Acting criminals

Rebibbia, Italy's largest high-security prison, houses convicts with lengthy jail terms.

Mafia members, criminals, and traffickers, most of them never entered a theatre. However, a performance hall, quite unusual in a prison facility, welcomes them three times a week to introduce them to this art.

A woman, Laura Andreini Salerno, convinced them to leave their cells for a unique experience: to put together a play they will perform in a few months in front of their fellow inmates and wardens.

On board a nuclear-powered submarine

On board the Vigilant, one of France's 4 nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines, men and women are working in the greatest secrecy.

This ultra-sophisticated vessel is capable of diving to a depth of 400 meters and staying undetected for several months.

Its highly qualified and trained crew regularly embarks on missions in real conditions.

Weddings: Love, dreams and big business, for better or for worse." By 2023, over 200,000 weddings are expected to be celebrated in France. It would seem that we need to make up for lost time after the Covid period. The average cost of a wedding now stands at over €13,000. For future brides and grooms, the challenge is to organise the most beautiful day of their lives without going broke.

Some dream of the dolce vita by organising their wedding in Italy with the help of wedding planners, while others hire an ambience artist to make sure the party goes off without a hitch. Wedding dress manufacturers, venue hire companies and caterers are all engaged in a fierce battle for the top prize in this game of love where nothing is left to chance. Challengers have even sprung up offering second-hand wedding dresses or designer dresses at lower prices.

Last but not least, alongside these big-name professionals, a number of smaller names are trying to carve out a place for themselves, including Aymeric, a wedding ambience artist, and pastry chef Elisabeth, who specialises in wedding cakes.
Wedding between dream and big business, a 90-minute dive into a surprising sector.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

Immediate Response Force

A new special unit has been created to combat the explosion of drug trafficking in France, the IRF.

The very first FRI operates in Lille. Because of its proximity to the Belgian border and the motorway leading to the Netherlands, the city has become the new drug hub in France.

Barbecuing is the marriage of meat and fire, a ritual shared by cultures the world over, a means of celebrating community, friendship and tradition.

The barbecue is more than just a cooking utensil; it symbolizes that moment when the simple things in life bring people together.

Life changing cosmetic surgery in world-class accommodations

In Thailand, leading surgeons perform plastic surgery operations in world-class hospitals, and patients are pampered in luxurious five-star hotels.

In this series, we follow people determined to change their lives, taking all sorts of available options: boob jobs for young and old, mother and daughter bridezilla packages, hen’s parties, extreme foot and hand makeovers, dental implant tours, sex changes, post-baby mummy makeovers, male breast reduction, liposuction, labiaplasty, booty lifts...

These operations, long out of reach for the global masses, are now no longer the preserve of the rich and famous.

Discover your mind-body engine to fuel your personal brand of extraordinary. The quality of our lives are determined by the quality of our health and well-being. But what is true health? How do we use it as the source of our inspiration and achievements? In this season premiere we meet the Fuel to Flourish Fellowship and join them in their mindfulness adventure through the island of Puerto Galera in Philippines.

Pervasive insecurity

The city of Calais is where all illegal migrants wanting to cross over to Great Britain congregate. On top of this added burden, the city faces many structural problems. The poverty rate currently stands at 30% and night-time disturbances and other crimes linked to excessive alcohol consumption are on the rise.

Between street brawls, domestic violence, drug trafficking, and traffic offenses, the city authorities have had to reinforce security.

The municipal police and its 28 officers are on the front line. They patrol year-round to keep an eye on the inhabitants. When summer comes, the seaside becomes very busy and the scene of many excesses.

An event that brings together young people with Tourette Syndrome

Life with Tourette’s is no picnic. It’s an incurable genetic neurological disorder causing uncontrollable verbal outbursts and physical movements (called tics) that develop in childhood. Some have frequent outbursts of highly socially inappropriate swearing that they have no control over.

In this film, we follow five young with Tourette Syndrome who take part in this annual event, called Camp Twitch, together with 115 attendees. For most of them, this is the first time that they meet someone with the same affliction.

They come here to celebrate their uniqueness and achieve things they never thought possible.

Paramedics on the verge

Chateaubriant is a municipality in the East of France where the lack of doctors is a serious issue. Indeed, one must drive long distances to consult a practitioner. Henceforth, the Chateaubriant hospital emergency unit has no room for error.

Each intervention by the paramedics is a race against the clock and the doctors, nurses, and orderlies must adapt to the most atypical situations.

Sun and palm trees instead of snow and cold

In December, the city of Los Angeles offers sun and palm trees rather than snow and cold, and yet Christmas is everywhere.

This film follows some foreigners who have come to California to experience a different Christmas.

The most enchanting setting

Venice offers the most enchanting setting to spend the festive season.

The life-saving missions of a metropolitan rescue helicopter crew

Auckland, New Zealand is one of the most spread-out cities in the world with many remote, inaccessible stretches of coastline and sub-tropical forest within its boundaries.

When an accident happens the CODE:1 team must get to the scene fast since most are “Status 1” callouts, which means there’s a high risk that the patient might not make it,

Our helicopter heroes have faced it all and risen to the task. These pilots, paramedics, winch crews, and paramedics willingly risk their own lives every day to save others.

The price of recklessness

How can buildings collapse overnight?

In a building in Reims, France, an extension housing kitchens and sanitary facilities had been built on an old partition wall made of clay tiles.

All it took was simple water damage for this structure with feet of clay to crumble.

Impervious to stress and error free

The commander of a nuclear submarine has the power to start an atomic fire. This is an immense responsibility that requires being extremely reliable and inaccessible to stress.

Consequently, this position requires special and ruthless training because one mistake can mean millions of deaths.

The most mythical of Paris' palaces

Among the twelve palaces of Paris, the Crillon is one of the most legendary, with its windows overlooking the famous Place de la Concorde.

A revolutionary treatment

Cystic fibrosis is a debilitating illness that affects many newborn babies.

While lung transplants improve patients’ daily lives, a revolutionary treatment, Kaftrio, allows them to hope to live up to 50 years.

The first generation of Brazilian transvestite performers

In the 1960s, the Divine Divas were the first generation of Brazilian transvestite performers.

One of the first venues that gave shelter to men dressed as women was the Rival Theatre, directed by Américo Leal.

In this film, his granddaughter recounts the stories of a generation that revolutionized sexual behavior and challenged the country’s staid morality.

The booming associated businesses

Spring often goes with remodeling the house and working in the garden.

The associated businesses have seen exceptional growth in recent years.

A better life with cancer

For women who have suffered from breast cancer, the practice of Dragon Boat, a team water sport, contributes to their resilience, both physically and psychologically.

Solidarity, sisterhood, surpassing oneself, lymphatic drainage after breast surgery: the benefits of this sport are multiple and offer these women the possibility of a better life with their cancer, during and after.

This film follows three women who took up this sport practice coming from China.

Houses like no others

Other people's families always attract curiosity, we envy or pity them. But whatever their quirks, families are touching, even surprising with their own way of life.

This series shows the daily life of families that are unusual in terms of their size, their occupations, or their homes.

We witness the key events in their lives, moving from laughter to tears to better understand how these families function.

What moviegoers haven't dreamed of stepping across the screen and finding themselves in the shoes of their heroes.

To make this fantasy come true, some will do anything, such as seeking out the natural settings of their favorite films and, once there, reliving the cult scenes.

"Into the Wild", "Harry Potter" or "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" are films that push many beyond their borders, and sometimes beyond their limits.

A manifestation gone awry

This film examines the official version of the clashes that occurred on March 25th, 2023, in Sainte-Soline, France.

According to authorities, law enforcement simply retaliated against the violence of some protestors. However, it appears that the gendarmes may have mistakenly fired tear gas at the wrong procession of demonstrators, which was actually peaceful.

Journalists on the scene reported that these shots triggered the subsequent violence, resulting in 47 injuries among the gendarmes and 200 among the protestors, including 40 serious ones.

The intruder

Hair is undesirable, an intruder banished from the glossy images of magazines, nowhere to be seen in the movies or in ads, and taboo in our daily lives.

In a society that is changing day by day, how is the perception of hair evolving?

The essentials

During the famous Fashion Week, all eyes are on Paris.

For the occasion, 1,500 journalists from over 50 countries are accredited. Young designers present their first collection. Fashion houses make their comeback. First-time models find themselves under the blinding flashes of the photographers.

And then, there are those who don’t see the limelight but are no less essential, such as the caterers or the couriers, because they too participate in the smooth running of this crazy week.

The realm of possibilities

There are dreams that we can touch when others seem far-fetched, those that we share, and those that we enjoy alone.

This film follows four characters who have one thing in common: they want to turn their dreams, or those of their clients, into reality.

The date-rape drug

Panic is reaching the nightclubs. Mysterious injections have raised fears that GHB, the notorious date rape drug that appeared in the 1990s, is making a comeback. Victims rendered unconscious remember nothing.

How to protect oneself and find the culprits when the drug disappears from the bloodstream in a few hours?

This drug is also used at parties where some people seek its "coma" effect.

Making headways in gastronomy

More and more women chefs, such as Hélène Darroze or Anne-Sophie Pic, are shining in the kitchen, but they are still outnumbered by their male counterparts.

The "Golden Spoon" competition is specifically aimed at them.

There are 32 participants, professionals, and amateurs, who face off in the only competition reserved for women and which is a great success with the major actors of French gastronomy.

More than a job, a way of life

Fishing is a challenging and risky profession.

Offshore for several weeks, these men put in long work hours, facing wind, cold, and storms, all for sometimes minimal pay. They must also face fierce competition, buy ever more expensive diesel fuel, maintain aging boats, and ensure compliance with ever more rules.

Despite these constraints, some fishermen keep going because this is a way of life close to their hearts.

The new trendy destinations

Leisure centers offer thrills, outdoor activities, and a holiday feeling.

Attendance has risen by 20% over the last five years and promoters are always looking for new ways to attract ever more customers and make them stay as long as possible.

Will leisure centers become the new trendy destinations for cheap holidays close to home?

A dearth of means and solutions

The French hospital system has long enjoyed a reputation for excellence while providing free and quality care for all.

But today, the entire system is sick with a shortage of doctors, bed closures, and overcrowded emergency rooms. The scale of the crisis is unprecedented. The doctors and nursing staff are facing burnout.

To keep the services open, some hospitals hire temporary staff at a premium while others recruit unqualified staff.

The symbol of a wedge between the state and some citizens

Anti-vax, yellow jackets, anti-republican extremists. This is the confusing and worrying world of those rejecting the “system”.

They have become the symbol of a deep fracture between the state and some citizens who reject the republican model and distrust the media.

This film tries to understand who they are, who heads them, and how far they are prepared to go in their actions.

Bigger than H&M and Zara

Even if everyone knows H&M or Zara, Kiabi is the largest clothing retailer in France.

With 340 shops catering to the whole family, the brand sells 300 million items of clothing per year and has a turnover of almost two billion euros.

This film takes us behind the scenes of this success story.

The largest ship in the French Navy

The aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle is the largest ship in the French Navy.

Longer than 2 football fields, as high as a 20 floors building, it is a floating city with 2,000 inhabitants. It includes a hospital, a post office, and a self-service where 4,000 meals are served each day.

We share the out-of-the-ordinary daily life aboard this ship like no others.

A debilitating and socially isolating disease

Around 1 in 300 people are born with the genetic predisposition to developing Tourette syndrome. Some will only have mild tics that ease as they get older. But others will have massive tics (including swearing, spitting, and hitting themselves) that are debilitating and will get worse as they age.

This heart-warming series follows five young people with this affliction as they try to make their way in a world that would rather see them hidden away.

They face bullying and ridicule, loneliness, depression, and self-harm. Yet, most are intelligent, creative people who need understanding and tolerance from the wider community.

The new country lovers' habits

Recently, new country lovers are multiplying. Villages that were once deserted are being born again thanks to these city dwellers in search of a greener environment.

But these newcomers are used to having local shops.

How do grocery stores and other merchants manage to meet the demand?

Looking to upgrade

Luxury real estate is breaking all records in France. With the pandemic and the lockdowns, the place of residence has become more important than ever, and wealthy buyers are ready to invest to upgrade.

This trend is as true in the capital as it is in seaside resorts or in the countryside, as these destinations are also benefiting from the widespread adoption of remote working.

The battle is raging all the more as supply is falling while demand is rising.

The sweet life in Morocco

Morocco is synonymous with a gentle life.

Nothing epitomizes it more vividly than the Mamounia, a mythical hotel and a century-old institution in Marrakech facing the Atlas Mountains.

The new destination for billionaires

Majestic mountains plunging into the Adriatic Sea, dreamy coves, and a 26°C water temperature. In just three years, Montenegro, a small Balkan country with barely 700,000 inhabitants, has become the new destination for billionaires.

High-end hotels, a marina to harbor more than 400 mega-yachts, restaurants, luxury boutiques, and jet-set parties: Montenegro is multiplying its efforts to seduce tourists with comfortable bank accounts.

What did Montenegro do to become the hippest tourist resort? Who is behind this newly fashionable destination?

A city center turned into a drug market

Long appreciated for its relaxed lifestyle, the city of Nantes, France, has been plagued for some time by growing insecurity.

This is because of drug trafficking, which has taken hold in the city center.

A family torn apart

One day, Nina, 4 years old, disappears.

Her mother is left without any news for a year and a half.

Nina has been kidnapped by her father, a South Korean national who absconded to his country.

An attractive stranger

For the longest time, Niort, in western France, has been ignored but is ready to take revenge on its prestigious neighbors, such as La Rochelle and Poitiers.

Some locals fear many will flood the region unless they are dentists, general practitioners, or specialists since Niort is not better off than elsewhere when it comes to attracting professionals.

Rise Up!

For over 4 months, a silent crowd sat every evening on the Place de la République, in Paris, at the foot of Marianne. All shared the same anger, ideal, and desire to reclaim politics from the established parties and regain control of their fate.

This movement, known as "Nuit Debout", created a surprise by its scale and resounded up to the highest level of the State.

This film puts faces on this multifaceted, complex, and elusive manifestation.

The return of the world's largest festival

Oktoberfest is the world's largest popular festival. It attracts nearly six million tourists who come to Munich, Germany, with their families or friends.

It is a gigantic event that covers more than 100 hectares with 120 crazy carousels and, more importantly, giant tents, some of which can fit ten thousand people who sing and dance without restraint holding one-liter mugs of beer.

Comedians reveal themselves

We follow comedians who are trying their luck in front of an audience to be conquered.

What are their motivations? What drives them to go on stage?

The impossible quest for free space

Parking in Paris has become a nightmare ever since the municipality has targeted cars.

There are only 140,000 parking spaces available for 500,000 vehicles that pass through the streets of the capital every day. And the figure is diminishing every year.

The search for free space puts drivers' nerves to the test.

Discounters vs. supermarkets

Hard discounters are waging a merciless price war from the outskirts to the city centers.

Normal, a Danish chain specializing in health and beauty products and snacks, is setting out to conquer France. Maxi Bazar dreams of being the new champion of the home.

Faced with the onslaught of these disruptors, hypermarkets are fighting back with new subsidiaries.

Tricks for challenging times

Food. Energy. Soaring prices are affecting all sectors.

This film offers tips on how to reduce the cost of essential products in these challenging times.

Jobs like no others

This series is dedicated to hazardous occupations such as being a doctor in the Reserves in Afghanistan, working at high altitudes, or being a woman pilot in the army.

A career in law enforcement

Julien, Lea, and Felix are barely 20. Like their comrades, their lives will radically change in a few months.

They are learning a profession but also values and rules. They also realize that they will never be citizens like anyone else. Their lives and their careers will be dedicated to serving others. Sometimes they will be honored, sometimes hated. They are to become police officers.

But above all, they will never forget the year that changed them forever when they joined the police academy of Roubaix, section 13.

A hiking adventure

Heading to Santiago de Compostela in Spain means leaving behind your job and the comfort of a quiet life.

For these hikers, the adventure will last about two and a half months, with many ups and downs along the way.

The secrets to closing deals

Traveling salesmen drive all day long to sell windows, roller shutters, or solar panels.

This film reveals their secrets and tricks to convince their potential customers.

Bargains galore

In London, the sales start on Boxing Day, the day after Christmas. This tradition attracts tourists from all over the world.

During this time, it is not only the department stores like Harrods but the whole city that lives to the rhythm of bargains.

Hotels, restaurants, and taxis all benefit from this financial windfall.

Department stores and small shops

New York is famous throughout the world for its skyscrapers, but the city also attracts tourists for its iconic Manhattan department stores, such as Macy's, and its thousands of small boutiques at the forefront of fashion.

From fiction to reality

Montreal is home to one of the most prestigious schools in criminology.

This is where young students eager to devote their lives to the quest for truth and justice are being exposed to the very same techniques used by the heroes of investigative American series.

This series follows 6 apprentice detectives working on different criminal stories. With them, we witness a double suspense: how will unfold the investigations which are case studies based on real-life criminal affairs, and what will be the fate of these students which, of course, depends on their abilities in finding answers.

A universal dream

Family villa, small house in the countryside, a flat with an ocean view.

With 3.3 million units, France is the world champion of second homes, and everyone dreams of owning one.

The waiting time for a new car has tripled, hence the second-hand market is exploding.

As a result, crooks have never been so numerous and inventive with odometer scams, selling cars that don't exist and the worrying increase in the number of rolling wrecks.

Strange disappearances

It is a very destination for hikers, but in recent years strange disappearances have been reported.

What mystery does the Boscodon forest hide?

The workers of the depths

The world of scuba divers is little known, surrounded by fantasy, but it is above all being a worker of the depths, treading in a world where the hand of man is still irreplaceable.

It is also an extremely dangerous job. And yet, every year, the training courses offered by the French National School of Scuba Divers are sold out.

The students have 5 months to learn this difficult profession, exceed their limits, and change their lives.

In the wrong place at the wrong time

30 November 2017. A young man is pacing in the train station in Toulouse, France. His girlfriend, Célia Orsaz, hasn’t arrived. More worryingly, her phone is not answering.

Before catching her train, the 18-year-old has agreed to accompany her father, Christophe, to a business meeting in a remote hamlet. But this job offer is a trap. On the spot, things get out of hand: the father is beaten to death before being thrown into the septic tank of an abandoned farmhouse. The daughter sees the whole thing without the murderer noticing her presence at first.

Celia was in the wrong place at the wrong time. An inconvenient witness, she would be the collateral victim of a settling of accounts whose presumed motives are incredible.

The dark side of the "iron lady"

The area around the Eiffel Tower has become synonymous with insecurity, with touts, pickpockets, and all kinds of trafficking.

The local police are stepping up their patrols to appease the residents.

The scourge of the Mediterranean forests

In the distant past, fire was seen as a development tool for societies, but in recent decades it has become a real scourge for Mediterranean forests and for mankind.

On the island of Corsica, the foresters and firefighters are multiplying prevention operations by clearing undergrowth or by prescribed burns.

Thanks to these men the danger remains limited.

The biggest crime hub in Europe

The Franco-Spanish border runs for 623 kilometers, from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic Ocean and along the Pyrenees Mountain range.

Although the border posts have disappeared since Spain joined the Schengen area, it is still a highly guarded line since it harbors the biggest crime hub in Europe.

Fighting autism

At the age of 2, Tom is already different. He doesn't make eye contact, has a language delay, has inexplicable fits, and has a passion for kitchen whips which he plays with for hours. Tom is my son.

After a series of examinations, the diagnosis is made: Tom has an autism spectrum disorder. This marks the beginning of a protracted battle.

Speech and psychomotor therapists as well as child psychiatrists see him every week to help him move forward. Surprisingly, his language improves significantly. He starts school accompanied by a dedicated assistant, and even though he doesn’t play with the other children and is allergic to mathematics, "he manages".

The high seas festival

This series chronicles the wild and unpredictable feats of a road crew managing Asia’s largest electronic music festival on a cruise liner.

The week-long journey is a no-hold-barred ride about the raw details of putting on a "festival that never sleeps".

With 3,800 guests and 90 artists on board, featuring a special cameo by David Hasselhoff himself, disaster is always around the corner, but the Gig Guys are ready to face anything thrown at them with little sleep but a whole lot of bravado.

Today, they represent nearly one-third of the agricultural sector

Today, women represent nearly one-third of the agricultural sector in France, compared to 8% in 1970.

Whether they are market gardeners, breeders, or farmers, they are also mothers, sometimes at the head of a large family.

How do they juggle the endless hours with their role as full-time mothers?

Innovation in the partying industry

Until now, the trendy parties in Paris gathered hundreds of people in nightclubs. However today, to attract an ever more demanding clientele, organizers must innovate.

Nowadays, more and more parties take place on boats, on beaches, or in private mansions.

This film takes us behind the scenes of an industry that is reinventing itself.

Do the right thing at the right time

This film follows a year of training for a group of six fire officers, from their instruction to their first steps in the field. The aim is to prepare them to make the right decisions when their teams intervene in a road accident, a fire, or after a terrorist attack, making sure they do the right thing at the right time.

During this intensive period, they are confronted with "real life" exercises where vital decisions are to be taken within seconds. Their commitment, state of mind, and ability to manage their emotions are put to the test.

Will they show qualities of responsibility, self-sacrifice, and exemplary behavior necessary to guide men and women in action?

Defying the laws of gravity

The motordrome, nicknamed the Wall of Death, is a large circular merry-go-round. Vintage motorbikes ride on its vertical walls, defying the laws of gravity with lightness.

German stuntman Donald Ganlsmeier has been revamping this funfair attraction from the last century.

This film tells the story of how Donald and his team revive this practice and how they embark on a new challenge of mechanical acrobatics with the creation of a special number with 4 bikes.

The biggest techno festival in the world

Tomorrowland is the biggest techno festival in the world.

Created 15 years ago in Belgium by two brothers, it attracts 400,000 people every year and generates a turnover of 25 million euros.

This film takes us behind the scenes of this oversized and seemingly good-natured event of excess.

Partying in the cold

Tomorrowland Winter, in the French Alps, is the winter version of the biggest techno festival in the world.

In addition to the usual risks, the rescue teams also have to deal with weather conditions that make the situation even more dangerous.

60 people are working day and night to ensure the safety of the revelers, having to deal with sometimes irresponsible behavior.

An epic journey of tolerance

24 kids aged 6 to 16 and from a cosmopolitan and rough neighborhood are part of a theater company coached by professionals.

With their show, Lord Stanley's Gypsy, they toured all over France to finally arrive in Slovakia, where they meet the real Gypsy people.

Their humor, rage, talent, and raw energy take us on an epic journey of tolerance.

A rattled profession

More than 600,000 lorries crisscross the roads of France. Even if the drivers are passionate about their work, their profession is now under pressure.

In addition to the frantic pace of work, there is competition from foreign truckers. To limit the damage, a special unit monitors and controls the vehicles.

In this sometimes explosive world, women are beginning to emerge. They now represent 10% of the workforce.

A professional asset

Some twins find their place immediately, while others take longer to forge their identity in this imposed duo.

Over a period of six months, this film followed four sets of twins who have turned their twinness into a professional asset.

On a parking lot, like every Friday, a thousand people attend a gathering of pimped cars. But that evening, drama is around the bend.

Little by little, the show turns into a wild rodeo. The apprentice drivers get carried away and drive faster and faster, some of them dangerously close to the public, until 26 people are hit. Miraculously, no life-threatening injuries were reported.

All over France, gatherings of pimped cars attract thousands of people every week.

A well-kept secret

On 6 December 2016, Vanessa Melet, 37, disappeared without a trace.

That morning, however, she said she was going for a walk on leaving her parents' home at around 7:30 am. So, what happened?

The young woman's parents cannot envision a voluntary disappearance or suicide; they are convinced that a man is behind it all. Indeed, several weeks before, she had returned to live with her parents due to a serious health problem.

Save or perish

To save or to perish is the motto of the Paris Fire Brigade (PFB), an elite corps of 8,500 men and women. The PFB intervenes in the chic districts of Paris as well as in the heated suburbs.

One of the most active brigades is stationed 4 km from Paris, where activity is at its peak all year round. This suburb of 100,000 inhabitants is ridden with poverty, precariousness, unemployment, and its share of violence.

This film follows the firefighters of this elite corps, from car accidents to personal rescue.

Fun without breaking the bank

In recent years, large retailers have become major players in the travel sector and now represent 20% of the market.

They offer holidays at unbeatable prices, with discounts of up to 70%, and more and more people trust them.

In addition, leisure centers are multiplying. These multi-activity sites, which allow people to have fun close to home at a low cost, are becoming increasingly popular.