Zinc rooftops, Haussmannian buildings, Art Deco metro entrances... We are not on the Grands Boulevards, in Montmartre, or Belleville, but in Maisoncelles-en-Brie, in Seine-et-Marne, about fifty kilometers from Paris. It is here, near the Coulommiers-Voisins airfield, on a former NATO military base, that the company TSF, specializing in rental equipment for film shoots, has built the "Paris Streets" backlot. These unique open-air film sets in France, which recreate the streets of the capital in full scale, were inaugurated by the French Minister of Culture, Rachida Dati, on October 2. It is also here that Zinedine Zidane carried the Olympic torch to secretly film a segment for the Paris 2024 opening ceremony clip, aired worldwide by France Télévisions at the end of July.
This more-than-life-like Paris was built on 1.5 hectares within a site that spans 50 hectares, in the middle of the fields, "in just 12 months," emphasizes Thierry de Segonzac. A project that the president and founder of TSF had been nurturing for about twenty years. "Backlots existed all over the world, particularly in Eastern Europe, but not in France, which is the leading European film producer, recalls the man who led FICAM (Fédération des Industries du Cinéma, de l'Audiovisuel et du Multimédia) for fifteen years and chaired Pôle Media Grand Paris until 2019. Despite the availability of film studios in our country and the introduction of audiovisual, cinema, and international tax credits, national and foreign productions requiring large backlots continued to relocate. For years, I searched for the ideal site, free from noise, urbanization, and financially sustainable. This location also had to be able to accommodate the studio program we are developing in parallel." The backlot is indeed the first phase of the TSF Studios 77 project, which will include 12 soundstages and 14 workshops and storage areas by 2026.
A France 2030 Project
When TSF identified this former airbase and wanted to acquire it, assured of the support of the former mayor of the city, Franck Riester, former French Minister of Culture and, at that time, French Minister of Foreign Trade, the call for projects La Grande Fabrique de l’image had just been launched. This part of the France 2030 recovery plan, dedicated to cinema and the animation industry, is implemented on behalf of the French government by the CNC (The National Center for Cinema and the Moving Image) and the Caisse des Dépôts. "France 2030 promised us significant support if we were innovative and had an exemplary environmental footprint," says Thierry de Segonzac. Its contribution represents nearly 15% of the overall budget for TSF Studios 77, which is estimated at 98 million euros, including 20 million euros for the Parisian sets. "Together with TSF’s self-financing capacity, which was 20%, the France 2030 aid allowed us to secure banking support from our financial partners, IFCIC, BPI Île-de-France, and Natixis-Coficiné, and then begin the construction of the backlot."
The project kicked off in the summer of 2023. The task of designing this fake Paris was entrusted to set designer Johann George and his team, with the goal of meeting the national and international demand for filming in the City of Light without facing its constraints (noise disturbances, inconvenience to residents and shopkeepers, compliance with security requirements, etc.). "Here, productions can shoot in silence or, on the contrary, film noisy or even dangerous scenes that would be prohibited in public spaces."
The backlot replicates the typical architecture of Parisian neighborhoods, from Haussmannian Paris to the industrial Paris of the 10th arrondissement, including Montmartre and Ménilmontant. These sets, which depict Paris from the 19th century to the present day, span 730 meters of facades, 650 meters of streets, and 172 meters of boulevards. Everything is modular according to the needs of the productions: a private mansion can be transformed into an embassy, a carriage door can become a ministry porch, an entrance to a hospital, or a passage in the 7th arrondissement… Even the metro entrance can be turned into a blockhouse or covered and converted into a marketplace. "Productions can use these sets directly or adapt them to their needs, scenarios, and historical requirements. They can modify them and create extensions," explains Thierry de Segonzac. "In technical industries and studio work, it's usually the production that dictates the demand. The resources and sets are created for a specific production or need. Here, it’s the opposite, he observes, which is why we must offer neutral, timeless sets".
There are no markings on the ground or fake cobblestones, only asphalt. The teams are free to add a surface coating (tiles, sand, gravel, etc.) "The challenge was to build these sets at a cost level that allows a producer to shoot here without it being more expensive than shooting on location in a natural setting. But at the same time, it allows them to do much more," analyzes Thierry de Segonzac. "This is the key to the backlot. And it’s the performance we were able to achieve with Yann Arnaud, the executive producer of the project, Johann George, the set designer, as well as our architect Philippe Giroux, and TACHAU BTP, who handled the structural work and construction, he continues. This backlot is intended for both foreign and French productions. There will be no financial discrimination, especially for independent French productions that fall under Annex 3 or produce short films. We are working on a pricing structure adapted to these types of productions. In return, we’ll ask for a bit of flexibility in terms of scheduling".
57 facades, 592 windows, 47 doors
The sets were fabricated on-site, just a few steps away, in two workshops – one dedicated to carpentry and pre-assembly of installations, the other to locksmithing, painting, and sculpting the elements. It is here that the 57 facades, 592 windows, and 47 doors of the Parisian backlot were created. The teams built and molded the sets based on plans and photographs of buildings. All the facades, which were intentionally dirtied and aged to give a more lifelike appearance to this world-famous Paris, are made of plaster mounted on wooden structures. "The materials used, especially by the plasterers, are bio-based and sustainable. There’s very little steel, explains Thierry de Segonzac. The backlot concept itself is eco-friendly. It allows for modifications to the sets without demolition. This advantage also saves production costs on demolition, which accounts for at least 25% of the decoration budget. We guarantee the protection of producers' rights over the sets they may build, allowing others, for example, to partially modify them so they are no longer recognizable." Demountable, storable, and recyclable, the sets are designed to last for about fifteen years. "We made sure to keep the carbon footprint as low as possible. This will also be the case for our studios," adds the president of TSF. "The sound stages will be heated by heat pumps and cooled by Canadian wells buried underground. The roofs will be equipped with photovoltaic panels that will produce 2 megawatts of electrical power." During the second phase of the project, set to begin in early 2025, TSF also plans to create a material library, allowing producers to source eco-friendly set elements and materials on-site.
Thirty plasterers worked together – a first in France – on the Parisian backlot. They are part of the army of little hands and craftsmen (designers, construction managers, locksmiths, carpenters, painters, riggers...) who helped build this fake Paris. In total, 140 people worked on the decoration teams and around 40 were involved in the construction and civil engineering teams, most of whom come from Seine-et-Marne. "A film shoot typically brings together between 50 and 200 technicians, not including the decoration teams who work on-site before the production arrives. In terms of employment, we estimate that about 300 temporary workers will rotate on projects being filmed and developed at the backlot, says Thierry de Segonzac, who plans to integrate decoration students into the workshops. This number will increase once the studios are completed. Add to that the use of equipment suppliers, catering, and hospitality services...". These are direct and indirect economic benefits for the Seine-et-Marne region and its local workforce.
A 360° Unobstructed View
TSF's program is not limited to the Parisian sets. In addition to the studios that will be built on a ten-hectare site, the Maisoncelles-en-Brie location also offers a vast 30-hectare playground for productions to shoot their films. "With a 360° unobstructed view of farmland, free from noise and visual pollution," reports Thierry de Segonzac. A few months ago, three battle scenes for the series The Walking Dead, set to take place at Mont-Saint-Michel, were filmed in this massive area. "Productions can create new sets there. For example, we started building a section of the Butte Montmartre. It's up to a crew to expand it by constructing buildings." Thierry de Segonzac also points out that "the site is easily accessible. It is located against the usual traffic flow and its congestion, about forty minutes by car from the capital. Productions can use public transportation or carpool. They also have the option of staying nearby in bungalows 3 kilometers from the backlot or at hotels, some of which are about ten minutes from the site".
Among the upcoming announced projects, a feature film set during World War I, two others taking place around 1940, as well as commercials and short series. "French productions are considering establishing themselves permanently in certain areas of the backlot. The BBC is also thinking about setting up two series there in the second half of 2025. At this stage, we are primarily in the consultation phases, but the backlot is generating curiosity and enthusiasm from professionals," says Thierry de Segonzac..».
TSF has developed a tool that allows visiting productions to view 3D plans of the backlot. The goal is to help them visualize and imagine how they could set up a shoot here, in this "Cinecittà à la française". .
