“Triumphing on alcohol is heroic”

You are on the screen in a new role. Present us Diane, your character …

Diane is one of the members of the female trio. Like Suzanne (Valérie Bonneton) and Alice (Sabrina Ouazani), she is forced to make a detoxification cure in a closed center. First angry to have to comply with this obligation of care, it involves a phase of denial, then gradually understands that it suffers from alcoholism. Alongside these women, Clovis Cornillac embodies Denis, the center sports coach. Very devoted, this former alcoholic brings them together around a common challenge: their participation in the automotive rally of the dunes, in the Moroccan desert.

Diane is an exuberant and disillusioned actress who seems to have been a little manipulated during her career. Have you encountered this type of women in your job?

Of course, I have known fragile people, with self -destructive behavior, some of whom are my friends. I like to observe all the behaviors that manifest in me and around me. They reflect the strengths and weaknesses of the human soul. These observations help me build the characters I embody.

The subject of the film joins the story of Pierre Palmade, a humorist with which you shared the scene. Last November, he was convicted of a road accident caused under the influence of drugs …

Of course, the facts committed by Pierre Palmade are inexcusable and indefensible. But I do not wish to comment on these tragic events, nor come back to the relationship that links me today to Pierre and which only looks at him and me.

Is female alcoholism taboo?

Yes, and it is to help some women get out of the silence that directors Elsa Bennett and Hippolyte Dard wanted to make this film. Alcoholism is a disease. An test that must be tried to overcome the best that we can. Wanting to get rid of it is extraordinary. To get there, it’s heroic! Better days changes their eyes to women who suffer from addiction. Among those I met during the previews of the film, some told me about the shame of their illness.

Upstream of filming, the actors went to a day in a detoxification center. What did you learn?

During these very touching meetings, I realized how much the entry of these women in cure can be problematic in a family. Because, despite their addiction, they continue to hold the house by taking care of the household, stewardship and education of children. Their those around them encourage them to go in care since they are useful to the home. I also understood that once the cure is over, some come back to the center during the day, because everything, outside, pushes them to relapse.

In France, this consumption is cultural. Party by drinking is a collective tradition. It is extremely easy, at any age, to buy or consume alcohol, which poses a real public health problem. I even learned that, until 1956, wine was authorized in the canteens of primary schools and colleges. We come back from far away …

How is it possible to laugh at such a dramatic subject?

In the cinema as in life, it happens to all to need to laugh in the drama. An attitude, a word, a situation, the smallest detail can trigger laughter or laughter. This allows you to take a little distance from what happens. It is also very liberating.

Laughter and tears constantly coexist in us. Wearing a look of humor on the events of my life and my weaknesses helps me enormously. When I happened to me a big glitch, I immediately have very funny thoughts. It’s a great chance, I am aware of it.

Laughter has great power …

Yes, when we laugh, “the inner child” in us manifests. Spiritually, laughter is crucial. Take the Jewish tradition for example, in which humor is very important. Certain stories told in the concentration camps are proof that the distance by humor has allowed some to survive, in full tragedy.

Aging is not to take wrinkles is to give up laughing. And it can happen to any age, even to an 18 -year -old person. Going through his whole life by deciding on laughter is a source of elevation.

You multiply success. Honeymoon with my mother, For example, in which you play the leading role, has risen to first place on Netflix in France, from its first week of broadcasting, accumulating 11.4 million views in four days …

Yes, this success expresses the great need for popular comedy! Shot in Mauritius in an environment disconnected from the news, it has experienced international recognition. For three weeks, it was even the most watched film on Netflix in Ukraine. Spectators need to laugh to hold, especially in the worst contexts.

On the Instagram social network, your posts in which your 90 -year -old mother sometimes attracts thousands of people appears. Why did you embark on this adventure?

We have always laughed at the Laroque and it continues! So when I offer my mother to make sports videos with me in a humorous tone she is immediately ready! At 90, she remains an example: courageous, hardworking, generous and solid.

At 24, she escaped from her native country, Romania. Exiled in France, she had to resume studies, because her diplomas were not recognized here. I saw her work a lot, give evening lessons. She was also a violinist and dancer.

Brilliant, she ended up winning a post in phonetics, at the Faculty of Letters of Nice (Alpes-Maritimes). Last year, she joined the university again because she has the passion to learn. It is still very autonomous, it is an asset at its age.

Sport irrigates the film as much Better days that your life …

At 19, I had a serious car accident. The sport and intensive practice of classical dance then saved me. I spent two years in the hospital and two more recovery years. Playing sports throughout your life is essential to stay in good moral and physical health.

The movements I show on Instagram were taught after the accident. They can easily keep muscles and evacuate tensions. Like laughter, sport is healer.

Your grand-uncle, Pierre Laroque, is one of the founding fathers of Social Security, created after the war. Solidarity seems to be a central value in your family …

Pierre was a cousin of my father-but I have always said highly, because he was very close to us. When I was a little girl, he told me General de Gaulle, to whom he looked very much physically. Pierre had engaged by his side, in the free French forces in London, and had participated in the landing of Normandy. His memories titled In the service of man and law are beautiful. Specialist in the working -class condition, he sat in the social section of the Council of State.

His ideal was to serve his fellow citizens, capable, in his eyes, to take charge of their destiny so that the country grows in a real union. I always admired him because he was a great servant of the state, in all its splendor!

Do you act in this spirit when you get involved for the Enfoirés (Restos du Coeur) and with hospitalized children?

Even if I do not do politics, I am imbued with these family values ​​and commitment is part of my life. I act for others because I am interested in advancing causes in a good mood.

Does solidarity France still exist?

Of course! Our country is the world number one of redistribution thanks to its tax system. We can be proud of this generosity carried by our people. Let us not forget that it is also our own choices, our commitments from citizens and not only our votes that change our lives.

If each person decided to support another, in addition to their family, the world would be quite different. Solidarity is also a question of individual responsibility.