PARIS (Reuters) - French families are to eat, sleep, work and play with their own live-in politician in a new reality TV show that triggered controversy Thursday even before its first airing in October.
Seeking to narrow the gap between the French and their often remote political rulers, "36 Hours" will follow a volunteer for nearly two days as they go about their usual lives with a top politician in tow.
First up is a midwife in a working class suburb of Paris who is joined for a pilot episode by Deputy Justice Minister Pierre Bedier, a close party ally of President Jacques Chirac.
"Politics in itself is already reality. This debases politics rather than elevates it. I will not be taking part," said Francois Hollande, leader of the opposition Socialists.
Socialist deputy Arnaud Montebourg was also unimpressed.
"What makes them think that politicians are different from the people they represent?" he told Le Monde newspaper. "We don't need TF1 to invite us to a farm or to show us what hard work is."
But their party colleague and former Culture Minister Jack Lang said he was all in favor of what he called "a new adventure."
To the dismay of the country's intelligentsia, the French have lapped up a succession of reality shows. Formats have included women battling to seduce a young millionaire and the trials and tribulations of life at an academy for young singers.
France's top commercial broadcaster TF1 rejected criticism that the program was a dumbing down of politics.
"There's nothing undignified about them spending two days with a family. That's their job. You won't be seeing them in pajamas or in the bathroom," said TF1 Vice President Etienne Mougeotte.
http://news.excite.com/odd/article/id/350805|oddlyenough|08-29-2003::07:08|reuters.html
Seeking to narrow the gap between the French and their often remote political rulers, "36 Hours" will follow a volunteer for nearly two days as they go about their usual lives with a top politician in tow.
First up is a midwife in a working class suburb of Paris who is joined for a pilot episode by Deputy Justice Minister Pierre Bedier, a close party ally of President Jacques Chirac.
"Politics in itself is already reality. This debases politics rather than elevates it. I will not be taking part," said Francois Hollande, leader of the opposition Socialists.
Socialist deputy Arnaud Montebourg was also unimpressed.
"What makes them think that politicians are different from the people they represent?" he told Le Monde newspaper. "We don't need TF1 to invite us to a farm or to show us what hard work is."
But their party colleague and former Culture Minister Jack Lang said he was all in favor of what he called "a new adventure."
To the dismay of the country's intelligentsia, the French have lapped up a succession of reality shows. Formats have included women battling to seduce a young millionaire and the trials and tribulations of life at an academy for young singers.
France's top commercial broadcaster TF1 rejected criticism that the program was a dumbing down of politics.
"There's nothing undignified about them spending two days with a family. That's their job. You won't be seeing them in pajamas or in the bathroom," said TF1 Vice President Etienne Mougeotte.
http://news.excite.com/odd/article/id/350805|oddlyenough|08-29-2003::07:08|reuters.html