Voltaire High
Voltaire High is a French television series created by Marie Roussin and released by Amazon Prime Video on June 14, 2021. Voltaire High follows the adventures of Michèle, Annick and Simone as they join an all-boys' high school alongside 8 other girls in the early 1960s, at the beginning of co-education.
Cast and characters
Main characters
- Léonie Souchaud as Michèle Magnan
- Lula Cotton-Frapier as Annick Sabiani
- Anouk Villemin as Simone Palladino
- Nathan Parent as Henri Pichon
- Baptiste Masseline as Jean-Pierre Magnan, Michèle's big brother
- Gaspard Meier-Chaurand as Alain Laubrac, ward of the State
- Pierre Deladonchamps as Paul Bellanger, Voltaire's chief supervisor
- Nina Meurisse as Camille Couret, English teacher
- Maud Wyler as Jeanne Bellanger, Voltaire's nurse
Supporting characters
- Arthur Legrand as Jean Dupin
- François Rollin as Mr Jacquet, the headteacher
- Gérald Laroche as Louis Douillard, Latin teacher
- Anne Le Ny as Hélène Giraud, history teacher
- Vassili Schneider as Joseph Descamps
- Antoine Werner as Didier Felbec
- Dimitri Fouque as Charles Vergoux
- Enzo Monchauzou as Yves Lamazière
- Adil Mekki as Ahmed Belkacem
- Gaspard Gevin-Hié as Daniel Applebaum
- Maxime d'Aboville as Émile Marcelin, French and philosophy teacher
- Martial Courcier as Raymond Meyer, chemistry teacher
- Rémi Pedevilla as Lucien Moreau, PE teacher
- Camille Charbeau as Maurice Vannel, Voltaire's supervisor
- Edouard Michelon as Léon De Goff, maths teacher
- Antoine Pelletier as Serge Casiro
- Francis Leplay as René Herman, biology teacher
- Margot Bancilhon as Denise, Jeanne Bellanger's girlfriend
- Emilien Vekemans as Roger Lagarrigue
- Karen Alyx as Germaine Magnan
- Christophe Kourotchkine as Gérard Magnan
- Meylie Vignaud as Martine Gomez
- Louis Ould-Yaou as Yves, blouson noir gang member
- Amira Casar as Irène
- Anne Le Guernec as Alice
- Valentine Poorteman as Genevieve Lautret
Filming locations
- Voltaire High: Abbaye royale, Saint-Jean-d'Angély, France
- Magnan Butcher: 9 rue de Verdun, Saint-Jean-d'Angély, France
Awards
Voltaire High received rave reviews in France and around the globe. It has been called "delicious", novel, cross-generational, and groundbreaking.After its success on Prime Video, the series went on to win the Prix du public de la série française at the Canneseries Festival, ahead of other French hits like Lupin. Executive producers Eleonore Dailly and Édouard de Lachomette, who focus on promoting outstanding female voices, championed the modern take of the series on parity and the 1960s sexual revolution: "These educated girls were the trailblazers that helped empower their peers. It shocked me when I found out that French women were forbidden to have their own bank accounts until 1965. It's crucial for us as producers to enable stories of hope and change in our rather tormented times."