They Make France Shine: A Program That Celebrates French Know-how On France 3
Starting Wednesday, February 22, France 3 is launching a new magazine devoted to the exceptional craftsmen who contribute to our country's international reputation. This new program, entitled Ils font rayonner la France (They make France shine), invites us to discover extraordinary know-how in a tone that is both light-hearted and informative. While vocational training is still often relegated to the background, this new program could well arouse vocations!
A magazine presented by Thomas Isle
France 3's new magazine They make France shine is proposed by Thomas Isle, a presenter well known to France 5 viewers for having notably co-hosted La quotidienne with Maya Lauqué.
In this new program, Thomas Isle invites viewers to go and meet men and women who have an extraordinary craft know-how. They are bakers, cabinetmakers or master glassmakers and are, each in their own way, ambassadors of French excellence.
This documentary honors the professionals who, through their know-how, make our country shine in the four corners of the planet. Their talent has allowed them to become known far beyond the borders of France and to make their region shine throughout the world.
Through their portraits, it is above all their art that is expressed and their concern for excellence. The new France 3 program thus reveals itself a true ode to manual labor.
A first issue dedicated to Alsace
The magazine Ils font rayonner la France also wants to anchored in the regions and departments. For its launch, Thomas Isle takes us to Alsace, a region rich in exceptional artisans in various fields.
In Niedermorschwihr, near Colmar, the cameras of France 3 followed Christine Ferber in her jam workshop where all production is done by hand. We discover with as much curiosity as greed how she concocts a new jam for Mother's Day in Japan and an unpublished recipe for her friend the pastry chef Pierre Hermé!
North of Strasbourg, Christian Deichtmann is an art cabinetmaker who works for historical monuments and manages to reconcile tradition and modernity. He also works for an international clientele with a passion for contemporary design. With his son Benjamin, he will take on a new challenge: designing a Louis XV style bookcase to be placed in the Dominican library in Colmar.
Exiled to Chicago in the United States, the baker Pierre Zimmermann organizes a party dedicated to his region. The documentary follows this world champion baker in organizing an Alsatian party in Chicago.
Julien Calcatera is one of the last bell founders in France and the only craftsman in this field in the Grand Est. He must deliver a majestic bell in a German parish.
As for the master glassmaker Cyril Bordage, he works for Lalique, one of the most prestigious crystal manufacturers in France, and has decided to compete for the title of MOF or Meilleur Ouvrier de France! To hope to obtain this supreme award, he creates a crystal cup.
Testimonies from enthusiasts
Even if Christine Ferber's jams delight connoisseurs from Parisian palaces to Japan and have illustrious clients such as the actor Pierce Brosnan, everything was not won in advance for this passionate creator.
Through her testimony, she surprises the viewers as much by her creations as by her journey. She tells us that even her mother did not believe she could sell her jams! 'When Mom saw me start making jams she said, 'Oh no, no, no. Here in the village, everyone has their own orchard, their own garden. They each make their own jams and we will never sell your jams.'
Although their areas of expertise are very different, what all these artisans have in common is the passion with which they talk about their work. Ils font rayonner la France magazine shares with us their satisfaction with the work they've done and their deep conviction that they've chosen the right path.
Since we spend most of our lives working, there is reason to envy these happy artisans! This does not mean that their path has not been full of pitfalls or that they are now resting on their laurels or on their fame... In these professions where every gesture counts, we can guess that they are meticulous, attentive and anxious to continue perfecting their know-how or to find new ideas.
This original and inspiring documentary can be seen on Wednesday, February 22 at 9:10 pm on France 3 and in replay on france.tv.
