Secrets d'Histoire is a historical television program presented by Stéphane Bern.
Each episode retraces the life of a major historical figure, and highlights highly emblematic sites in France and other major countries.
It was broadcast on France 2 from 2007 to 2019, and on France 3 from 2019.
Journalist and producer came up with the original idea for the program.
Secrets d'Histoire was broadcast for the first time on France 2 on September 30, 2007.
At the time of the show's launch, the channel indicated that its aim was to introduce viewers to famous historical figures, but also to decipher some of history's unexplained, and sometimes inexplicable, mysteries.
The first issue is devoted to the death of Emperor Napoleon I, and the theories that have circulated concerning his possible poisoning.
For the first two seasons, the program was broadcast on Sunday afternoons on France 2. Each issue featured a variety of reports, interspersed with on-stage debates with various specialists, including historians, writers, and researchers.
In July 2008, the channel's management decided to discontinue the show. Stéphane Bern stated at the time that he had denounced "France Télévisions' lack of editorial audacity when it came to culture and heritage". Thanks to good ratings and "the mobilization of viewers on the France 2 website", the show continued throughout the summer of 2008. During this period, four new hour-and-a-half episodes were broadcast in the first half of the evening.
In September 2008, however, the program was dropped from the schedule to make way for L'Objet du scandale, presented by Guillaume Durand. In 2009 and 2010, the show returned to the broadcast schedule, but only in August for a few hour-and-a-half episodes in the first half of the evening.
In the summer of 2011, France 2 broadcast seven new episodes in the first half of the evening. In the same year, the show's editorial line evolved: "This season, we've taken a new turn with the issue devoted to Claude Monet, which will be broadcast on August 30. I'm also thinking of devoting one to Victor Hugo. In short, Secrets d'Histoire will open up to artists whose dimension is not only cultural," explains Stéphane Bern.
At the same time, the show's audience has grown from an average of three million viewers in 2008 to 3.6 million in summer 2011.
In the summer of 2012, France 2 broadcast ten new episodes in the first half of the evening, several of which met with notable success. The episode devoted to Louis XIV, entitled ' (Louis XIV, the passions of the Sun King), set a new audience record, with nearly five million viewers and a 21.2% audience share. This was the best audience in the show's history.
From 2014 onwards, the show was broadcast more randomly and on varying days of the week (either Tuesdays or Thursdays). In an interview with Le Figaro, Stéphane Bern explains that he was unhappy at the time, regretting that the show acted as a "filler" on France 2.
Despite random broadcasts, the show has met with growing success, including abroad. Interviewed on the occasion of the eleventh season in 2017, Stéphane Bern said: "The main thing that's changed is that people abroad are starting to get to know Secrets d'Histoire better. We've been approached by the Swedes, for example." According to him, this new notoriety had "opened doors" for the show.
In the same year, the film extracts were removed and replaced by scenes of historical re-enactments with actors, filmed especially for the show. The actors were dressed in period costumes, but did not speak any of the text, with commentary provided by historians Stéphane Bern and .
The decision to shoot re-enactment sequences was due to the refusal of some directors, such as Luc Besson with his film , to have their films cut in the editing process, but also because the production of Secrets d'Histoire sometimes needed scenes that didn't exist in the films.
According to the show's producer, Jean-Louis Remilleux, the issue of broadcasting rights also led the production team to opt for re-enactments. In fact, even if reenactment scenes cost significantly more than scenes from films or TV movies (10,000 euros for a reenactment compared with 4,000 to 6,000 euros for a film), this avoids the production having to pay rights again if the episodes are rebroadcast.
In June 2018, a party was organized at the Château de Versailles to celebrate the show's tenth anniversary. On this occasion, patrons of the château were invited, as well as viewers who had registered on the show's Facebook page. "Ten years ago, we were told that a history show was just for old ladies doing macramé in Southern Brittany. The network didn't believe in Stéphane either. And have you seen our ratings?" enthuses the show's producer Jean-Louis Remilleux.
In August 2019, the show was mourned by the death of writer and columnist , who had collaborated on numerous issues. On hearing of his death, Stéphane Bern paid tribute to him: "I owe him a lot, and the show owes him a lot. He made the show great for over ten years. He was very attached to the show."
In October 2019, the show was switched to the France 3 channel. This choice is explained by the France Télévisions group's desire to maintain editorial consistency between its two channels, France 2 and France 3. As France 3 focuses on promoting France's heritage and regions, through programs such as ' (French Favourite Village) and Des racines et des ailes (Roots and wings), France Télévisions management decided to broadcast the program Secrets d'Histoire on this channel.
In an interview with Le Parisien, France Télévisions second-in-command, Takis Candilis, said that the group wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to offer viewers "more prime-time episodes", without specifying whether these would be new or reruns.
From October 2019, the show was broadcast regularly on Monday evenings on France 3, a choice that satisfied Stéphane Bern, for whom it was important for the program to have a fixed weekday slot.
Since its broadcast on France 3, the show has recorded encouraging audience figures. The first three episodes broadcast from October 2019 averaged 2.4 million viewers (10.5% market share). Following these good results, the Secrets d'Histoire team has indicated that nine further issues have been commissioned for 2020, with a budget of 400,000 euros for each program.
In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic and health measures taken by various European countries disrupted the filming of certain programs. As a result, some shoots scheduled outside France were either cancelled or entrusted to local crews. This was the case for the program dedicated to Mary of Burgundy, part of which took place at the Château de Grandson in Switzerland. As museum curator Camille Verdier explains it was a local team that took charge of filming at the castle: "We were contacted and everything fell into place very quickly. Because of the confinement and border closures, a team from Geneva took care of the shooting, in the presence of the director".
The filming of a program on Napoleon I, to mark the bicentenary of his death, was also disrupted. "We were supposed to do all the sets on St. Helena, but we would have had to endure a quarantine on location. So we shot at Fontainebleau and Les Invalides," explains Stéphane Bern.
The same year saw the launch of a spin-off of the show, based on the same principle and devoted to famous places: Si les murs pouvaient parler (If the walls could talk), on France 2.
On January 25, 2021, the show announced the launch on March 8 of secretsdhistoire.tv, a pay-per-view video platform on the Internet, allowing viewers to watch all issues of Secrets d'Histoire, as well as other types of programs related to history and heritage. In an interview with La Nouvelle République newspaper, platform manager Baptiste Mathon explains:<blockquote>All 150 episodes of Secrets d'Histoire will be featured, as well as previously unpublished documents and new multidisciplinary programs. History will be told through the prism of sports, cooking, make-up, fashion, decoration, gardening... [...] All interviews with historians will be available to subscribers worldwide. It's the same way Netflix works.</blockquote>From January 2023 onwards, the show was moved from Monday to Wednesday evenings, where it is regularly broadcast.
In an interview with Télérama in October 2019, Stéphane Bern explained how the subjects for the various programs were chosen: "We have lists with my producer Jean-Louis Remilleux, and after that, we go and see France Télévisions' cultural programs department. [...]" he explains.
One important criterion is the possibility of taking viewers on a tour of French heritage sites. He explains:<blockquote>We make lists of subjects, always bearing in mind that it has to have an impact on: What heritage site can we show the French? [...] For me, this is a requirement, because I believe that there is a geography of History. History can only be told properly in the places where it took place. With young people, that's what moves them the most. [...] It really makes history more accessible.</blockquote>Another criterion is the commemoration of important anniversaries, such as the centenary of the birth or death of a historical figure. In 2015, to mark the tricentenary of the death of Louis XIV, the program aired two consecutive issues on the reign of the "Sun King". The first, ' (Louis XIV, the man and the king), retraced the monarch's childhood, his seizure of power and his conception of absolute monarchy. The second, ' (Louis XIV, the king is dead, long live the king!) focuses on the end of the monarch's life, and the various deaths that created problems for the succession to the French throne. In 2020, to mark the 250th anniversary of Ludwig van Beethoven's birth, the show devoted a special edition to him, entitled ' (Beethoven, all for the music).
The existence of temporary exhibitions in certain museums is also an opportunity for the show to highlight certain characters. For example, during an exhibition on the Tudors at the Musée du Luxembourg in 2015, the show aired an issue devoted to Queen Elizabeth I of England. In 2019, on the occasion of the exhibition held at the Grande halle de la Villette in Paris, an issue on Tutankhamun and Ramesses II was broadcast.
During a shoot at Souvigny in 2018, Stéphane Bern confirmed the existence of these criteria:<blockquote>The selection is made on the basis of interest and historical interest. Depending on the year, there are anniversaries. Right now, there's an exhibition on Louis-Philippe. We thought it only natural to do a show about Louis-Philippe. We also celebrated Saint-Louis' birthday and Josephine's bicentenary.</blockquote>
The majority of programs feature a portrait of a historical figure. Some programs are devoted to well-known figures such as Louis XIV, François I, or Napoleon I, while others are devoted to lesser-known figures such as Thérèse de Lisieux or certain female figures of the French Revolution like Olympe de Gouges and Anne-Josèphe Théroigne de Méricourt.
The choice of focusing on the lives of characters rather than on the history of ideas or social movements is assented to by presenter Stéphane Bern: "I'm among those who think it's important to know the reigns, to know those who wrote history, and not just the evolution of ideas, this global vision that prevents students from having landmarks and a certain anchoring".
The characters chosen are often from the nobility (kings, queens, emperors, empresses, etc.). Of the eighty-five subjects broadcast between January 2007 and July 2014, fifty dealt with a crowned head.
According to Stéphane Bern, this editorial choice was made in response to audience demand:<blockquote>Every time I do a show about revolutionaries, painters, or people like Clemenceau, it doesn't work as well as when I do a show about Marie Antoinette. [...] Besides, I've already covered a lot of revolutionaries. In 2016, I did an issue on (Women of the Revolution) and it flopped in the ratings.</blockquote>Some issues are dedicated to artistic figures: writers (Victor Hugo, George Sand, Agatha Christie), painters (Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso), musicians (Mozart, Beethoven), actors (Sarah Bernhardt), playwrights (Molière) or opera singers (Maria Callas). Others are political figures (Richelieu, Mazarin, Fouquet, Talleyrand, Danton, Clemenceau, Churchill, De Gaulle), military figures (Joan of Arc) or navigators (Christopher Columbus). Some historical figures have been the subject of several broadcasts. Louis XIV and Napoleon I, for example, were the subject of three programs. Two programs were devoted to Cleopatra, Joan of Arc, Molière, Madame de Pompadour, Casanova, Mozart, Elisabeth of Austria (Sissi), Ludwig II of Bavaria and Jesus.
Although Antiquity is not one of the most represented periods on the show, issues are regularly devoted to characters from this period (Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Cleopatra, Agrippina, Nero, Jesus, Judas, Nefertiti, Tutankhamun).
More rarely, some issues are devoted to illustrious places (L'ÃÂlysée, Monaco, the royal residences or the Vatican), historical enigmas (the Templar treasure, the Iron Mask, the Beast of Gévaudan) or landmark events (the storming of the Bastille).
Between 2007 and 2008, the program alternated reports with on-set debates hosted by Stéphane Bern. The reports consisted of interviews with historians, interspersed with presentations of archive documents, paintings and film extracts recreating these historic events, all commented on by a voice-over.
The on-set debates were filmed in the Royal Library of Versailles. Hosted by Stéphane Bern, the program was accompanied by (historian of the Middle Ages at the University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne), (history columnist at Le Nouvel Obs) and Philippe Charlier (paleopathologist and forensic pathologist). In this format, programs lasted around an hour.
As of 2017, the film extracts had been removed to make way for scenes of historical re-enactments with actors. The actors were dressed in period costumes, but didn't speak a word, with commentary provided by historians Stéphane Bern and Isabelle Benhadj. In the new format, programs lasts between an hour and a half and two hours.
Depending on the subject, various specialists are interviewed during the program to shed light on the characters or the historical context. They may be historians, writers who have written a biography of the character in question, professors, archaeologists or museum curators.
The first season was broadcast on Sunday afternoons from September 3 to December 2, 2007, on France 2.
It consists of eight episodes devoted to historical mysteries such as the assassination of Empress Sissi, or debated historical events such as the death of Napoleon I.
The second season ran from January 27 to August 31, 2008, on France 2.
Twenty-one issues were devoted to historical mysteries, such as the mystery of the Man in the Iron Mask, or famous historical events that have been the subject of debate, such as the assassination of the Romanovs in 1918. To mark the reopening of the Petit Trianon estate, closed for three years for restoration, a special issue is devoted to Queen Marie-Antoinette.
The programs were broadcast on Sunday afternoons, with the exception of those from August 4 to 21, which were broadcast in prime time.
The third season ran from August 3 to August 27, 2009, on France 2.
The fourth season ran from August 4 to August 25, 2010, on France 2.
It featured a series of four programs devoted to influential women: Eugénie de Montijo, the last empress of France; Anne of Austria, mother of Louis XIV; Diane de Poitiers, favorite of King Henry II; and Madame Palatine.
The fifth season ran from July 12 to September 18, 2011, on France 2.
To coincide with the Claude Monet retrospective at the Grand Palais in Paris in January 2011, a program was devoted to the French painter. A special program was also devoted to a visit to the ÃÂlysée Palace.
All programs were broadcast in prime time, with the exception of the program on the ÃÂlysée Palace, which was broadcast at 10:30 pm.
The sixth season ran from May 29 to November 6, 2012, on France 2.
The season featured twelve episodes devoted to famous historical figures such as Victor Hugo and Suleiman the Magnificent, as well as lesser-known ones like Queen Christine of Sweden. To mark the 60th anniversary of her reign, a program was also dedicated to Queen Elizabeth II of England.
The seventh season ran from January 15 to December 26, 2013, on France 2.
The season consisted of fifteen issues devoted to famous historical figures such as Mozart and Armand Jean du Plessis de Richelieu, plus a special issue devoted to the storming of the Bastille. To mark the 40th anniversary of Pablo Picasso's death, an issue was dedicated to the Spanish painter.
In terms of audience ratings, the issue devoted to Jesus of Nazareth gave the show its best score of the season (4.85 million viewers).
The eighth season ran from February 25 to November 25, 2014, on France 2.
The season was marked by the commemoration of several anniversaries, such as the centenary of the start of the First World War and the four hundredth anniversary of the Romanov dynasty. To mark the occasion, programs were dedicated respectively to Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and the last Tsar of Russia, Nicholas II. On the occasion of the opening to the public of the Fort de Brégançon, residence of the President of the French Republic, an issue was also devoted to a visit to the various holiday resorts of political and royal personalities. The vast majority of programs were broadcast in the first half of the evening, with the exception of the program on Franz Ferdinand of Austria, which was broadcast at 4:30 p.m. to mark the centenary of the First World War.
In terms of audience ratings, the issue devoted to the residences of power gave the show its best score of the season (3.63 million viewers). Conversely, the issue devoted to Franz Ferdinand of Austria achieved mixed results, attracting just 900,000 viewers (the lowest audience of the season).
The ninth season ran from April 7 to October 20, 2015, on France 2.
The season was marked by the commemoration of several anniversaries, including the bicentenary of the Battle of Waterloo and the tercentenary of the death of King Louis XIV. To highlight the occasion, one program was dedicated to Emperor Napoleon I and two to Louis XIV. To coincide with an exhibition on the Tudors at the Musée du Luxembourg in Paris, an issue was devoted to Queen Elizabeth I.
In terms of audience ratings, the issue devoted to King Louis XVI gave the show its best score of the season (3.81 million viewers).
The tenth season ran from January 19 to November 15, 2016, on France 2.
The season consists of eleven issues devoted to famous historical figures such as Cleopatra, or lesser-known ones like Wallis Simpson. A special issue was also dedicated to women who played a notable role during the French Revolution (Théroigne de Méricourt, Olympe de Gouges, Charlotte Corday and Thérésa Tallien). In terms of audience ratings, the issue devoted to King Ludwig II of Bavaria gave the show its best score of the season (2.91 million viewers).
The eleventh season ran from January 19 to November 15, 2016, on France 2.
The season consisted of eleven issues devoted to famous historical figures such as the painter Michelangelo and the writer Agatha Christie, or lesser-known ones such as Philippe d'Orléans, cousin of King Louis XV. In terms of audience ratings, the issue devoted to Queen Margot gave the show its best score of the season (3.1 million viewers).
The 12th season ran from April 24 to October 30, 2018, on France 2.
The season featured ten issues devoted to famous historical figures, such as Marie de Médici, Lucrezia Borgia and Nefertiti.
To coincide with an exhibition on King Louis-Philippe I at the Palace of Versailles, an issue was also devoted to the last King of France and his wife Maria Amalia.
After a first issue in 2013, a second issue on Jesus of Nazareth was also broadcast in 2018, with additions based on new discoveries. Indeed, the show's team had confirmed that this one included new elements compared to the first: "This is the sequel to our first documentary devoted to Jesus. Recent archaeological discoveries made us want to enrich our first investigation".
In terms of audience ratings, the issue devoted to Prince Charles of Wales gave the show its best score of the season (2.85 million viewers). Conversely, the issue devoted to French King Louis-Philippe I and his wife Maria Amalia drew just 1.77 million viewers (the lowest audience of the season).
The thirteenth season ran from March 23 to December 9, 2019, first on France 2 until August 22, then on France 3.
It comprised ten issues devoted to famous historical figures such as Voltaire and Jean de La Fontaine, as well as lesser-known figures such as Emperor Pedro II of Brazil. The season was marked by the commemoration of the five-hundredth anniversary of the death of Leonardo da Vinci. To mark the occasion, a special issue was devoted to the Italian painter and engineer.
On the occasion of the exhibition ' at the Grande Halle de la Villette in Paris, an issue was devoted to two famous pharaohs of ancient Egypt: Ramesses II and Tutankhamun.
Since its broadcast on France 3, the program has enjoyed encouraging audience figures. The issue devoted to Leonardo da Vinci earned the channel its second-highest audience rating ever for a non-fiction program (2,627,000 prime-time viewers, plus 320,000 replay viewers).
The fourteenth season ran from January 13 to December 14, 2020, on France 3.
It featured eleven issues devoted to famous historical figures such as Vauban and William the Conqueror, as well as lesser-known ones like Thérèse of Lisieux.
To mark the 250th anniversary of Ludwig van Beethoven's birth, a special issue was devoted to the famous German composer and pianist.
In terms of ratings, the February 10 issue devoted to Prince Philip Mountbatten enabled the show to surpass the three-million viewer mark, the program's record since June 2017.
The year 2021 was marked by the broadcast of programs dedicated to the celebration of several anniversaries, such as the .
An issue dedicated to the Franco-Haitian politician Toussaint Louverture was also broadcast on May 10, to mark the National Day of Remembrance of the Slave Trade, Slavery and their Abolition.
In an interview with L'Observateur de Monaco, Stéphane Bern also indicated that twelve new episodes were planned for the year.
The table below lists the unpublished episodes (excluding reruns):
The year 2022 was marked by the broadcast of a program on Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, known as Molière, to mark the 400th anniversary of the French actor and playwright's birth, as well as a special program to mark the centenary of the death of Prince Albert I of Monaco.
On the occasion of the death of Queen Elizabeth II on September 8, 2022, the Secrets d'Histoire devoted to her was rebroadcast, exceptionally on France 2, with new testimonials and never-before-seen archive footage.
In an interview with TV5Monde in 2018, Stéphane Bern claimed that visits to heritage sites featured in the programs increased by 30% following their broadcast.
In August 2016, for example, the House of George Sand in Nohant-Vic saw a 38% increase in visitor numbers compared with previous years, a success that the château<nowiki/>'s manager attributed at the time to the Secrets d'Histoire program devoted to George Sand, broadcast at the beginning of August.
The Royal Chapel of Dreux, which was the subject of a Secrets d'Histoire issue in October 2018, also saw a 7% increase in attendance in 2019.
In its August 2008 review, Le Soir notes that Secrets d'Histoire contains intimate details about the private lives of the characters featured. In this sense, the daily suggests that the program is more entertainment than documentary. It also notes that the program has the advantage of taking viewers "behind the scenes of places of power" such as the châteaux de Malmaison, Compiègne and Fontainebleau.
In November 2013, Le Figaro noted: "Whether he's talking about Marie-Antoinette, Frederick II or Catherine of Russia, Stéphane Bern's passion is infectious. A passion for history and for human beings. The crowned-heads specialist has a gift for taking us back in time, pushing open the door to hidden cabinets and secret passages like a little mouse. Curious and cultured, the journalist lends a lightness to the most serious events. A storyteller's gift to be cultivated."
In 2014, the association published an article entitled "Secrets d'Histoire, le magazine royaliste de France 2? (Secrets d'Histoire, France 2's royalist magazine?)", in which it considered the program to be more entertainment than historical documentary, tackling "historically anecdotal" subjects and giving pride of place to the private lives of "great men". For the association, the program is "halfway between a celebrity report and a monarchist manifesto".
It notes that Secrets d'Histoire "is not intended to attract specialists, or even enlightened amateurs. Nor does it aim to offer as many people as possible an accessible, balanced view of a variety of historical subjects, reflecting the points of consensus in the historical community, while leaving sufficient room for doubt and debate. At most, it's a form of audiovisual entertainment that takes a few historical precautions. The genre is not a priori contemptible, but under the guise of offering instructive entertainment, Secrets d'Histoire puts across a very singular version of French history".
In response to these criticisms, Stéphane Bern declares: "It's a public service program, we're not here to popularize, but to interest as many people as possible and make culture accessible". He adds: "We want to encourage debate and contradiction. There is no established truth. That's why historians, who feature prominently on the program, bring different arguments to the table."
This choice to keep history accessible is also embraced by some regular contributors, such as Virginie Girod: "It's a pleasure to share history with a wide audience, to start from the intimate to move towards historical data with this aim: to be accessible to all. [...] As for the contemptuous look of certain academics, that's not a problem. Those who criticize these programs are the ones who are never invited."
The Left Party, via a statement signed on May 26, 2015, by Jean-Luc Mélenchon and Alexis Corbière, and addressed to the president of France Télévisions, made a similar criticism, lamenting that the program presents a "truncated History, nostalgic for kings and queens, presenting the people as a secondary and brutal historical actor when they mobilize".
The press release also pointed out that of the eighty-eight episodes broadcast since 2008, "only five programs, or 6% of the total, have been devoted to personalities or places linked to the Republic".
Stéphane Bern has responded indirectly to these accusations, reaffirming his commitment to the Republic. In an interview with the French newspaper Libération, he also pointed out that program ratings are one of the criteria used to select the best subjects. Finally, he points out that the aim of these programs is to arouse interest in history in all its diversity:<blockquote>You can't catch flies with vinegar. If you want to reach five million people, you can't do historical dialectics. I'm convinced that what makes history accessible is that you find human passions, love, sex, power and money. People need to identify with it. It's just a gateway, but I'm aware that it's fragmentary.</blockquote>