Season four of “Drag Race France” kicks off at 7 p.m. this Wednesday on the france.tv platform – the first episode will also be broadcast at 22:45. about France 2. Viewers have been waiting for this show because it has managed to gain loyalty over the years, and it is also in the crosshairs of detractors of the civil service, as well as, for various reasons, parts of the LGBT+ community.
Let’s go back to February 25th. On this day, the program was on the menu of the commission of inquiry into the neutrality of the civil service. “Can you explain to me how this program really fulfills the mission of public service? Why should we French continue to pay for this kind of content? When I watched the hearing, I really got the impression that this is a failure,” asks speaker and MP (UDR) Charles Alloncle, whose comments are quoted by PureMédias.
“Excessively made-up transvestite show”
He describes “Drag Race France” as a “reality show” and characterizes it, according to his lens, as “a show of overly made-up and extravagantly dressed drag queens.” He adds that he is bothered by comments such as “We’re woke and accepting this,” which he says he heard in one episode.
Managing director of Endemol France, the company producing the show, Jean-François Rubinstein responded that Drag Race France fulfills one of France Télévisions’ missions: to develop and rejuvenate its digital audience. “We’re in a program that probably reaches the youngest audience,” he says. I believe the average age (france.tv) was 35, which is quite remarkable today and unique to the French audiovisual landscape. »
Last year, the all-star special was actually much more popular online than on France 2, where it was broadcast in the third part of the evening. France Télévision’s strategy for this program was to “precisely” find its audience. Mission accomplished: its platform recorded “64% views” with “3.3 million videos viewed over the summer.” People aged 15 to 34 made up 60% of this audience.
Not a reality show, but a “talent show”
In addition to Charles Alloncle’s mistrust, France Télévisions also faces concerns about budget restrictions. When asked about possible concerns about the sustainability of Drag Race France during a season four press conference in mid-June, Alexandra Redde-Amiel put it on hold. Speaking to reporters, the entertainment and gaming director said she wanted to “live in the moment.” And cry: “We are here to highlight creativity, to tell the story of all creation, wherever it is. We are lucky that in France there are outstanding arts, we can show them and not forget anyone.”
Nicky Doll, drag queen and host of the show, took the opportunity to respond between the lines to Charles Alloncle: “Some people call us a reality show. talent show. Because queens are talented, we talk about their lives and they prove to us how talented they are. »
General public and depoliticization
The program has also been the subject of criticism from the LGBT+ community. The show, which marked a milestone in French television history by highlighting queer artists and their experiences, has in some ways become a victim of its groundbreaking status. “Drag Race France” brings together, allows stakeholders and their allies to join together enthusiastically watching parties and causes a lot of discussion. As a result, the expectations and demands of parts of the LGBT+ public are becoming even stronger. Thus, this television competition is criticized for weakening the political dimension of resistance, art that comes from the counterculture, and for making it a mainstream show, that is, for the general public, by removing its subversive charge.
“Today’s Drag Race is playing it safe, for fear of offending the ruling class it wants to attract, while forgetting about the contestants and their struggles,” sums up Rennes drag king Aaron Azur in the magazine’s columns. Humanity.
There was controversy on social media following the announcement of the new season. Some have criticized the casting for its lack of diversity, while others are outraged by some candidates’ past performances that engaged in cultural appropriation. There has also been considerable dissatisfaction with the use of artificial intelligence for advertising portraits of queens. Photographer Jean Ranobrac admits to using it. “I recognize that aesthetic choices can offend sensibilities in a creative environment like drag,” he wrote in an Instagram story. Calling himself “techno-progressive on this (AI) thing,” he responds to his detractors: “I honestly don’t understand how you find the time and energy to complain so much.”
Television “safe place”
“As a public, we must continue to be demanding of the discourses that take place in and around Drag Race, never forgetting that it is a media production (…) and let us not forget that drag remains an unstable and non-institutionalized artistic universe,” says journalist Appoline Bazin in her essay. Drag Fever, under the glitter, still on fire? published in the spring by Divergences.
During the presentation of the new season, the producer emphasized that “Drag Race France” is “a space of self-expression where the queens can discuss important topics that are little or poorly talked about on television” and that it is “one of the hallmarks of the show, just like the iconic parades and spectacular performances.”
“This year we aimed to create a safe place where they could discuss sometimes sensitive topics,” explains Rafael Cioffi. And bring up a conversation “about chemsex” or another about young LGBT+ people who were kicked out by their parents. Will this be enough to soften criticism?
Season 5 not confirmed
“It is more important than ever to make clear that drag is not just an aesthetic and a symbol of tolerance, but a holistic and complex culture; because without global political reflection, the desire for representation leads us to remember only the brilliance and not the fury that animates them,” Apolin Bazin also writes in his essay.
“Exposing the boundaries of this structure, as well as placing it in the current socio-political context, should allow us to come to peace and simply appreciate the best of the spectacle while it lasts. Because it is better to have the choice to watch Drag Race and engage in the difficult conversations that arise from it, than to endure a sad round of gray-and-white editorials that uncontroversially spew their reactionary agenda on television. Despite itself, Drag Race serves well as counter-narrative to its competitive and liberal structure limit its political scope, but in Macron’s France the show still offers precious opportunities for discovery and (militant) respite.”
Our articles about Drag Race France
Drag Race France’s renewal for a fifth season is far from guaranteed at the time of writing. “We’ll see what the future holds for us,” says Alexandra Redde-Amiel. You can always dream of a brighter tomorrow, regardless of whether it is lip sync or not. But at a time when drag (queen, king, gay or creature) is the subject of a moral panic fueling the LGBT-phobic agenda of parties, especially those on the far right, its disappearance from screens would be a wake-up call.