And in the end, there will only be one left… One Koh Lanta with Stéphane Bern sauce broadcast on France 3, without torch or check at the end. In short, The favorite monument of the French is back. The now cult show generates many comments every year right up to family meals, both for its villages and monuments version.
But first, the finalist places are revealed from their most beautiful angle on public service. Drone shots, slow motion, low angle shots… The viewer is amazed. The objective is clear: to promote the heritage of the regions and make people want to discover it with their own eyes. The bling bling and the cosmetics of the TV acting, the expectations of the visitors of the monuments and places presented by Stéphane Bern are inflated. Sometimes, these hopes fly away like a helium balloon when you arrive on site, minus the magic of the screen.
Immediate tourist benefits
Because participating in the program offers media coverage to sometimes overlooked monuments. The production first selects 42 monuments, three per region of France. The show’s teams ensure during this first stage that the owners of the premises consent and that the list represents all types of heritage. Castles, sculptures, churches or even industrial sites are therefore submitted to the vote of the regions via local press titles to determine the 14 finalists. They are then submitted to a final vote of the viewers on the France 3 websiteto designate the winner.
Winning the title is the sign of a significant tourist attraction, if we are to believe the experience of Nancy, whose Place Stanislas won the 2021 edition. “It was immediate after the coronation of Place Stanislas”, rewinds Bertrand Masson, heritage assistant for this city in the Grand-Est, specifying that the plaque received after the broadcast was displayed immediately. “Visitors referred to the program when they visited the Tourist Office,” he continues. The movement persisted until the summer of 2022 when the city recorded a 38% increase in visits to the Tourist Office compared to the previous year and 9% compared to 2019, the last full year before the pandemic. of Covid-19. “It is an extraordinary spotlight on which we have based a large part of our national tourism promotion campaigns. »
The production insists on highlighting the top 14, without distinction. However, getting first place thanks to the vote of the French men and women ensures greater visibility. Beyond the show, the media delight in announcing the chosen one. “Last year, I was interviewed by many national and regional press titles. It went so far West France, it’s not often that Nancy appears in a Western newspaper,” comments the manager of Nancy’s heritage. “And look again today, it’s me you’re calling and not the second or the third…”
A double-edged title
The City of Nancy therefore did not hesitate to pull the thread the year following the title of Place Stanislas. “We used this distinction to promote all kinds of events. And right up to the summer campaign entitled “This summer, prefer Nancy”, a reference to the title of the program which the city would be wrong to deprive itself of because the title is an “extremely important loss leader for the city” and of which local authorities intend to take advantage for a long time to come…
Even before being dubbed by Stéphane Bern, spokesperson for the program’s voters, Place Stanislas was designated by many tourist blogs as “the most beautiful place in France”. The title having its effect, between the positive comments, some Internet users are surprised not to find a place that meets their expectations. “I must be weird but I find this place terrible. In any case, it does not deserve the name of the most beautiful place in France. Very exaggerated”, wrote Fenschois on Tripadvisor on April 4, 2016. Six years later, a passage on television and an alluring title in addition, some visitors draw the same conclusion. “It’s very overrated. If you like places that are on the whole medium in size, almost small, with white pavement, closed off by golden railings, fine. We have the same type of architecture, only better, in Versailles”, comments Praenia on the tourist commentary site on July 24, 2022. “It reminds me a little of certain points ‘to see’ in tourist guides. We’re giving you a whole glowing article on the X fountain with a cute photo that makes you want to. You go there, and discover that the fountain is very small and without much interest: the framing of the photo was everything. »
“The Magic of TV”
Everything would therefore be a question of framing? With its low-angle, wide-angle shots, ideal weather conditions, the France 3 program is not to be outdone. “Visitors won’t actually be able to fly like our drone does during filming. We present the monuments in aerial views but also on foot,” defends producer Silvia Drumond. “The drone situates the scope and size of a site, places the monument in a geographical context to which viewers do not have access. It also helps to tell the story of the place, like when people consult aerial views of Google Maps before buying a house…”
The objective of the program is clear: to promote in prime time “heritage and restoration values and to highlight monuments which are not necessarily the most beautiful in France”. Except that for television aesthetics count, you have to send dreams to the spectators. “It’s also the magic of TV that offers another perspective,” adds the producer. “For a monument that is not the Eiffel Tower, having a 7-minute sequence devoted to it is a real spotlight, also highlighting the people who work to preserve it. »
“Behind, it is our responsibility to live up to this image, maintaining the heritage of Place Stanislas is a question we ask ourselves every day”, reacts Bertrand Masson, specifying that work is regularly undertaken to ensure the splendor of this emblematic place in Nancy. He specifies that Nancy is not a “museum city” and if The favorite monument of the French made known the history of this 17th century heritage, it is a place “to live”, in particular through the many events taking place there.
“Favorite”, not “most beautiful”
“The program has generated immense pride in the people of Nancy who have become so many ambassadors for Place Stanislas”, smiles Bertrand Masson. But the pride of some generates the disappointment of others, believing that another monument would have more deserved the title. “It’s the principle of Miss France, we all make our choice and afterwards, there are bound to be some disappointed”, comments Silvia Drumond, specifying that the two selection phases generated more than 900,000 votes this year.
While waiting to see Stéphane Bern be moved by a new Favorite monument of the French, a golden plate in your hands, all you have to do is make your predictions, keeping in mind that the subtlety of the competition is in its title. “We never say that one monument is more beautiful than another or worth more. We simply say that it was preferred by the French men and women who took part in the vote, that does not take anything away from the others and we hope that the program encourages everyone to discover them. »