Once upon a time
The paradise lost
The series SAINT TROPEZ was conceived by Pascal BRETON and Olivier BREMOND, the founders of Marathon Production, who, in the early 1990s, foresaw a trend inspired by American series such as Beverly Hills and Melrose Place.
In 1995, the two partners worked on a 52-minute series that they could sell both in France and abroad. They were looking for a mythical place, a dream setting, natural scenery, where the sun shines and the seasons are mild. The world-famous village of Saint-Tropez seemed an obvious place to set up their cameras.
Saint-Tropez is the perfect name for the series’ international launch!
Pascal Breton explains in an interview that the starting idea of the series is the concept of « Paradise Lost », that is to say all the places, the people and the atmosphere that are idealized in childhood and that belong to memories, and which are often considered the best time of someone’s life.
Characters in pursuit of happiness!
The plot follows the journey of a group of young people at the very beginning of their adult lives. They have grown up together, formed strong friendships and are starting to face the challenges of life.
An unbreakable friendship…
From the very first episodes, the success of the series is clear, especially thanks to the three main characters, Laure (Bénédicte Delmas), Caroline (Adeline Blondieau) and Jessica (Tonya Kinzinger).
They are very different and complementary at the same time. They are friends and have a great complicity that is not lost over the seasons.
At the time, this was the first series in which women were given the role of protagonists!
This was an innovative approach, given that the technical teams also included many women in key positions. It was the female audience that was primarily targeted.
Broadcast on TF1 on Saturday afternoons, the series very quickly won over its audience and left its mark on fans of all ages, who arrived by bus in Saint-Tropez to meet their heroines and discover the filming locations.
Exceptionally long-lasting
‘Saint Tropez’ distinguished itself for its incredible 12-year duration.
Over the course of the seasons, some characters settle in for a few episodes or longer, others leave or die, come back, are resurrected… and this gives the series its rhythm. The three protagonists grow over the course of the seasons. The scenarios deal with human relationships, love, friendship and social issues, always in a beautiful setting! Just like photo stories on glossy paper.
The extent to which the series has become popular with the public in France and abroad, the notoriety, the reputation and the opportunities offered to the people who participated in it were unforeseeable. It is said to be a precursor for series such as ‘More beautiful life’ or ‘Tomorrow is ours’.
In 2007, TF1 wanted to stop the series, but due to pressure from fans, the channel ordered 16 new episodes before definitively closing the adventure in Saint-Tropez in 2008.
3 women, 3 friends, 3 lives…
LAURE (Bénédicte Delmas) is the leading lady. Underneath her looks of a quiet young girl with a bourgeois education, Laure hides a strong character and a strength of will that never fails her. Hard-working, sensitive, passionate, her altruism led her to the medical career and to humanitarian missions.
She finds her balance with passionate men, adventurers such as Gregory (Frédéric Deban) or men she can admire. Her love affairs succeed one another without meeting her soul mate.
Thinking she is sterile, she adopts a 6 year old girl Clara (Delfine Rouffignac), but she learns that she is pregnant and gives birth to a boy, Gabriel, son of her partner Benjamin (Grégory Fitoussi).
She goes through several dramas and break-ups in both her personal and professional life, yet she always manages to bounce back thanks to the precious help of her mother Blandine (Marie-Christine Adam) and her two friends.
Bénédicte / Laure « She has only one filter through which she sees things, and that is the emotional one, which smothers me… Unlike my character, it would take me more than three days to fall in love again.
JESSICA (Tonya Kinzinger) is a young American woman, energetic, creative and passionate, always willing to listen to others, at the expense of her own needs. She leaves the United States to run away from an incestuous stepfather and follow her sweetheart (Gregory). Instead of love, she finds friendship. She is the manager of the beachfront resort, which becomes a popular meeting place.
She experiences passionate love affairs just like her friends. Paolo (Luis Marques) her prince charming, Yann (Olivier Bénard) with whom she shares her passion for dancing, Julien (Philippe Agaël) the father of her daughter Audrey. Baptiste (David Brécourt), her surgeon friend and director of the clinic, with whom she moves in and develops a close relationship. They decide to adopt Zacharie.
She is looking for true love and family stability, but like her friends, she is confronted with great deceptions. However, her optimism allows her to bounce back from even the most difficult situations.
Talented and imaginative, Jessica is committed to her professional life. After managing the beach resort, she decides to pursue her passion, dancing, by setting up her own company. Seriously injured, she is forced to give up this profession and takes up photography, then becomes a radio host. She is elected Mayor of Saint-Tropez, then fulfils her dream by creating the dance academy.
Tonya / Jessica « Jessica is doubtful, too sentimental, unable to say no… But she is always listening, she puts the people she loves on a pedestal. She manages to enjoy the moment without thinking about tomorrow.»
CAROLINE (Adeline Blondieau) is a passionate woman and femme fatale. Fragile and sensitive, she is the artist of the series. She leaves her family to fulfil her dream of becoming a singer. At first she works with Samuel (Avy Marciano), then she has the opportunity to pursue a solo career. Aware that she can’t make a living from music alone, she works as a waitress at the beachfront resort, a horse breeder and a lawyer. She always shows a strong will, but the tragic loss of her true love, Samuel, almost costs her her life! Struck by many tragic events, her character uses her determination and honesty to bounce back. She abandons her singing career to devote herself to her legal career. She has a second child, Iannis, with David, Samuel’s look-alike. She is a faithful friend and very attached to her family life. Adeline / Caroline « She often goes for it head on and doesn’t slow down. She is very honest but sometimes lacks perspective and gets hurt.»
