They played François Mitterrand on screen
From Michel Bouquet to Jean d’Ormesson via Jean-Louis Trintignant and… Didier Gustin?!
Denis Podalydès slips into the skin of François Mitterrand in the mini-series Mitterrand confidential by Antoine Garceau, to be seen on France Télévisions from this Monday evening. And he is not the first to have played the former President of the Republic. Far from it. Workforce review.
The most contemporary
Jean-Louis Trintignant in Le Bon Plaisir (1984) by Francis Girod
While he has just taken office at the Élysée, this adaptation of Françoise Giroud’s novel evokes in a barely veiled manner François Mitterrand’s best-kept secret: the existence of a hidden daughter – at a time when the president, newly elected, is implementing a practice of power based on absolute control of the intimate as well as the political.
The funniest
Didier Gustin in Operation Corned-Beef (1991) by Jean-Marie Poiré
“Operation steak would have been funnier!” » The comedian enjoys zanily imitating François Mitterrand, off camera, in a memorable briefing scene with Jean Reno.
The most emblematic
Michel Bouquet in Le Promeneur du Champ-de-Mars (2005) by Robert Guédiguian
Winner of the César for best actor in 2006, Michel Bouquet plays Mitterrand at the end of his life, during his last weeks at the Élysée, then when he had official accommodation in the 7th arrondissement of Paris and could walk in the nearby Champ-de-Mars.
The most regular
Philippe Magnan in The Farewell Affair by Christian Carion (2009) and Changer la vie (2011) by Serge Moati
With his appearance as a head of state, he was often called upon to play the President of the Republic (as in An Affair of State or Les Tuche 3). And twice, he played the socialist leader in the cinema.
The least similar
Michel Duchaussoy in The Gordji Affair: Story of Cohabitation (2012) by Guillaume Nicloux
This TV film for Canal+ takes us back to 1987, during the first cohabitation. Facing Jacques Chirac as prime minister (played by Thierry Lhermitte), Michel Duchaussoy is not really trying to resemble the former president.
The most unlikely
Jean d’Ormesson in Les Saveurs du Palais (2012) by Christian Vincent
Political comedies of this kind are rare. Catherine Frot thrills the head of state’s taste buds in this film freely inspired by the life of Danièle Mazet-Delpeuch, Mitterrand’s former cook.
The frostiest
Samuel Labarthe in the series Tapie (2023) by Tristan Séguéla
Facing Laurent Lafitte, a salesman who has reached the summit of power, he plays a scathing President Mitterrand, who does not hesitate to get rid of his young “winner” at the first step.
Most recent
Michel Fau in The Unknown of the Grande Arche (2025) by Stéphane Demoustier
A few weeks before Denis Podalydès, another François Mitterrand shone on the screen in 2025: around Claes Bang as Johan Otto von Spreckelsen, the film recounts the construction of the Grande Arche de la Défense, confronted with French administrative constraints, the economic issues and the political tensions of the time.
