“Frenchie Shore”, the “hardcore” reality show that is taking social networks by storm

‘On the verge of pornography’: The Culture Minister is concerned about the broadcast of ‘Frenchie Shore’, a reality show about ten young party-goers without a filter. Antonin Portal, at the head of the show, defends unprecedented “freedom” in the PAF.

“French Shore”, a derivative product

Between the ages of 20 and 30, half girls and half boys from all over France, gathered in a villa with a pool in Cap d’Agde for the holiday. Their mission: for the party. As someone says: “If I go out, I don’t wear pearls.”

Filmed in July, the ten-episode first season debuted on November 11 on MTV France, with one episode per week, broadcast on Saturdays at 11 p.m., and repeated on the Paramount+ platform.

Produced by Ah! The show, a production owned by host Arthur, is a variation on MTV’s “Shore” concept, which launched in 2009 in the United States and has become a hit from Italy to Mexico via Poland.

says David Massera, Artistic Producer at Ah! “Elegance is France, and hardcore is the French beach.” production.

Reality TV 2.0

An example of crude dialogue is the words of Melvin, a 22-year-old participant: “Once there are two arms, two legs, and a hole, I can go there.”

The paid 10 participants often come from the world of nightlife and are “absolutely uninhibited,” as Antonin Gate admits. “They don’t have the classic reality TV codes, they don’t think about looking at the cameras, they don’t care about acting (comedy), which makes you want to follow them,” he says.

Uriel in particular was in the spotlight, declaring to her comrades: “I am a trans woman” and “I am proud to be me.” They fall into his arms.

Why does the program cause controversy?

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Thus, the question arises about whether minors can access this “banned” content for under 18s on MTV and for under 16s on Paramount+, as Culture Minister Rima Abdel Malik expressed her concern in Le Parisien on Tuesday.

“Anyone can come across this on social networks as it happened to me,” the minister was furious, denouncing the program “bordering on pornography”.

“We’re not in the register of fantasy, or a movie or a series, with the hindsight that that entails,” she added, fearing a “disastrous introduction” for teenagers.

For Antonin Portal, “Yes there are facts that we have not seen before, yes they are divisive, but the viewer is warned.”

What control?

If the minister assures Le Parisien that the media regulator has “competence over platforms for the protection of minors,” Arcom cannot in fact interfere with the content of international streaming services.

Likewise, Arcom cannot control the content of social networks, but requires them to combat false information and hate online.

In the specific cases of MTV France and Paramount+, the publisher of the first network (Viacom CBS Networks International) headquartered in Prague, and the second channel’s headquarters in Berlin, only Czech and German regulatory bodies can intervene. This is what Arcom asked them to do.

In a letter on Wednesday, which was seen by Agence France-Presse, its president, Olivier Maestre, warned his counterparts of the “strong reactions” raised in France by “French Shore,” and referred to “questions related to the objectives of this initiative.” “On the one hand, respect and protection of human dignity and, on the other hand, the protection of minors guaranteed” under a European directive.

What about social networks?

At the request of Agence France-Presse, TikTok indicated on Thursday evening that it had deleted some videos that violated its usage rules.

Chinese platform ByteDance confirmed that its moderation teams (including 687 French people) “continue to work hard to ensure the rapid deletion of any inappropriate content specifically linked to the #FrenchieShore hashtag.”