The French minister of transport deals with various burning issues. A look behind the scenes of French government.

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L'exercice de l'état, affairs of state, are a difficult task: the French transport minister juggles various duties with conviction and little sleep. Urgent daily chores on the agenda include whether to privatize railway stations. He is expected to be everywhere: at the site of a motor vehicle accident and at the picket lines. Shielded by his chief of staff and his communications director, every word is pre-tested, analyzed for its consequences on his career and its effect on the government. Sometimes he feels alone as he follows his path, but it's when he veers off course that his career as politician and his popularity both take off...



A walk through the gilded hallways of the French government offer a look behind the curtain at those who pull the strings; a detour takes the audience to the kitchens where strategies and little deals are cooked up. This guided tour is nicely tied up and the characters are subtle and well-rounded. Each scene forms a clear image of this somewhat isolated caste that still seems to be calling the shots. Director Pierre Schoeler could have re-used the title from his last film, Versailles.