"Note that the title character of Émile Beaufort is Prime Minister, not President of France." "The title of Prime Minister, at the time of the 4th Republic, was "Président du Conseil" often shortened to "Le Président"." "We're here standing before the Prime Minister of Britain." "Prime Minister, will you be lunching at the Foreign Affairs ministry?" "Naturally." "What will you be doing in the meantime?" "The Prime Minister planned to pay visit of a quite private nature." "I'm going to see a friend, a very old friend." "Excuse me, gentlemen." "Dear Merryl...delighted to see you!" "Is this visit personal or political?" "Personal." "They ruled the world for 30 years." "That creates ties!" "They must have 150 years between them!" "If the Englishman is there, it's to ask the old guy to come back!" " Why?" " To break deadlocks." "We're in deadlock." "Anyway, it'd really bug the Russians." "The Russians couldn't give a damn." " Beaufort has always been a leftie." " There are lefties and lefties!" "If they're shut up together in there, they must have things to discuss." " What things?" " Missiles, sputniks..." "Atom bombs...all that stuff." "First you've got to have a sheep's head and some offal." "That's very important." "Now...the crayfish go along very slowly... and as soon as they have the meat..." "up then with the net." "In Devonshire...our crayfish...are much larger than the ones you have here." "Well, but their flavour is less delicate." "In the river down there I catch over 20lb of them between 5 and 7 o'clock." "Well, well, well!" "No movement, eh?" " Thanks." " Hey!" "Take a look over here." "That's it...thank you." "Something was supposed to have happened today." "Yeah...." "They'll photograph anything." "Did you realise you might have your picture on page 1?" "I've given our names to the journalists." " Maybe they'll quote us?" " No, it's always the same rule..." "Not surprising..." "They only want big names." "Do you remember that?" "Let me see...19..." "Let's forget it!" "I've bought a farm of sorts, in Devonshire." "Going to retire in another year." "Oh yes...this time the matter's settled!" "I'm going to play golf at last... without anyone reproaching me for playing." "Well, but they won't let you go, and they'll be right, too." "Definitely the privilege of old age." "I can't hear a single thing that annoys or upsets me." "If I remember...20 years ago...you were alredy afflicted with this painful infirmity." "Good morning, Doctor." " Good morning." " There's a lot happening today!" " A bit too much!" " How's my illustrious patient today?" " He slept well." "Had he had his glass of warm water?" "Oh yes..." "But he didn't want to take it!" " Good morning Miss Milleran." " Good morning, Doctor." " How are the memoirs coming along?" " They're coming along." "They'll upset a lot of people." "Mr Beaufort's counting on it." "it gave me great pleasure for me to see you." "It really has....a very great pleasure for me also, I assure you." "Please give my kindest regards to your lady wife." "Thank you." "I shall also ask you to give your most respectful greetings to her gracious Mandreset." "I was about to beg you, too." "Isn't this a beautiful piece?" "A very pretty object, Mr. Président." "But you, a great pacifist..." "You surprise me!" "That's because you don't know me." "I'm a strange mixture of anarchist and conservative..." "In proportions yet to be determined!" " Well, good fishing, Émile!" " Thanks, Merryl." " Hey!" "..." "There they are!" "No, no, no." "Get back!" "Now all we have to do is clean up." "Good morning, doctor." "Still coming in through the kitchen?" " But..." " I saw you." " I came through there just to..." " To get some news like everybody else." "It's a mania." "If my cook gives out news about my health... why not give her your hash recipe?" "One favor deserves another." "It's an honour for Saint-Mesmain to receive the British prime minister!" "The mayor won't be happy." "If he'd been told about it, he would have organised something." "I wonder if he gets jabbed in the backside, too." "The mayor's in very good shape." "I was talking about Sir Merryl, because... after all, he's only got 2 or 3 years on me." "Oh, well...!" "We all finish up the same way!" "Humiliating, don't you think?" "Don't you care?" "Not at all!" "I assure you, Mr Beaufort, that..." "But if you don't care..." "What must excite you is ...you tell yourself:" ""This old gent whose backside I jab..." ""already has his name in the history books." ""He'll have an avenue named after him in every city in France." "Like Clémenceau, or poor old Jaurès."" "Sound good to you, to have an avenue name after you?" " "Doctor Fumet Ave."" " Yes!" "But not for you, Mr Beaufort?" "I suppose it might happen." " No problems last night?" " None." " No..." " No arm pains." "No respiratory problems..." "No anxiety." "And might I add that I peed quite normally.." " Good, good...that's very good." " So there you are." " What is it?" " 10-7." "So...see you tomorrow, Mr Beaufort." "See you tomorrow." "Oh..." "While you're there..." "I'd rather not have lunch before 1 o'clock." "As you're going through the kitchen, please tell Gabrielle." "Their meeting lasted about twenty minutes." "Now he's with the doctor." "Yes, boss...a very good night." "What's that?" "Ah!" "His blood pressure?" "I still don't know." "10.7." "No, it's nothing." "It was just Mr Beaufort saying good morning.." "This morning he refused to drink his warm water." "If I get anything out of the doctor when he comes down, I'll call you." "Otherwise..." "talk to you tomorrow." "Ah!" "Milleran!" "The small talk's out of the way, so I'm all yours.." " Good morning, Mr Beaufort." " Good morning." "Didn't you find that Sir Merryl has aged?" "You hadn't seen him for quite a while." "Oldies and babies change quickly." "Doesn't bother me..." "You see me every day." "Fine..." "let's get on with it." "You don't want to take a rest?" "Rest is for the young." "They've a lifetime left." "I haven't." "Where did we get up to, yesterday?" "Government doesn't happen without enmity." "Every man of power should be instilled with this maxim, which, by an odd paradox, exemplifies the concept of public good." "Good." "Now...new chapter heading..." ":" "The Difficult Years." " Ready?" " Right." "I believe I have been one of the most hated men of his age." "For a long time that hurt me deeply, but today I wear the fact with pride." "I am republican through and through." "Nevertheless... in the course of 40 years of political life," "I had the privilege of being treated as an oriental despot by the socialists, as a Moscow thug, by the far right, as a Wall St lackey by the trade unions, and as a counterfeiter, by the big banks." "So much for my opponents." "As for my friends..." "Friends don't enjoy being faithful... they feel it detracts from their persona." "So my friends were happy to accuse me of being ambitious and uncompromising... two qualities which I lay claim to." "Actually, I have always been extremely ambitious for the destiny of my country." "And uncompromising in the ways of achieving it." "Any article in a foreign newspaper unfavourable to France has always affected me much more than the fall of one of my ministers." "Excuse me sir, it's 12 o'clock." "It is 12 noon." "This is Europe-Flash, presented by Paul Pelletier." "Despite the conference being held at the EEC, the situation in France is the main topic of current events.." "Today is in fact the 10th day of the ministerial crisis." "Whereas mister Robert Lacroix, outgoing prime minister, is still handling current business, it seems that the full-blown crisis caused by the fall of his ministry, has not been solved." "Yesterday we reported that Mr Louis-Michel Blanc was approached by the President to form the new cabinet." "At 10 o'clock this morning, Mr Blanc came back to the chief of state with a negative response, following the Socialists' refusal to join." "Well, well!" "The President has resumed consultations and approached Mr Chabrier, minister in the outgoing government." "Mr Chabrier's chances would seem slim, as he would encounter the same obstacles with the Socialists." "That's why much mention has been made since this morning,  of an individual who has not yet been in power... who may be able to form a coalition cabinet bringing together a majority on a minimum program..." "Namely, Mr. Philippe Chalamont, convenor of a group of independent republicans." "Still in France..." "at 10.30 this morning," "Sir Merryl Lloyd, the British Prime Minister, paid a visit to former prime minister Émile Beaufort at his retreat at La Verdière." "Turn it off." "The cortege arrived at" "What?" "What's the matter?" "Whether I smoke now or after lunch, it doesn't change my ration." "What difference does it make?" " I didn't say anything." " But you were about to." "Why don't you smoke, Milleran?" "It's enjoyable." "Alright, then..." "let's continue." "In the aftermath of the riots, and after the dissolution of the fascist leagues," "I kept my faithful opponents on the left, and from then on, only had enemies on the right." "But backing me, I still had the force which, in the end, governs parliament:" "public opinion." "I only had to lose its support to lose my popularity." "This happened overnight." "Put a sub-heading:" ""The Devaluation."" "Order being restored, I asked full powers and obtained them." "But except for dictators and imbecile..." ""order" is not an end in itself." ""Order" doesn't prevent the number of unemployed rising..." "Nor the railway deficit increasing..." "Nor bankruptcies multiplying." "Scarcely had I been given full powers, as everyone said... in quotes..." "'What's he going to do about it?" "'" "It's an established French tradition to confer a mandate on someone and then contest their right to use it." "Now it was necessary to choose, and to choose quickly, between the protection of capital, and that of labour." "It was necessary to choose between the past and the future." "I chose the future." "That meant only one possibility... that of a massive devaluation." "And that had to occur quite unexpectedly to prevent speculation..." "To prevent speculation." "Are you tired of dictating Mr. Beaumont?" "No." "I'm thinking about what I can't say." "It's exquisite." "Don't you think?" "Wagner is unbearable or sublime..." "depending on your taste..." "But certainly not exquisite." "I feel like a cigarette." "How about you?" "You know I haven't smoked in ten years." "You can pretend." "It seems one isn't allowed to find Wagner exquisite." "Who may one find exquisite?" "Mozart." "Or Tino Rossi." "Antoine, do you have any intention of being part of a future ministry?" "That's it?" "We devalue?" "Yes." "Are you against it?" "What difference would it make?" "None." "But it would annoy me." "Unfortunately, we don't have an alternative." " Unfortunately not." " Nice evening!" "Given the nervousness of the Stock Exchange, to call a meeting of the Bank of France and the Finance Council, would be taken as a signal." "I better get back to my theatre date." "Call me, Chalamont." "We shouldn't complain." "A joint suicide with touches of Wagner is a fine ending." "I owe you that much!" "Go out in a blaze of glory." "Have the governor of the Bank of France join us." "Governor...sir!" "Magnificent evening, don't you think, Prime Minister?" "Magnificent." "Yes." "Magnificent." "Well..." "I understand." "So...?" "What will the date be for announcing devaluation?" "I will have to be a Saturday or Sunday." "While the stock exchange is closed." "Good." "So we'll make it a Monday." " Why?" " Because it's obvious, everyone will be assuming the same as the finance minister." "So, weekend's calm..." "Monday morning everyone breathes a sigh of relief." "That evening, after the exchange closes, all is revealed." "Machiavelli would feel right at home." "My dear chap, I'm quite aware that this devaluation will hit self-funded people." "But it's in the national interest." "But..." "I do not want speculators to profit from it." "The national interest does not fit with breach of trust." "How much will the franc be devalued by?" "You know my position...33%." "I don't agree, and you know my reasoning." "Your reasoning, my dear fellow.." "Hold on!" "..." "Henri, Antoine doesn't know your Chevreuse house." "I'm especially sorry that you don't know it either." "Let's kill two birds with one stone." "Tomorrow..." "lunch at your place." "Delighted!" " Men only." " For God's sake...my wife will..." " She still enjoy the horses?" "Yes." "Tomorrow she can have my box at Auteuil." "Excuse me, Prime Minister." "What time for this conspiracy?" "It's already well in hand." "Let's say...11am?" "Prime Minister!" "The music's finishing." "Prime Minister..." "I wish to thank you on behalf of all my colleagues." "For...?" "For presiding over this gala, celebrating the media... and honouring it with your presence." "The honour is all mine." "You know my friend Mulsten, head of 'Paris-France'?" "That paper has a lot of readers who support me... but also a lot who attack me." "Élisabeth Chalamont." "I'm one of your husband's greatest admirers, madam." "Prime Minister, may I...?" "That Mrs Chalamont's quite something...eh?" "He's got all the luck, that bastard." "Son-in-law to the Volard bank and Beaufort's head of cabinet at 38." "But he's nothing special!" "Well!" "I didn't expect to meet you here." "Good evening." "Henri told me of your invitation to Auteuil." "How nice of you..." "I shall take it." "My dear Odette, I knew you would like it." "And apart from running the country, that is my first concern." "You always gave me the impression Émile was a bit of a peasant." "Like a peasant perhaps, but far from stupid." "I admit not knowing this place was a sin!" "You also have a country house?" "No comparison..." "but it's a house I'll hang onto." "My great grandfather and my father were farmers there..." "And my father was the country doctor." " So I'll be retiring there." " You...retiring!" "Don't give us that..." "You're too hungry for accolades." "When you're too old to be Consul... you'll be ambassador to Mongolia rather than be out of things." "Antoine...you're an idiot." "Obviously, it's extremely disagreeable to announce a devaluation of 30%, when at 18%, we might just hang on to a majority." "But I don't like half-measures." "Whatever..." "We'll have enemies whether it's 18 or 30..." "We could compromise around 22%." "The franc would be 6 to the dollar." "We'd thus avoid some..." "How can I put it?" "..." "Retaliation on the part of some of our friends and neighbours." " What do you think, Philippe?" " I can't allow myself to say." "I'm allowing you." "The finance minister's conception seems to me based on the gold reserve and exchange rates." "The governor's is based on the volume of exports." "And yours?" "Around about that of Mr Lauzet-Duchet." " 22%?" " Yes." "Good." "Well, write the decree on that basis." " Aren't I being accommodating?" " You're like my wife." "You agree when you're getting what you want." "You'll have to excuse me." "There are things I have to do." " I'll get my briefcase." " While I think of it..." "Find me an opening ceremony for tomorrow morning." "Before 11." "My speech will have to finish before the stock exchange opens." "That'll reassure them." "There is an operating theatre to be opened at the Cochin hospital." "You wouldn't have anything outdoors?" "Well...yes." "But it's in Marseilles." "OK then...we'll take the operating theatre." "Good man, that." "He has a remarkable understanding of the financial gymnastics." "He's well-trained." "Don't forget he's Étienne Volard's son-in-law." "Yes." "I know..." "High-finance Protestants who are not exactly backward in their arithmetic." " What time is it?" " Just on 6." "We didn't waste any time, did we?" "Maybe we could fit in a game of bowls?" "You've got a set of bowls, and you didn't tell us?" "Look out!" "Watch what you're doing!" "We've got it!" "We've got it good and proper!" "That's it!" "Measure it!" "Hold on." "Watch your feet!" "Bowls can only be played by hand!" "Excuse me...no!" "..!" "It's a common situation!" "How can you cheat at playing when you're supposed to be so honest?" "That's why I play." "It gets it out of my system!" "Good morning, Prime Minister." "We have the most modern operating theatre in Europe." "Seriously, I'm proud of it." " What sort of reactions?" " Positive, but surprised." "The health minister had already forwarded his speech to the press." "So I've just made one more enemy." " Have they arrived?" " They're waiting for you." "Including the health minister." "Hold the line please." "Mr Lauzet-Duchet." "Thanks." "Yes!" "Himself." "Just a moment." "I'm listening." "Yes..." "I'm alone." "I'm sorry to have to ask you this question... but have you mentioned the decision taken yesterday to anyone at all?" "I don't know anything for certain, but..." "I've been advised of some disturbing movements on the Zurich exchange." "Stock worth 300 million is to be dumped on the market at opening." "Whose?" "..." "That's all I know." "Yes..." "I hope that it's just a coincidence." "I'll be kept informed Where will I contact you?" "I won't budge from my office here." "Thanks." "Gentlemen...your attention, if you please!" "Why should we spend a lot of time discussing a measure which is so obviously required?" "We discuss it, because that's what we're here for." "This plan can have an impact on the army budget." " I'd like to say something about it." " Of course." " And you aren't alone." " I don't need to tell you, gentlemen that some of the major nations of the world," "Britain, America, Japan, Sweden, Austria, have devalued their currency." "Previous governments have driven this country into economic paralysis, under the pretext of following the economic orthodoxy to which the financial world adheres." " Sometimes with good reason." "Why don't we trust control of our finances to the financiers?" "The trouble is that their interests rarely coincide with those of the country." "What does that prove?" "It proves that an intelligent man can still talk nonsense." "In that case..." "Factories and steelworks are dying." "It's serious, when the skies are blue above our industries." "We're neither in the House nor the inaugural session here, but in the room at the back of the shop." "On our own." "So, let's keep it simple." "Let's talk big bucks." "We're not running a grocer's shop, so don't let's talk like grocers." "Instead of 'big bucks', let's get back to monetary rate, and instead of 'back-of-the-shop', remember we're in the PM's HQ." " Can't do anyone any harm." " As you wish." "And...according to you, how much would the monetary rate fall by?" "I was voted back in my electorate, swearing to my constituents that as long as I was there, there'd be no devaluation." "I'll need time to consider it." "Some of you have been opposed to this measure and have told me so." "If you feel you should quit the government, I would understand and respect your decision." "But I didn't say that!" "I wasn't implying that you'd said it." "Have him come into my office." "Gentlemen, you'll have to excuse me for a minute." "I guess you realise why I'm here..." "I guess I do." "So?" "I'm here about Zurich." "It wasn't coincidence." "But a leak." "And it's not a matter of 300 million, but 3 billion." "Very soon Paris will get wind of it and there'll be panic." "There's only one solution..." "Stop the operation before it turns into a catastrophe." "The decree has been promulgated." "It will be in the official gazette tonight." "Paris has to stay calm..." "and hold prices." "The Banque de France can make it happen." "That's up to you." "If it was up to anyone else, what would I be doing here?" "Thank you, Henri." "Those bastards that cost France 3 billion..." "They'll be paying in billions." "That I promise you!" "Oh..." "I almost forgot..." "The stockbrokers in Zurich received their orders from the Lieuven Group." "So?" "No resignations?" "Everyone wants to stay a minister?" "I ask permission to reserve my response." "I need time to consult my colleagues." "So consult your conscience..." "you'll save time." "Any discussion was unnecessary, since everyone agrees." " You're pushing it a bit fast!" " I'm in a hurry." "It is now 3.30 This cabinet meeting is closed." "If you don't mind me asking, what was the point of it?" "It will have allowed me to reconfirm that electoral concerns and personal problems are secondary to the national interest." "Of that, I have never had any doubt." "Thank you, gentlemen." "Chalamont, will you come in for a moment, please?" "Prime Minister." "That's it." "Everything is in order." "You were very effective." "I did what I could." "Working with you is such a pleasure!" "Thanks." "But you should aim higher." "I'm sure you'll be a deputy one day, even a minister." "Maybe even prime minister." " Prime Minister!" " None of us lives forever." "We all need to be replaced." "And you have all the attributes to become a prime minister." "I'm very touched." "So much the better." "Wait...sit down." "I've a letter to dictate to you." "Take my armchair..." "You'll be more comfortable." "Good." "Now write..." "I, the undersigned," "Philippe Chalamont, cabinet secretary to the prime minister," "acknowledge that I have passed on to my father-in-law, the banker Étienne Volard, associated with the Lieuven Group, information..." "Prime Minister, I..." "What...'Prime Minister'?" "Aren't you Philippe Chalamont?" "Isn't Étienne Volard your father-in-law?" "So...write!" "I, the undersigned, Philippe Chalamont, acknowledge that I have passed on to my father-in-law, the banker Étienne Volard, associated with the Lieuven Group, information concerning the devaluation of the franc." "That is not true, sir!" "Listen to me, Chalamont." "Thanks to the Volard-Lieuven group, the country has lost 3 billion francs." "And the Bank of France is going to have to act as a corrupt unofficial broker." "The leak must have come from someone who was at Chevreuse." "So I have either to remove the governor, or prosecute the finance minister." "One or the other." "So let me bring them to justice." "You have delusions of grandeur, my boy." "Do you think that France can afford a financial scandal?" "The 2 years of prison you'd get, like a common thief... would do nothing to remedy the injury to the nation." "I swear you that I only mentioned it to my wife." "No one says anything to their wife, when they marry into a bank!" "Good luck has its price." "That can be dearest of all." "At first I took you for a rat." "But you're basically an honest man." "You've just paid back the dowry." "Your stepfather can be proud of you." "Write." "Write." "Information which has been used" "for speculations amounting to almost 3 billion francs." "Sign and date it." " What will you do with this letter?" " Keep it." "There will be no change in our relations until the day I decide to throw you out." "You won't be hard up." "You have enough to live on." "I swear to you..." "That you won't tell your wife?" "I believe you." "Write, Milleran..." "Putting the interests of the nation above sordid self-interest and Assembly shenanigans, in a generous impulse, to which I pay tribute today, the cabinet meeting agreed to the devaluation unanimously." "Some of the opposition press enjoyed asserting that I'd received money from Germany." "Others were more inclined to say it was English money." "All of them, however, were in total agreement that I'd stashed the money in Switzerland." "So all on my own I had formed a veritable corporation of treason." "One has to accept democracy as it is." "Democracy, as a great politician once said... was the worst sort of government, excluding of course, all the others." "Yes!" "Lunch is served." "Given what the doctor allows me, just say "the table's been set"." "Go ahead, Milleran." "I'll join you." "At the same time there, as we have seen it is quite warm." "Moving on to today's political news where we learn that at 11 this morning, Sir Merryl Lloyd, here to participate in preliminary discussions, with the EEC, paid a visit and one of a private nature, with former Prime Minister Beaufort," "in his retreat at Saint-Mesmain where the former prime minister, wrongly known for misanthropy, made a warm welcome, to him who was for more than 30 years his most uncompromising opponent." "Émile Beaufort's verbal sparring matches, with Sir Merryl Lloyd, are indeed long forgotten." "They are a thing of the past." "One could say, part of history, as these images remind us." "No lamb for you, Mr Beaufort." "It is amazing the number of yogurts there are in this house." " Everybody's eating them, sir." " Why?" "I don't know..." "To be like you, maybe." "You're wrong there..." "I hate it." "It's baby-food." "What is it?" "What do you want?" "Sir..." "if it wouldn't be too much trouble.." "I'd like to have my afternoon off." "Again?" "What for?" " My grandmother's sick." " That's alright then." "It's good of you to worry about your grandmother." "Take the afternoon...off you go." "She's a lying little pants-chaser..." "and you let her get away with it." "I let her get away with it..." "She's the only young thing in this place." "You don't believe her stories do you?" "No." "But she displays a sensitive imagination." "She displays a lot of nerve." "No, it would have taken nerve for her to say:" ""Sir, I'd like to have the afternoon off so I can go and get laid."" "What?" "You talk about nerve..." "That's nerve." "...Chalamont, who heads the Independent Republicans." "At 10.30 Mr Chalamont left the palace...  where we cross to Léon Zitrone." "I'm here at the Élysée Palace, where the president received Mr Chalamont." "who is still simply Mr Philippe Chalamont, since despite all the people we have seen since the start of the ministerial crisis, Mr Chalamont is still the only one who hasn't been prime minister." "When he arrived, approximately three quarters of an hour ago" "Mr Chalamont did not think it necessary to give us the exact reasons for his visit." "But he's coming out now, and I'll ask him..." "Mr Chalamont, if I may..." "a moment please gentlemen..." "We're on TV Mr Chalamont, has the President given you the position of prime minister?" "The President of France did me that honour of consulting me about the new government." "As I said, to certain of your colleagues, it can only be a broad cabinet of national unity." "It remains for me to consult with my colleagues." "Think you can give an affirmative answer soon?" "Please look towards the cameras." "I'd like to give the President an answer by tomorrow morning." "Every hour that passes creates an additional risk for the government." " A risk, most of all, for France." " Thank you very much, Mr Chalamont." "So, ladies and gentlemen, we'll stay here..." "We'll repeat this in our later editions." "For now, I'll hand you back..." "Over to you, Claude Darget." "Thank you." "As we saw," "Mr Chalamont is rather optimistic and we can reasonably hope that soon..." "Are you taking your walk, Mr Beaufort?" " Oh..." "No." " That's what I thought." "It's the crazy guy." "Xavier Taupin ?" "Hello?" "Yes, yes..." "I'm listening." "But I..." "I won't fail to pass on the message.." "you can count on me." "Mr Taupin is seriously ill." "But he wants to tell you..." "That I'll croak before him?" "I've been hearing that for 20 years." " What's up with him this time?" " It seems to be serious." "Good." "Well, all things considered, let's go for a drive!" "You take off more time to eat every day!" " Oh, it's alright, I had a game of billiards." " It's not warm out here, you know." "Hey!" "It's OK." "I've got the afternoon off." "Well...some good news at last!" "Well, if anyone needs me I'll be at 27." "OK." "Where might she be off to?" "To see her grandmother" "Good day, Augustin." "How are you, Émile?" "Fine." "What yield are you aiming for this year?" "Oh...yield...can't really say..." "It'll be low, the price you get...you have..." "The price you get, you don't have enough to pay for fertilizer." "It's ruled by the thugs who set the price of beet... and who probably damn well grow radishes themselves!" "Listen..." "You know what I really think?" "Deputies should all be tossed into the Seine!" "Don't worry, they can swim." "Politics is a profession for hooligans." "Well...thanks very much!" "Oh, I don't mean you..." "You know that!" "You're one of us..." "It's not the same." "You were born with our culture inside you." "That's why they never gave me the ministry of agriculture." "Why I would've refused anyway..." "so I wouldn't've had to fight with you!" "You're a good guy!" "Thanks." "Who do you think'll be the next hooligan to run the government?" " See you, Augustin." " Goodbye, Émile." " See you, François." " Cheers." "Excuse me Mrs Taupin." "What is it?" "Is Xavier unwell?" "It's terrible, Mr Beaufort." "You can't imagine how it was last night." "What's wrong with him, exactly?" "What do you care what I have?" "They're going to operate." "I'll get better." "I'll be there at your funeral." "Yes...of course you will!" "Poor old Taupin !" "You know he was a General Council member?" "He didn't amount to much." "No, not very much." "I knew him in 4th year at Évreux high school." "I remember something he said that's often come back to me..." ""If you're a brother, you'll give me a hand."" "Well, I found him 40 years later." "He hadn't changed." " You told him I was here?" " Yes sir." "But I doubt the prime minister can receive you this evening." "He has a session in the Chamber at 5pm." "Oh..." "Prime Minister..." "There's a Xavier Taupin, a council member from Eure Département, who's asked to see you several times." "He's waiting." "Tell him I won't be able to see him." "So Émile, the sacred one!" "You refuse to see me?" "You take yourself for Grand Vizier?" "You're free to make an appointment." " What?" "Don't you recognise me?" " Yes!" " But you don't address me as a pal?" " No." "I assure you, I won't waste your time." "I know it's precious." "It was easier when we were young." "You remember high school at Évreux?" "They were good times." "You've certainly made it since then!" "Me too for that matter." "If you accept my status being on a general council..." "And in your own district!" "I know." "So?" "So... well..." "I need a small favour." "For someone like you it would be less than nothing." "There'll be an adjudication next month for the port of Bordeaux..." "Where, coincidentally my brother-in-law is managing an important construction project which I'm associated with..." "to a very small degree." " No." " What do you mean...no?" "You're asking me to intervene to help a business that you're associated with." "To which I say no." "That's it." "I just need a bit of help." "You can do anything!" "The very reason I can't allow myself to." "Now, excuse me." "The Bourbon palace!" "The proposed customs union presented by the government risks reducing French farmers to poverty." "What good will a European federation contribute to our economy?" "Cereal crops?" "We have them." "Wine?" "We export it." "We have sufficient livestock to satisfy the greater part of our consumption." "What can we expect from those European countries, unable to stand on their own feet?" "New partners could only create that which Prime Minister Beaufort calls emulation, and which I call confusion." "The Europe that the government is proposing to us is just a disguised form of assistance to countries with weak economies." "What shall we gain from it?" "Nothing!" "What shall we lose from it?" "Everything!" "But it's easy to discern the hidden purpose of the enterprise." "Prime Minister Beaufort, making France the leader of a united Europe, is probably only thinking of an enhanced presidency." "So, my dear, did you come to watch the execution?" "I can't understand why Beaufort hasn't put your husband in his ministry." "Philippe has devoted himself to him." "Ingratitude..." "Jealousy, too, perhaps." "We shall not sacrifice the security of all to the interests of one." "He's really pushing it today." "He's even worse than usual." "As nobody's listening to him, it's just a curtain-raiser." "The tenors are still in the wings." "Listen boys, I can give you the score." "300 against...120 for..." "and about 120 abstentions." "They'll torpedo the only sensible thing to happen since the war." "Yes, gentlemen." "I repeat..." "Our agriculture is the fruit of many generations of labour, effort and dedication." "Tillage and pasture are the nurturing breasts of France... that France who will not become the cash cow for Europe." "And he was nominated for the censorship board!" " Thank God, he was blackballed." " Who by?" "By all those who can read and write." "Mr Philippe Chalamont now has the floor." "Gentlemen, I think we've now reached the heart of the real debate about a problem that has preoccupied the government for months... and the prime minister especially, for years... the idea of a united European community." "I'm going to formulate some serious reservations." "We know them all!" "I hasten to add... that the problems are not as straightforward as some people think." "Before formulating these reservations... allow me to pay tribute to the government for its successes in recent months, from both the economic and social points of view." "Moreover, whatever the opposition that I shall be forced to express about the federation proposal, and especially about the customs union..." "I shall never call in question the lofty sentiments enthusiastically expressed by the prime minister." "He's more moderate than I thought." "If he's starting off quietly, it means he might go for broke." "It's been said often before, but the idea of a federated Europe is certainly a noble one." "Noble...but utopian." "The removal of customs barriers, free trade... are all formulas which look good on paper but which will create permanent challenges to economic calculations." "Will the length of the European metre become variable?" "Will a ton of European coal be double in volume?" "Will France be more powerful and prosperous?" "The removal of customs barriers which the government now invites us to vote on has long been used by smugglers." "But is that sufficient reason to adopt it?" " He's talking rubbish." " That's the prerogative of the opposition." "Mr Prime Minister, when you took power..." "No, Mr Chalamont !" "No!" " Mr Prime Minister..." " I haven't taken power." "I was offered it by the President." "I didn't take it from anyone else." "If you don't want power, you refuse it, Mr Beaufort!" " One could happily live in obscurity." " Something you'd know a lot about!" " Mr Chalamont has the floor." " When we were called to vote for the nomination, we believed we were sealing a contract between the government and the Assembly." "But this contract was not fulfilled." "The customs proposal has appeared like a rabbit out of a hat." "The Assembly did not know about the preparatory work." "Why?" "Because the Prime Minister is quite aware he is leading the country on a political adventure." "All with the best of intentions." "Certainly." "By taking us back to the failed pacifist dreams of Geneva and Locarno." "Capitulations which led France into this impasse." "The worst situations can always be justified by words." "The Prime Minister will find them." "His eloquence is beyond further praise.." "For my part, I prefer figures." "Their language is severe, sometimes daunting...but clear." "Now, if we examine the figures... we see the comeback of our currency from the 1st of January..." "Mr Chalamont has called for an indictment." "The head of the Independent Republicans seems to want the government to call for a vote of confidence." "Everything suggests that he will succeed." "In this hypothesis, what will be the outcome of the ballot?" "Those for the status quo want revenge... and it's believed they'll take advantage of this opportunity." "The figures show more than economic fluctuations." "They are sometimes recorded in letters of blood in the history of the nation." "But I want to say, loud and clear... that it was not consent to the surrender of national power that the heroes of our deadliest wars gave their lives." "It was not for a Europe without frontiers that 1.5 million Frenchmen fell." "But less my intentions are misunderstood..." "I remain convinced that the fall of this government would plunge the country into a new crisis that can only weaken us." "I hope, most intensely... that Mr. Beaufort can continue his work of national recovery." "It is in this spirit that I beg you, Prime Minister... to cancel your project... and so allow us to give you our vote of confidence." "Really...your husband has done everything to save him." "The Prime Minister has the floor." "Gentlemen..." "Mr Chalamont spoke movingly of the victims of war." "I join all the more gladly in this tribute that involves some who were among my best of friends." "At the time of Verdun, Mr Chalamont was 10 years old." "So he's entitled to talk about it." "Being present at the theatre of operations," "I cannot claim the same objectivity." "You have a bad overview when you're too close to the action." "Mr Chalamont talks of 1.5 million dead" "Personally, I can name only a handful... all of whom fell close by me." "I am ashamed, gentlemen." "But I wanted to show that I can also get the dead vote." "It is totally despicable to do this, I assure you." "I have a complete file too..." "300 pages." "300 pages of statistics and balance sheets prepared for you." "but after listening to Mr Chalamont, I've noticed" "That the language of figures has this in common with that of flowers..." "We make them say what we want." "Figures speak, but never shout." "That is why they do not stop Mr Chalamont's friends from falling sleep." "I prefer the language of human beings." "I understand it better." "During all these years of collective madness and self-destruction," "I think I've seen everything a man can see." "Roads filled with refugees." "Children fighting wars." "Victor and vanquished reconciled in cemeteries... their status raised to that of a tourist attraction." "When peace returned, I visited some mines." "I saw police charging strikers..." "as well as the unemployed." "I've seen the wealth of some places and the incredible poverty of others." "And during all those years, I never stopped thinking about Europe." "Mr Chalamont spent some of his life in a bank...where he thought about it too." "We are not necessarily talking about the same Europe." "First of all we think about France!" "You're not the only one who thinks of Europe." "We do too!" "Everybody's talking about Europe." "Because of that, we've stopped listening to each other." "It's opposed on essential principles." "Why do you think the government is being asked to cancel the customs agreement?" "Because it is an affront to national sovereignty?" "No." "Not at all." "It's simply because another plan is ready." "Not true!" "A plan that will be presented by the next government." "I wish to interrupt you!" "No!" "I can tell you the principles of this plan." "Horizontal and vertical trusts... and pressure groups that keep under their control the output of labour..." "and the workers themselves." "You won't be asked to support a ministry, any more... but to support a gigantic board of directors." "Gentlemen...quiet please." "The Prime Minister has the floor." "If this Assembly were conscious of its role, it would refuse a Europe run by Big Steel and Big Oil." "This Europe has the peculiarity of wanting to be situated overseas." "That is to say, anywhere but in Europe." "I know these Europeans who fancy themselves explorers!" "The France of 1889 had a civilizing mission to fulfil." "And a lot of money to be made out of it." "There were places available." "France had to occupy them to find opportunities." "A testing ground for weapons." ""And an excellent training ground for our soldiers." I know how it goes." "I found the mission questionable, and the profit laughable." "Except, of course, for some businessmen in search of fortune... and some missionaries needing someone to convert." "Now, I understand that the liabilities of these companies cannot frighten an Assembly where political parties are only a front for business interests!" "He's crazy!" "He's committing suicide!" "No...just saying goodbye." "Mr Chairman!" "Mr Chairman," "I demand that the slanderous insinuations that the Prime Minister just made not be recorded in the official record!" "Bravo !" " That would seem difficult..." " I was expecting this protest." "And I'm not surprised it came from you, Mr Jussieu." "You are legal counsel for the Kréner steelworks." " That isn't a reproach." " You're too kind." "I do reproach you though for having been elected on a leftist platform... yet only support projects of interest to business." "It's leftist business!" "There are also fish that fly..." "but they don't make up the majority!" "I mentioned business interest just now." "May I make a roll call for this assembly?" "We will even make it in alphabetically." "Gaston Abelin, managing director of Omnium Mining of Senegal... of Ivory Coast Coal... of the Franco-African Electricity and Industry Company." "Jean Adrian, authorized agent of Isard-Lebret Bank," "General Manager of Foundries  Forges of Picardy... founder of La Liégeoise Insurance." "Mr François Ambert." "He merely chairs Legrand Refineries... which are connected to the trust that controls Voguel, 25 subsidiaries and affiliates." " Mr Chairman... my name is Aimard...a, i." "I'm chairman of no trust, nor do I administer any company." "Actually...." "Mr Aimard is general counsel of Anglo-French Oil." "He does not receive dividends." "He collects fees." "Mr Chairman...do we have to sit through a complete list?" "Mr Vanimont, thank you." "You're insignificance was screening you and I have just the question to ask you:" "how do you reconcile your function as a Catholic Democrat with your profession as a lawyer for a large Israeli bank?" "What's wrong with that?" "Nothing to be ashamed of." "Just a slight contradiction in terms." "Finally...since it doesn't appear..." "I'm sure it does not appear either for similar reasons... for Mr Audran of Hauteville..." "defending, with talent moreover, the disarmament cause." "And whose family has manufactured world-famous weapons for generations" "Hauteville has nothing to learn from you, Mr Beaufort." "Rather, they could teach you something." "I'm sure they could." "Producing people who can switch from pacifist to armourer I could learn a lot." "Mr Alexandre Beauvais," "Chairman and Managing Director of Abdel-Salim Phosphates." "Mr. Beauvais is modest." "He could get elected in any one of 5 départements... as head of the most important of our provincial newspapers." "I've been dying to hear this one day." "This is good." "I could kiss him!" "You leaving?" "Sorry for not coming to the cemetery." "Mr Jean Calvi." "Director and shareholder in the International General Bank." "Gilbert!" "Quick...call the press-room." "We're changing the headline." ""The king is dead, long live the king" sounds good." "When it's about the government, it's most important to seem up-to-date." "We'll title it: "Brilliant speech by Chalamont." Off you go!" "Mr Antoine Villemonble," "Director of Zeugmann Mills and Vice Chairman of the French Society of Silk Weavers." "Finally, Mr Zigler, last on the list... and would be the poor relation... if his wife didn't own a third of the Sao Paolo markets." "I ask to be excused..." "In reading through this roll I realised the folly of my undertaking." "In presenting this project, I was not just asking for your vote." "I was asking you to forget what you are." "A moment of optimism." "This is probably the optimism that Mr Chalamont alluded to..." "By evoking my good feelings and forgotten dreams." "Politics should be a vocation... and it certainly is..." "But for the vast majority it is a profession." "A profession which is not as satisfying as we would like it to be... and requires large capital outlays." "An election campaign is expensive." "But for some companies, this is an investment that can be amortised over 4 years..." "If the protégé makes it to be prime minister... they might lose control of their investment." "Financiers in the past bought mines all over Africa." "Today, they understand the need to reign here in the Assembly." "rather than in Oubangui... and to manufacture a deputy is less expensive than compensating some negro king." "You see, gentlemen?" "Finally, we have agreed about one thing." "At least I'll leave with the esteem of my opponents." "And now let me conclude." "You're going to create, together with Mr Chalamont's friends... a Europe based on luck rather than on work." "A Europe of heavy industry being against peace." "Well, you'll be making this Europe without me." "I leave you to it!" "The Prime Minister sticks to his plan." "The majority refuses to support it." "So he will stand down." "He was already prepared for that." "I shall simply add..." "for a few of you..." "Rejoice!" "Celebrate your victory!" "You'll never have to listen to me again." "And you'll no longer have to walk behind me... until the day of my funeral." "A state funeral that you'll vote for unanimously." "And for which I thank you in advance." "François, old chap..." "we're going home." "I often wonder what made you decide to stick with me." "What would there've been for me to do in Paris...without you?" "I would've had to stay with my sister," "Châtillon Ave..." "Two rooms...on the courtyard." "If you can call it a courtyard!" "When I'd been used to that courtyard when you were PM!" "or at the Élysée palace." "So you came with me for my garden." "Tell me, François, what'll you do when I die?" "I'll tell you..." "You'll be a museum attendant." "La Verdière will become a sort of junk shop that you'll show to the tourists." "You'll show them my desk... my cane...my hat..." "The fountain pen with which I signed the Treaty of Geneva." "They'll keep filching it, so you'll have to keep replacing it." "But of a Sunday you could make... 1,500 to 2,000 in tips." "Tell me you'll consider it" "No rush...but think about it." "I did think about it at first... when we settled here." "And then I had my pneumonia and I said to myself..." ""You're waiting for your boss's death." "The heavens are punishing you."" "Excuse me, Mr Beaufort." "It's Gaston." " The crook." " The guide." "Well..." "I guess." " You still here?" " We all have to make a living!" "I'm no public servant." "G'day, François." " Every other day, now?" "You're pushing it!" " What do mean?" "I came to see if the ex-PM would accept visitors." " Is it no?" " It is no." " Thanks, François." " What's he hit them for?" " 1,000." "You haven't been walking too much, have you?" " No." "The doctor said no more than an hour." " You must be tired." " Yes." "And I'm going to smoke a whole cigarette." "Call the hospital." "I want Taupin to have a private room." "Hello?" "Évreux Hospital, please." "... Avenue Foch, in front of Mr Chalamont's mansion." "He, who well-informed circles consider as the next Prime Minister, is just leaving his home and about to get into his car." "A word Prime Minister..." "I think it appropriate to call you that..." " Not yet, sir...not yet." " Do you want to make a declaration?" "Well..." "I..." "I think a declaration would be premature." "I had an meeting at 5 pm with several friends in my faction... and indeed..." "Milleran!" " Milleran!" " There must be a power failure!" " I can see that!" " Probably just a local one." " Come with me to the car." " It's pouring out there!" " Find a blanket." " Mr Beaufort..." "Do as I say." "Come on." "You've been paying some visits this afternoon, Prime Minister." " Have they been fruitful?" " They've been encouraging." "The former ministers have given their acceptance in principle." "I expect to be able to give a definitive reply early tomorrow." " So you're confident of success?" " I will be using tonight to ensure it." "Thank you." "You've been listening to an interview with Mr Phillipe Chalamont." " You're soaking...." "Very clever of you!" " Do you want a hot toddy?" " Yes." " Stay there, Miss..." "I'll get it." " Milleran!" "Call the hospital." "Hello...this is 34..." "I want Évreux Hospital." "Hello..." "Évreux Hospital?" "This is ex-Prime Minister Beaufort's secretary." "I'm enquiring about Mr Taupin, who was admitted today." "Ah..." "Good." "Thank you very much." "He's in theatre." "Thanks Milleran." "You should go up to bed and take you toddy with you." "No, I'm expecting a visit this evening." "You can stop looking, Milleran..." "I have it in my pocket." "Who got you to do this?" "Please forgive me Mr Beaufort..." "I didn't want to do it!" "No tears...please!" "I can't stand that." "Now get up, and stop being silly." "I didn't want to..." "I'm asking you...who set you up for this?" "Mr Delomieux, of the Special Branch." " Since when?" " I don't know..." "About 2 years." "On a day off, I had to go to Évreux." "Two men were waiting for me at the station." "Superintendant Delomieux and another." "The Superintendant said he was on a mission, that was on behalf of the government, that required me..." " To betray your boss." " No..." " How would you put it then?" " I wasn't to take anything from you." "Not steal anything." "Just find out where ... certain documents were to be found." "He even said that so long as Mr Beaufort has these papers, the government had nothing to worry about." "I just wanted to know where they were." "So I could give them to the police after..." "After my death." "Yes." "You never thought that the author of this letter might come to power some day?" "And on that day, this letter would become a means of..." "Let's avoid the word blackmail..." "Shall we say, a means of pressure..." "And it never occurred to you that Superintendant Delomieux aspired to become head of Special Branch?" "Or Chief of Police?" "No." " Are you going to get rid of me?" " I should." "Because if there's one thing worse than betrayal, it's stupidity." "You're not told to steal from me while I'm alive... because they didn't dare." "But it was to be a posthumous theft." "Superintendant Delomieux assured me that it was in the interest of... of our nation!" "What else?" "!" "Never forget, Milleran, that when dirty deeds are done... they're always being done to save the nation." "Behind every thief you'll often find a Chief of Police." "So!" "..." "This is forgotten." "The matter is closed." "I'll make you another toddy." "This one's cold." "No." "Leave me alone...and don't come in unless I call for you." "Come in, Chalamont." "Good evening, Mr Beaufort." "I believe you're expecting me?" "I've been expecting you for 20 years." "What you looking at?" "All this." "I never thought I'd be revisiting this house...this office." "It's strange." "I was expecting to feel some sort of embarrassment...of shame." "Or at least, discomfort." "You really do think too much of yourself." "Maybe I do." "But in the end, I like that feeling." "It's quite pleasant." "Take a seat." "For a moment I thought that you'd refuse to see me." "Do you still hate me?" "Oh...as you know, I'm 73." "That doesn't stop me having feelings." "But they're somewhat limited." "At my age you're living on hold." "You can still walk, eat...hate... so long as you do them all carefully." "You've hardly changed." "Whiter hair." "Maybe a little more stomach." "But still..." "What about me?" "You don't hold any surprises." "I've often seen you on TV." "You were brilliant." "Anyway, it's only fair to give you back the thing you most desire." "Something that you would never do." "I also saw and heard you this morning..." "Then you sounded more evasive." "It concerned, I believe, the answer you'd be giving to the President, tomorrow morning." "You would've saved time by giving it right away." "Provided it was in the negative, don't you mean?" "And you pretend that your hatred is diminished?" "Your sentiments haven't changed at all." "What hasn't changed is my concept of a head of government." "That concept will never change." " I do admire you." " You don't need to say that." "Yes, I do admire you." "Because my concept of myself has changed a lot." "I often came into conflict with your attitude towards power." "But today I understand it." "Your way of behaving towards me seemed terrible at the time... but today, I would do the same." "You see, if growth doesn't stop early, a man never really ceases to develop." "Something I have long refused to understand, but which seems to me today to be a basic truth." "is that with a certain degree of success, of course, a statesman ignores his pride together with personal interest to become... a hostage to the common good." "When did you make this discovery?" "When?" "At my first election...or maybe my appointment to the Monetary Board." "I'm not sure..." "But my conviction is absolute." "May I ask you something?" "Do you see another head of government who would make my candidacy pointless?" "No." "Is there a party more capable than mine to resolve the crisis?" "No." "Do you think I'd be the most capable of anyone to resolve the union problems and avoid the threatened general strike?" "Yes." "Would you say I had the technique, the experience in fact...the stature..." "of a statesman?" "Yes." "So, in that case, are you going to lift your veto?" "Do I have your OK to..." "To become Prime Minister?" "It's been 20 years since I first said no to you." "I invited you this evening for the pleasure of saying it one last time." "But, now..." "I really don't know any more." " Are you unwell?" " No, no, no." "It's nothing." "I'm not used to staying up late." "I'm sorry, it's ludicrous." "Wait here a moment." "My pills!" " Mr Beaufort, that's not sensible." " Don't bug me!" "Give them to me!" "Thanks." "Hello?" "Doctor Fumet?" "I'm sorry to disturb you at this hour..." "Would you be able to come over tight away?" "No, I'll explain later." "And please come via the kitchen." "Thank you." "Are you feeling better?" "I was getting worried." "It's my fault." "I'm sorry." " So your program..." " Just take it easy." "I'll soon have an eternity to do that.." "In the meantime, let me decide what matters and what doesn't." "Now...your program." "It's more or less the Beaufort program." "The expansion of our economy thanks to the overseas markets the first stage being a customs union." "Yes..." "It's the plan which my friends and I once torpedoed." "At that time, we saw Europe as essentially a fiction." "We didn't appreciate it was becoming an economic reality." "You were 15 years ahead of your time." "Let's suppose there are two or three ideas." "But the financial situation has changed." "You are on the eve of inflation." "We'll be taking measures." " Such as?" "I shall consult you when the time comes..." "But I am convinced that a devaluation is imperative." "Unless you have another solution?" "Why me?" "I'm counting on governing with your support, as well as your agreement." "I would like my prime ministership to be the start of a new era of cooperation." "Secret...but complete." "What you've been saying is quite flattering." " Oh...please..." " No...it is." "For various reasons, I took you to be a bastard." "I am pleased that there again, I was 15 years ahead." "And to think that you almost had me!" "You're very smart, Chalamont..." "Most bastards are." "You know you can buy a man with money or a medal." "But with me you tried vanity." "What you just did is despicable." "I would like you to please explain." "Yours is the worst cowardice..." "that of the spirit." "That's why I shall never let you take power..." "A load of garbage in power..." "without any convictions." "I wouldn't be the first." "Do you know why I made you write that letter?" "Of course I know." "For revenge." "To humiliate me." "No." "To protect the country I love!" "." "So why were you just saying I was a possible leader?" " At least no worse than anyone else." " No worse than anyone else!" "You think of yourself before your country." "This is what you want for France..." ""A man who's no worse than anyone else."" "With that sort of ambition, you could open a bazaar!" "..." "But not govern a nation!" "And if I said I didn't care a damn about the letter...and carried on regardless?" "All the papers would have a copy within 24 hours." "Would they publish it?" "No...but they'd know it existed." "And that's the same thing." "You know that well." "While I'm alive, you'll never be Prime Minister." "Nor when I'm dead, for that matter." "Get the hell out of here." "Run along to the President." "Say you're withdrawing." "Make up some story." "Off you go...quick!" "Let me take one last look at this guardian of French grandeur." "You talk about ambition." "Do you know who you'd have to lead the government?" "A Bergelon, a Marcel Ferchoux..." "Some moron!" "But like you want them...honest!" "Well, that's the way it will always be." "But they must have served, before you know if they're honest." ""Chalamont sounded out to form a new government"" "Hello, yes?" "Yes?" "Yes, Professor." "Good." "Thanks for calling, Professor." " Taupin died?" " Yes." "During the operation." "Good." "I'm going to bed." "Tell Dr Fumet to do the same." "So what's happening?" "I've drive 40K..." "is he dying or not?" "I don't know anything." "I was sleeping last night." "My pal let Paris know." "This is a good sign." "Good morning, gentlemen." "Ah !" "Good morning, inspector." "I heard Mr Beaufort was ill." "Nothing serious, I hope." "Goodness!" "..." "Already at work, Milleran?" "The mail, Mr Beaufort..." "and the papers." "Anything else?" "Three begging letters." "A student from Oslo doing a thesis on eloquence... and wants to know if he can get a copy of some of your speeches." "A retired postman who'd like you to buy him a house near Bergerac." "And the usual women's magazine, doing a survey of women in the lives of famous men, questionnaire attached." ""Are you married?" "How many times?" "Who with?"" ""Has your wife helped you?" "Are politicians faithful?"" "Into the bin." "As usual." "No." "For once we'll reply." "Write:" "To the Editor in chief," "At the risk of disappointing you," "I must inform you that my love life was extremely short." "As a widower for ten years after an idyllic marriage, it never occurred to me to remarry." "During the thirty years that followed," "I only had one mistress," "France." "For leisure," "I took myself  to brothels and subsidized theatres." "We can't send that!" "?" "Yes...and enclose a photo." "Hey...send the one at that gala with Doumergue and the Dolly Sisters." "Good morning, François !" "Good morning, Mr Beaufort." "How are you feeling?" " Perfectly OK!" " Great...that makes me very happy." "How about taking a spin down to Augustin's?" "We can order some seed!" " Why not?" " Hey!" "We've got the man in black." "Good morning Mr Beaufort." "How are you faring?" "Admirably." "You're a bit ahead of yourself, Father." "Go back where you belong..." "I'll die without forgiveness and without warning you!" "Why do you have to talk that way?" "Aren't we friends?" "Come on..." "Hop in beside me." "I'll drop you home." "Every anti-Semite has his Jew." "So a non-believer can have a priest!" "Right?" " Please do!" " Excuse me." "How's your health, Mr Beaufort?" "Well, I've decided it will see me through today." "Subtitles:" "FatPlank [RLB] for KG"