The story of the French atomic bomb is one of the Republic's best-kept secrets. Behind this epic story, which began with the discovery of artificial radioactivity and culminated in the dropping of the first French atomic bomb in Algeria, lies a couple of geniuses: Irène and Frédéric Joliot-Curie.
It's an extraordinary adventure, rarely told, spanning the tormented years between the wars, the Second World War and the Cold War, with its division of the world into two blocs. The story combines spectacular scientific discoveries, crucial military and geopolitical stakes, hopes, tragedies, secrets and the intimate wanderings of the couple behind this decisive breakthrough.
With its innovative direction - a mix of fictional sequences, archival sound recordings performed by actors, and a hybrid narrative featuring real/fake interviews with the Joliot-Curies - this series will reveal the dramatic tension at the heart of this visionary duo.
Direction: Charles Antoine de Rouvres
Production: La Compagnie des Taxi-Brousse for Canal+
Delivery: End of 2025