'Les Guignols de l'info': a well-oiled machine but a fragile company

Canal+, the troublemaker, has fallen into line. Humour has become de rigueur for all its programmes. Political denunciation and satire may have invaded the Internet, but the programme 'Les Guignols' is still being broadcast five nights a week (as it has been for the past twenty-one years), with an audience of between two and three million. 'Les Guignols' is a huge machine: it involves three hundred people, employs processes used in both the theatre and cinema, and requires the orchestration of a variety of professions with the sole aim of broadcasting a live programme every evening. 'Les Guignols' displays a degree of professionalism which makes the company a standard for its genre throughout the world. Nevertheless, 'Les Guignols' is a fragile company relying on rare talent which has to be preserved. The longevity of 'Les Guignols' can be explained by its autonomy with respect to the company, a freedom of expression, and a spirit of rebellion maintained in a permanent power struggle which encompasses a shared desire to preserve its identity and ensure its durability.