Franck Desplanques is the editor-in-chief of the program “Rendez-vous en terre inconnue”, broadcast by France 2. Photographer and author of documentaries, he shared 15 years of his life with the Nenets, nomadic people of Siberia. This week, this great traveler put his suitcases in the Pink City. The opportunity for a break and reunion with the team of “Natives”, this Toulouse magazine decided on the root peoples with whom it has been collaborating since June 2020.

When you go to the different destinations, how are the exchanges with the communities going?

The idea is to gradually establish oneself in the community. Interested people come to me on their own to ask what’s going on, and the exchanges are generally very nice. I stay an average of a month and a half on site. Most productions shoot quickly, we are lucky to be able to take the time and discuss, that’s what makes the difference. We make two films a year. This takes us four months of preparation per film on average.

Where will the next issue of “Rendez-vous en Terre” take place?

I will not tell you where the next film that we are going to shoot will take place, but the next one which may be shown one summer shot in Madagascar with a personality that you know well: the Toulousain Oli. The shoot went very well, it was not a great guest.

What messages do you want to send through your show?

We try to have the most objective look possible on these peoples. Today, on a tendency to take shortcuts, draw conclusions quickly. We often forget the difficulties of their life to keep only long sentences which are often caricatures of their daily life.

We say we need them, it’s true, but they also need us. Most of the time, these peoples are in difficulty, being able to participate in their recognition is the least of things. We tend to forget the suffering they can endure by saying: they don’t understand, they are resilient. Not at all, they go through a lot of suffering and hardship. This cartoonish aspect can make people forget the difficulties they encounter. There are wonderful moments, but also very hard ones.

Is that why you believe that progress is beneficial to them?

We have the impression that modernity is going to destroy them. It’s a risk, it’s true, but with modernity, great things are happening: access to healthcare, education, work. We must not forget that they also need to improve their daily lives, and that their children are living better.

At our level, it is difficult to express an opinion, we are in exceptional comfort and tend to forget that it is up to them to choose their future. They must have the choice of going towards modernity. For them, evolution does not mean disappearance, but transformation. We tend to think that modernity is the end of it when not at all.

are the main threats to these peoples?

Each population has its specific problems, but I do not know of an isolated population which does not suffer from a problem linked to climate change, which is not under the pressure of large industries that want to exploit their forests, land, water, and under the player of a dominant population, who more or less despises them.

Can you talk about your collaboration with “Natives”, this Toulouse magazine dedicated to indigenous peoples?

Few newspapers take the trouble to talk about root peoples as “Natives” does. I am delighted with this collaboration because it is a showcase, a possibility of knowledge, access to these populations, transmission is very important to make them recognized. “Natives” is an ambitious project, the team is passionate. I hope she continues.

The broadcast date of the next issue of “Rendez-vous en terre inconnue” with Oli as guest is not yet known. “Natives” is for sale on the magazine’s website.