Guibal, in the Belle-de-Mai district of Marseille. Waiting for their turn to visit the studios of the series More beautiful life, Clément and his grandmother Patricia, discuss with the other fans who have been able to obtain one of the 20 places in the time slot. “Roland is dead. He had a cardiac arrest while playing football with his son, ”we hear when we arrive. Rest assured Michel Cordes, the actor who plays Rolland in the series is fine.

And to have this conversation, you had to get up early. The visit slots open until December 3 all found takers in less than six hours. “I spent two and a half hours refreshing the Internet page,” says Clément, who came from Tarascon with his grandmother for whom he took a place by surprising her. It’s a bit like that More beautiful life, a transgenerational soap opera. Clément was 4 years old when the series started. This November 18 the last episode will be broadcast. The end of an era.

It takes 80 days without sleep to watch the entire series

Stéphanie, she took her young daughter Séréna, convinced that the studios are in the open air. “But then how do they make the sky”, asks the schoolgirl as she enters the plateau of the Place du Mistral, 1,000 square meters of fake buildings. This Wednesday, the light is grazing. “It’s a light of a slightly overcast morning”, comments Marie-Anne, who comments on the visit and who worked on the series for sixteen years, as an actor coach.

The technician guides and provides information to visitors who are busy filming everything and taking pictures of themselves. It takes, for example, 80 days without sleep to watch the entire series. More than 1,000 kisses were exchanged on these sets, sometimes with real babies More beautiful life. About fifteen children were born from unions between actors or technicians, explains Marie-Anne inside the Mistral.

“I’ll make you a coffee,” laughs Stéphanie. For one day, here are the fans, customers of the iconic bar of the series, waiters, real characters in settings they know by heart. They had so far only seen what the cameras wanted to show them. The visit also passes by the police station, another place of intrigue in the series. Time flies, 30 minutes are planned per group – sixteen follow one another during the day -, and it is with regret that the fans have to leave the set.

Finally, the production put on sale, at a low price, the clothes and accessories worn by the actors. Five euros for a sweater, one euro for earrings… The racks are classified by size and by actor. There will be something for everyone: there are 1.7 km of racks to sell, nearly a million items. This bag belonged to Yolanda, there a shirt from Vincent. The opportunity for fans of the series to leave with a souvenir. “I took a pair of earrings for my mother who could not come”, slips Marwan, a Marseillais. Patricia, she leaves with a pair of shoes, and stars in her eyes. “Now that the series is going to end, you’re going to bed even earlier,” says Clément, his grandson. Because for Patricia, the mourning is not yet done, and the hour of infidelities with other competing series of the same register –such a big sun, tomorrow belongs to us– hasn’t come yet. “It’s a little because of them all the same that it stops”, regrets Clément.