19:00 to 20:30
Special events

The Comédie-Française and the Collège de France: Two Democratic Utopias?

Éric Ruf, Thomas Römer, William Marx & Mathilde Serrell
The Comédie-Française at the Collège de France
19:00 to 20:30
    Marguerite-de-Navarre Amphitheater, Marcelin-Berthelot Site
    Open to all, subject to availability
    -

    Documents and Media

    Abstract

    In 1530, Francis I founded the Collège des lecteurs royaux—now known as the Collège de France—to provide the nation with the knowledge it needed. One hundred and fifty years later, in 1680, Louis XIV founded the Comédie-Française, granting it a monopoly on French-language theater in Paris. These two centuries-old institutions are based on administrative models that are unique today, in which the leading actors and actresses of both organizations are at the heart of their operations and decision-making. Is this the reason for their longevity?
    A discussion moderated by Mathilde Serrell, journalist and producer at France Inter.

    Éric Ruf

    Éric Ruff (Jean-Louis Fernandez-coll. Comédie-Française)
    Éric Ruf © Jean-Louis Fernandez—Comédie-Française collection.

    An actor, director, and set designer, Éric Ruf joined the Comédie-Française as an actor in 1993 and served as its general administrator from 2014 to 2025. There, he pursued an artistic vision that brought together both master directors and emerging talents.
    As a director of both plays and operas, in December 2024 he staged a new production of Paul Claudel’s Le Soulier de satin at the Comédie-Française’s Salle Richelieu. As a set designer for his own productions, he regularly creates sets for productions directed by Denis Podalydès, Clément Hervieu-Léger, Valérie Lesort, Christian Hecq, Julie Deliquet,
    and others. As an actor, he works in theater, television, and film, where he was recently seen in *The Three Musketeers: D’Artagnan* and *The Three Musketeers: Milady*, films directed by Martin Bourboulon. In 2020, he launched *La Comédie continue!*, a web series by the Comédie-Française that aired seven days a week during the eight weeks of lockdown. Given the public’s enthusiastic response to the series, he continued to develop the concept by creating *Théâtre à la table*, a new form of audiovisual theater.
    Éric Ruf is a Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters.

    Mathilde Serrell

    Mathilde Serrell
    Photo credit: Rudy Waks for Télérama.

    Mathilde Serrell is a radio, television, and print journalist. She has been working in the field for about twenty years, starting at lemonde.fr, then moving on to Radio Nova, Canal+, France Culture, and now France Inter.
    Whether through her column “Un Monde Nouveau” (Monday through Thursday on the morning show) or her program “Un Monde Nouveau: Grand Format” (every Saturday at 6:10 p.m.), she explores the transformations of our time through cultural phenomena and societal shifts.
    With “Nouvelles Têtes” (Monday through Thursday on the morning show), she gives a voice to emerging figures in culture and social empowerment.
    She regularly collaborates with the Comédie-Française as well as the magazine “Légende.”

    Speaker(s)

    Thomas Römer

    Professor and Chairman of the Collège de France

    William Marx

    Professor at the Collège de France

    Éric Ruf

    Comédie-Française

    Mathilde Serrell

    journalist and producer at France Inter

    Events

    The Comédie-Française and the Collège de France: Two Democratic Utopias?
    Éric Ruf, Thomas Römer, William Marx & Mathilde Serrell

    Special events
    19:00 to 20:30

    Saying the lines
    Éric Ruf, William Marx, Denis Podalydès, Danièle Lebrun & Judith Chaine

    Special events
    19:00 to 20:30

    Theater audiences
    Éric Ruf & Florence Naugrette

    Special events
    19:00 to 20:30

    Stage space
    Éric Ruf & Anne Marret

    Special events
    19:00 to 20:30

    Actors and actresses, roles and jobs
    Éric Ruf & Pierre-Michel Menger

    Special events
    19:00 to 20:30

    Play: in theaters, cinemas and elsewhere
    Éric Ruf, Antoine Lilti & Isabelle Nanty

    Special events
    19:00 to 20:30

    Theater and power
    Éric Ruf, Patrick Boucheron & Florence Naugrette

    Special events
    19:00 to 20:30

    See also

    The Comédie-Française at the Collège de France
    The Comédie-Française at the Collège de France