Le Bébête Show (1982)

Overview

Le Bébête Show was a satirical puppet show shown on French television. The show was introduced in Stéphane Collaro's Collaroshow on channel TF1, in 1982, before becoming a daily broadcast. Major French political figures were designed by artists: Alain Duverne, Jacques Loup, Jean-Yves Grall... representing as characters similar to those of The Muppet Show, with, for instance, François Mitterrand portrayed as a frog named Kermitterrand, a reference to Kermit the Frog. Most characters were voiced by Jean Roucas, who also acted as the show's host. Although some French politicians expressed appreciation for their caricatures, some have greeted them with less enthusiasm. Jean-Marie Le Pen sued the show, as he disliked being represented as the vampire "Pencassine", shown wearing a traditional girl's costume from Brittany - a reference to "Bécassine", a 1910s classic French comic character, and to Le Pen's origins in Brittany, while retaining his vampire fangs. Édith Cresson expressed great displeasure at her own puppet: she was depicted as an air-headed panther, submissive to the sexual whims of "Kermitterrand". Success began to decline with the competition from Les Guignols de l'info. After Roucas' departure, Collaro revamped the puppets in 1994, but this proved unsuccessful, as the show now looked like an imitation of Les Guignols. The show was eventually canceled in 1995.