‘Represent’ Season 1 Recap: Things To Know Before Season 2

Represent is a French Netflix original, a satirical take on the politics of France and the emergence of a person who thwarts the status quo and begins to ask some real questions about society and people in general. Season one of the show aired on the streaming platform in the year 2023, and ever since has become a talked-about satirical comedy on France and the politics of the country. Season two was released on Thursday, August 29th, 2024, so here is the recap of what happened so far in season one of Represent.

Spoilers Ahead

Was Stephane Ble in shock?

The show began in the campaign office of Stéphane Ble, as he was surrounded by his team and his campaign manager, William Crozon. They were extremely excited to learn Stéphane was going to be one of the two candidates running for the President of France. Stéphane was shocked at the turn of events, and the show goes to a flashback to show what led to this result. 

Who was Stéphane Ble?

Stéphane lived in one of the poorest neighborhoods in Paris and was surrounded by immigrants, first-generation French people trying to find acceptance in a conservative society that was not very tolerant of people coming from other countries and settling down in France. Stéphane was of Ivory Coast origin and, just like many of immigrants’ descent, was not happy with any of the candidates who were fighting for the office of President of France. He, along with many children he had been coaching at several community centers, were unhappy with the government cutting the budget for programs that would empower the children of immigrants and help them find a standing in society by having real jobs so that they do not resort to a  life of crime. 

Stéphane was married to Marion, who was of Senegalese descent, and the couple was trying to have a child through IVF, which was a difficult procedure. Amidst all of this, Stéphane has a beef with one of the candidates, Eric Andrei, who claims to be a leftist, but as a mayor running for the top post in the country, he had done nothing for the underprivileged community. Stéphane complained Eric had closed many community centers that would benefit the children of the immigrants, and he branded him as a hypocrite who did nothing for the people, despite the leftist ideology he promoted. The public confrontation by Stéphane got him some media attention and traction as he cornered Eric by asking basic questions about the upliftment of the lower class.

Did Stéphane hire a campaign manager?

Stéphane’s confrontation got him the attention of a campaign manager named William Crozon, who began to egg him to run as a candidate for the post of President of France. Stéphane’s family was also excited to see him get the right kind of popularity and wanted him to take the leap of faith. Marion was the only person not keen on him joining the race, as both had different plans for their lives. 

William Crozon was successful in convincing Stéphane to be one of the candidates for the next French President, as his popularity was only growing, since he was asking the right questions and not being diplomatic, unlike other candidates who were politicians. However, it turns out William was hired by a rival candidate, Etienne Durandeau, to kill the buzz around Stéphane. In return, Wiliam was promised a seat on Etienne’s campaign team.

Was Eric Andre sabotaging his rival’s campaign?

Apart from Etienne Durandeau, Eric Andre was also trying his level best to nip Stéphane’s campaign in the bud as he was afraid the new candidate would take most of his left voters as his promises and ideology were far more believable and doable. As Stéphane was celebrating the support of 500 mayors from across France, including the other rival Corinne Douanier, their campaign office was attacked by vandals.

Stéphane’s office did not get much support from the police to find out who attacked them, which was a representation of systematic racism towards his community and the non-belief in his candidacy because of his background. It was Stéphane’s team that found from the neighborhood CCTV footage that his cousin Desire attacked them, and he cited jealousy to be the reason. The cousin, however, did not reveal he was paid by Eric Andre for the job that put Stéphane on the backfoot.

Who was blackmailing William?

William’s plans to sabotage Stéphane’s campaign were working as he shared the results of the focus group study. It was not in favor of Stéphane as the next president, solely because of his ethnicity and skin color. William’s conversation with Etienne was overheard by Eric, who began to blackmail Stéphane’s campaign manager over this matter.

What happened at Correze?

Eric suggested Stéphane be taken to the socially and culturally sensitive area of Correze. The success or failure of his campaign at Correze would prove his standing as the strong candidate. In Correze, Stéphane received a good reception even from the churchgoers. The man was also able to pacify one of the suicidal yet difficult residents in the town. The visit to Correze was a success, as Stéphane was being himself, yet he was shot in the testicles by one of the gunmen at the rally. Stéphane survived the attack, and William was revealed to be the brainchild behind injuring his boss. While Eric was shocked to learn William would go to any extent to save his job and life. 

Was Marion’s IVF a success?

Marion was deeply affected by Stéphane’s attack, as she wanted to avoid all the chaos that ensued after her husband chose to become the candidate for the post of French President. Marion had already begun IVF; since his testicles were injured, it would be difficult for Stéphane to offer his sperm. He did not want to upset his wife and chose to power through the pain and be there for Marion for all IVF procedures and appointments with the doctor. 

Was Lamine in trouble?

Lamine was a young child Stéphane was mentoring, and he had joined the campaign’s digital media team. Lamine previously was known to have sold narcotics to make money, which was why digital media offered him a job with the campaign. However, Lamine was trapped in the drug ring again, and to avoid arrest, the young boy ran away to save Stéphane’s campaign from some trouble. Lamine was hiding in a hotel room, sheltered by Marion. Marion wanted Lamine to surrender to come clean so that there was clarity in the campaign. 

Why did the candidates resign from the race?

The situation in the presidential election changed as a mysterious leak about the rival candidates revealed some of the horrendous crimes committed by them. Most of them, including Eric and Etienne, were forced to back out of the campaign, making Stéphane and Corrine the only two remaining candidates running for the post of president. As a result, Lamine was moved away from Paris and was forced to live with Marion to avoid any arrests till the elections were over. 

What happened during the debate?

During the presidential debate between the only two popular presidential candidates, Stéphane and Corrine were asked some tough questions. If any of them were elected, it would be historic for France, as they would either have the first female president or the first head of state of African descent. William continued working for Stéphane as he believed in his cause, which included upliftment of the various underprivileged communities and offering a better social system that benefits every class. 

During the debate, two people close to the candidate were introduced who had only good things to say about them. Corrine had a blind girl vouching for her. Stéphane’s estranged father, Claude Ble, was called on the debate, which was a shock to him and his mother. The debate did not go as planned as Stéphane was asked questions about Lamine and other family members who were part of drug trafficking because of poverty and the need to sustain financially. His answers were not taken into consideration, which led to a disastrous ending to their campaign.

Did Stéphane win the French presidential election?

As France went into elections to choose the next election, the six episodic satirical comedy series ended with Stéphane coming to know of William’s game plan to ruin him. One of the members of his campaign team was revealed to have been the person who had hacked into the system of the rival candidates and leaked the data about their personal and professional lives. This massive leak had led to them resigning and gave Stéphane’s campaign the push it was required. However, the data she got her hands on also revealed William was working towards wrecking Stéphane’s campaign. William had come clean when he was rejected by Eric and Etienne, who refused to hire him, stating his appointment would be seen in bad taste.

Wiliam was confronted by Stephane, and the latter was not ready to hear him out. Stéphane had to force him to step down from the team as he had to go through a lot all this while throughout the campaign. Stéphane was also arrested under the suspicion of sheltering Lamine for his role in the supply of the narcotics. The police reached the outskirts of the city, where Marion and Lamine were hiding. Stéphane’s wife was arrested as well as Lamine for the crime. Stéphane had to come clean about everything from the past and had to clarify Lamine’s incident as well. He figured since him and his team’s connection with narcotics was established even though it was superficial since Lamine had been sober and clean for a while, Stéphane figured he would lose to Corrine. 

As election results came in, Marion had left Stéphane for all the drama that ensued since Lamine’s incident, which she wanted to avoid. Corinne Douanier and her team were celebrating as they assumed she would be the winner. The election results declared Stéphane as the next President of France, which was unexpected. His team and the community that he served were ecstatic to have an immigrant’s son as the next head of the state.