On Saturday, October 25, Thomas Jouannet returns to the role of Brigade du fleuve, with a new episode airing on France 3. This is an opportunity to meet the actor.

They’re back! Who? The members of the “fluviale”, the friendly unit of Brigade du fleuve, of which France 3 is offering a new episode on Saturday, October 25. We find Katia Lestrade (Roxane Turme, seen in Montmartre), the Lavergne brothers (Ibrahim Koma and Roby Schinasi), Achille (Pasquale d’Inca), called Papi because he is the oldest of the gang, Lucie Cavage (Jeanne Bournaud), the judge pregnant with her lover, and Victor Flaubert, the captain of this gendarmerie brigade played by Thomas Jouannet. What attracted him to this fiction, his partners, the boat license, his projects…: on the occasion of the return of the fiction, the actor gave an interview to Télé-Loisirs.

“We had a little crash course”: Thomas Jouannet (Brigade du fleuve) talks about the filming of the
Télé-Loisirs series. What attracted you to the Brigade du fleuve project?
Thomas Jouannet. There are a lot of detective dramas on TV, but what I liked about this one was the originality of finding ourselves in slightly different places with a specialized brigade – the river brigade – something we hadn’t seen before. And also the fact that it’s an ensemble series because I like the troupe.
In addition to being endearing, there’s a bit of a transmission aspect to this brigade, which brings together gendarmes of all ages…
Yes, and what’s funny is that it’s also the case between us. With Pasquale [d’Inca] and Jeanne [Bournaud] – the oldest [he laughs] – we already knew each other, but with the others, it clicked right away. We really had an immediate artistic crush. Even though they’re younger than me, they bring me a lot of things. It’s a two-way street. In a very short time, we became very close. That is to say, between the filming of two episodes, six or eight months can go by, but we keep in touch regularly. It all happened very naturally. I’m not saying that in a promotional way, it’s really sincere.
In the series, you play a captain in the river brigade. Do you have your boat license?
Yes. Since I often filmed in Marseille and loved going to the calanques, one day I told myself that I had to pass it… and I did. So we’re definitely the ones at the helm! We did have a little crash course near La Rochelle, between episodes 1 and 2.
Bénédicte Delmas directed both episodes of River Brigade. You met her as an actress in Sous le soleil, what’s she like behind the camera?
She’s super precise, she’s a hard worker and she knows where she’s going. What’s great is that she created the series and took her characters where she wanted them to go. For mine, she wanted a captain who was sure of himself and his brigade. The good idea was to put a girl in his shoes. Not that he’s misogynistic, not at all, but he likes to be right and he looks down on Katia a little at first until he realizes that she has a lot to teach him.

Thomas Jouannet, soon in a daily soap opera? He answers
Armelle Deutsch, your partner, recently played in Here Everything Begins for the duration of a plot. Would you also like to make a foray into a soap opera?
I’m open to everything. For the moment, I have a lot of work but in view of what she told me I find it quite interesting. It must be quite crazy. I’ve never done it but I have quite a few friends who are in it, notably Roby [Schinasi, who plays Samuel in Brigade du fleuve, editor’s note] who is in Tomorrow Belongs to Us, and who talks to me about it and says: “Come on, come on, come on…”. Once again for the moment I don’t have the time but I would be quite curious to see.
What are these projects that are preventing you from acting in a soap opera?
It’s a bit delayed, but in January, I should be shooting season 3 of Mademoiselle Holmes [the TF1 series with Lola Dewaere and Tom Vila, editor’s note]. In March, I’ll be shooting my daughter’s [Chloé Jouannet, whom he had with Alexandra Lamy, editor’s note] film, Allez ma fille. And, if Brigade du fleuve continues, we should be shooting two episodes in a row starting in May.

Can you tell us more about the film with your daughter?
It’s a comedy. We made the short film two years ago, which told the story of a somewhat abandoned father, who has also just been dumped by his wife, and who, while taking his daughter to a stick curling competition, realizes that he hadn’t realized that she had grown up. The short film received more than twenty awards, and she wrote the feature film. It’s currently being cast, and we’re going with the same team to make… the full-length short film. Chloé is directing but won’t be in it, unlike Mado, my second daughter, who already played in the first one. Audrey Lamy will also be in it. We’ll be a bit like a family… It’s truly an exceptional adventure that we’re all experiencing together.

Will Alexandra Lamy be there too?
No, she won’t be there, but she supports us wholeheartedly.

Fan of Tomorrow Belongs to Us? The series not to be missed.
You like Tomorrow Belongs to Us on TF1, without a doubt, you will love the following soap series: the series in the culinary universe of TF1 at 6:30 p.m., Here Everything Begins at 6:30 p.m. with Benjamin Baroche and finally at 8:40 p.m. the series Un si grand soleil just before prime-time on France 3. Soon, the series Plus belle la vie on TF1 every day at 1:55 p.m., and life is even more beautiful.