A place in the sun
(J’veux du soleil!)

“I changed the brake pads and coolant. 350 €. Let’s go!” With these words, François Ruffin invites us on a road trip around France, to find out why many French people decided to join the “Gilets Jaunes” (Yellow Vests) movement, the unprecedented social uprising that has been going on in France since November 2018. The Yellow Vests occupy roundabouts and demonstrate on Saturdays all over France.

In the winter of 2018, armed with their humor, camera, and new brake pads, Ruffin (an investigative journalist and elected representative of the Assemblee Nationale, also director of Merci Patron ! – MiniFest 2016), and his accomplice, co-director Gilles Perret, crossed the country from north to south, stopping at every yellow roundabout along the way to listen to the people. They talk about their lives, their everyday struggles. It is like opening a surprise package. What will come out? Will it be laughter or tears? Tenderness or anger? Hope or despair? Ruffin and Perret give voices to these forgotten people we rarely get a chance to be heard. They capture the magical moments when women and men, usually resigned, stand up with pride to claim their place in the sun.

François Ruffin (born 18 October 1975) is a French journalist, filmmaker, author and politician. He is the founder and editor-in-chief of the satirical quarterly Fakir; Ruffin is best-known for directing the film Merci patron! (2016), as well as for playing an instrumental role in the formation of the Nuit debout movement in France.

He has been a member of the National Assembly since 2017, representing Somme’s first constituency. Ahead of the 2017 legislative election, Ruffin created the regional political party Picardie Debout[2] (“Arise Picardy”) and ran as its sole candidate, with the initial support of La France Insoumise, Europe Ecology – The Greens and the French Communist Party in the first round, and that of the Socialist Party’s candidate in the second round. Once elected, he joined the parliamentary group of La France Insoumise, and is de facto associated with the political party.

Gilles Perret is a documentary director. He directed “La Sociale”, “L’Insoumis” and in 2019 he co-directed with François Ruffin the documentary J’veux du soleil on the movement of yellow vests.