Le procès de Jeanne Bloch

Jeanne Bloch, a representative of a moderate left-wing party, was appointed Prime Minister, a position she held for 18 months. Five years later, with the National Party in power, she and former President Martin Gary are brought to trial, accused of betraying the people. The play alternates between the highly publicized court hearings and flashbacks to Jeanne’s term in office, plunging us into the heart of a political crisis that sees the far right on the rise. Jeanne Bloch is torn between defending herself against the charges against her, conforming to the narrative put forward by Martin Gary’s lawyers, or turning her trial into a moment of protest, as the two young lawyers preparing her defense hope.

The Trial of Jeanne Bloch weaves an imaginary “national narrative,” interwoven with historical references and contemporary reflections. The author draws inspiration from the Riom Trial—which in 1942 pitted Daladier’s liberal center-right against Blum’s social left and Pétain’s identitarian right—to produce a text that is at once a courtroom drama, a political thriller, and a portrait of a heroine.