# Loft Story (French TV series)

Loft Story was a French reality show, and it is the first French adaptation of Big Brother franchise. The show generally considered is the first of its kind in France. Loft Story presented by Benjamin Castaldi and broadcast on M6 from 26 April 2001 to 5 July 2001 for the first season and from 11 April 2002 to 4 July 2002 for the second season.
The French title of the show is a play-on-words on loft because the contestants are "locked up" in a loft during their adventure, and Love Story.
The initial Loft Story inspired the creation of a similar show of the same name in Quebec. The famous eye logo is used by both Loft Story versions. It evokes the voyeuristic eye of the television viewer as she or he watches the Lofteurs live in front of the cameras. Some of them get gradually voted off the show by viewers on their phones and the last couple win a house. It caused great controversy in France and the house was attacked by protesters.

## Production
### Format

Loft Story is a slightly re-tooled version of the original Big Brother, toned down slightly for the French market by production company Endemol.
Eleven singles cut off from the outside world and must live in a loft where all rooms (except toilets and a room imposed by the CSA) are equipped with 26 cameras (including 3 infrared cameras, mostly hidden behind one-way mirrors) and microphones. They are filmed 24 hours a day.

### Broadcast

The live stream is slightly delayed on one or more paid channels of the TPS offer, as well as on the Internet during the first season. A daily program is broadcast after editing this live footage.

### Presentation

The show was presented by Benjamin Castaldi. Two hosts co-hosted the live show from the loft: Marie Guillaumond in 2001 and Séverine Ferrer in 2002.
In 2002, during the second season, there was also a show presented by Max and broadcast on Saturday at 23:55 summarizing the events of the week and welcomed the evicted contestants.

## Series overall

| Seasons | Launch date | Finale date | Days | Housemates | Winner(s) | Grand prize | Average ratings | Ratings share |
| Loft Story 1 | 26 April 2001 | 5 July 2001 | 71 | 13 | Loana Petrucciani and Christophe Mercy | A house worth 3 million francs | 4,900,000 | 34.6% |
| Loft Story 2 | 11 April 2002 | 4 July 2002 | 85 | 13 | Thomas Saillofest and Karine Delgado | €250,000 each | 4,300,000 | 31.8% |

## Season 1

* Start Date: 26 April 2001
* End Date: 5 July 2001
* The prize: 3,000,000-franc₣ worth house (€450,000)

### Nominations table

All Housemates entered on Day 1 except for Fabrice and Kimy who entered on Day 7 and Day 11 respectively.
| | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8 | Week 10 | Week 10 | Nomination points received |
| | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8 | Females | Males | Nomination points received |
| Christophe | Not eligible | Kenza, Laure | Not eligible | 4-Julie, 3-Kimy, 2-Laure, 1-Loana | Not eligible | No nominations | No nominations | Male Winner (Day 71) | Male Winner (Day 71) | 26 |
| Loana | Steevy, Aziz | Not eligible | 5-Jean-Édouard, 4-Christophe, 3-Fabrice, 2-Philippe, 1-Steevy | Not eligible | 4-Jean-Édouard, 3-Christophe, 2-Philippe, 1-Fabrice | No nominations | No nominations | Female Winner (Day 71) | Female Winner (Day 71) | 10 |
| Jean-Édouard | Not eligible | Kenza, Laure | Not eligible | 4-Laure, 3-Kimy, 2-Loana, 1-Julie | Not eligible | No nominations | No nominations | Male Runner-Up (Day 71) | Male Runner-Up (Day 71) | 26 |
| Laure | Aziz, Jean-Édouard | Not eligible | 5-Philippe, 4-Christophe, 3-Jean-Édouard, 2-Fabrice, 1-Steevy | Not eligible | 4-Fabrice, 3-Jean-Édouard, 2-Philippe, 1-Christophe | No nominations | No nominations | Female Runner-Up (Day 71) | Female Runner-Up (Day 71) | 14 |
| Fabrice | Not eligible | Kenza, Laure | Not eligible | 4-Kimy, 3-Loana, 2-Laure, 1-Julie | Not eligible | No nominations | No nominations | Evicted (Day 57) | Evicted (Day 57) | 16 |
| Kimy | Exempt | Not eligible | 5-Christophe, 4-Jean-Édouard, 3-Philippe, 2-Fabrice, 1-Steevy | Not eligible | 4-Christophe, 3-Philippe, 2-Fabrice, 1-Jean-Édouard | No nominations | Evicted (Day 50) | Evicted (Day 50) | Evicted (Day 50) | 12 |
| Philippe | Not eligible | Kenza, Laure | Not eligible | 4-Julie, 3-Loana, 2-Laure, 1-Kimy | Not eligible | Evicted (Day 43) | Evicted (Day 43) | Evicted (Day 43) | Evicted (Day 43) | 21 |
| Julie | Aziz, Jean-Édouard | Not eligible | 5-Christophe, 4-Philippe, 3-Jean-Édouard, 2-Fabrice, 1-Steevy | Not eligible | Evicted (Day 36) | Evicted (Day 36) | Evicted (Day 36) | Evicted (Day 36) | Evicted (Day 36) | 10 |
| Steevy | Not eligible | Kimy, Loana | Not eligible | Evicted (Day 29) | Evicted (Day 29) | Evicted (Day 29) | Evicted (Day 29) | Evicted (Day 29) | Evicted (Day 29) | 5 |
| Kenza | Aziz, Jean-Édouard | Not eligible | Evicted (Day 22) | Evicted (Day 22) | Evicted (Day 22) | Evicted (Day 22) | Evicted (Day 22) | Evicted (Day 22) | Evicted (Day 22) | 4 |
| Aziz | Not eligible | Evicted (Day 15) | Evicted (Day 15) | Evicted (Day 15) | Evicted (Day 15) | Evicted (Day 15) | Evicted (Day 15) | Evicted (Day 15) | Evicted (Day 15) | 4 |
| Delphine | Walked (Day 11) | Walked (Day 11) | Walked (Day 11) | Walked (Day 11) | Walked (Day 11) | Walked (Day 11) | Walked (Day 11) | Walked (Day 11) | Walked (Day 11) | 0 |
| David | Walked (Day 6) | Walked (Day 6) | Walked (Day 6) | Walked (Day 6) | Walked (Day 6) | Walked (Day 6) | Walked (Day 6) | Walked (Day 6) | Walked (Day 6) | 0 |
| Notes | none | none | 1 | none | none | none | none | none | none | |
| Against public vote | Aziz, Jean-Édouard | Kenza, Laure | Fabrice, Steevy | Julia, Laure, Loana | Fabrice, Philippe | Kimy, Laure, Loana | Christophe, Fabrice, Jean-Édouard | Laure, Loana | Christophe, Jean-Édouard | |
| Walked | David, Delphine | none | none | none | none | none | none | none | none | |
| Evicted | Aziz 49.6% to save | Kenza 46% to save | Steevy 47% to save | Julie 28.4% to save | Philippe 49.5% to save | Kimy 18% to save | Fabrice 28% to save | Laure 34% to win | Jean-Édouard 43% to win | |
| Evicted | Aziz 49.6% to save | Kenza 46% to save | Steevy 47% to save | Julie 28.4% to save | Philippe 49.5% to save | Kimy 18% to save | Fabrice 28% to save | Loana 66% to win | Christophe 57% to win | |
* ^Note 1 : From now on they will award each Lofteur points, their favourite will receive maximum points and their least favourite will receive one point. The two or more with the fewest points will be up for nomination.
The contestants released a music single under the name 'Les Lofteurs'; 'Up and Down' reached number one in the French charts.

## Season 2

* Start Date: 11 April 2002
* End Date: 4 July 2002
* Prize: €250,000 + €250,000

### Nominations table

All Housemates entered on Day 1 except for Lauryne and Romain who entered on Day 7 and Day 14 respectively.
| | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8 | Week 9 | Week 10 | Week 12 Final | Week 12 Final | Nomination points received |
| | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8 | Week 9 | Week 10 | Females | Males | Nomination points received |
| Thomas | 6-Karine, 5-Julia, 4-Sandra, 3-Angela, 2-Lesly, 1-Lauryne | Not eligible | 5-Karine, 4-Sandra, 3-Lauryne, 2-Angela, 1-Lesly | Not eligible | 4-Karine, 3-Lauryne, 2-Sandra, 1-Angela | Not eligible | 3-Karine, 2-Angela, 1-Sandra | Not eligible | Male Winner (Day 85) | Male Winner (Day 85) | 40 |
| Karine | Not eligible | 6-Thomas, 5-Félicien, 4-David, 3-William 2-Romain, 1-Kamel | Not eligible | 5-Thomas, 4-Félicien, 3-Romain, 2-David, 1-Kamel | Not eligible | 4-Thomas, 3-Romain, 2-Kamel, 1-David | Not eligible | 3-Thomas, 2-Kamel, 1-David | Female Winner (Day 85) | Female Winner (Day 85) | 61 |
| David | 6-Angela, 5-Karine, 4-Sandra, 3-Lesly, 2-Julia, 1-Lauryne | Not eligible | 5-Angela, 4-Lesly, 3-Sandra, 2-Karine, 1-Lauryne | Not eligible | 4-Angela, 3-Sandra, 2-Karine, 1-Lauryne | Not eligible | 3-Angela, 2-Sandra, 1-Karine | Not eligible | Male Runner-up (Day 85) | Male Runner-up (Day 85) | 49 |
| Angela | Not eligible | 6-David, 5-Kamel, 4-Félicien, 3-Romain 2-Thomas, 1-William | Not eligible | 5-David, 4-Kamel, 3-Thomas, 2-Félicien, 1-Romain | Not eligible | 4-David, 3-Kamel, 2-Thomas, 1-Romain | Not eligible | 3-David, 2-Kamel, 1-Thomas | Female Runner-up (Day 85) | Female Runner-up (Day 85) | 58 |
| Kamel | 6-Lesly, 5-Sandra, 4-Angela, 3-Lauryne, 2-Karine, 1-Julia | Not eligible | 5-Lesly, 4-Angela, 3-Sandra, 2-Lauryne, 1-Karine | Not eligible | 4-Angela, 3-Sandra, 2-Lauryne, 1-Karine | Not eligible | 3-Angela, 2-Sandra, 1-Karine | Not eligible | Evicted (Day 71) | Evicted (Day 71) | 48 |
| Sandra | Not eligible | 6-David, 5-Kamel, 4-Romain, 3-Félicien 2-William, 1-Thomas | Not eligible | 5-Kamel, 4-David, 3-Thomas, 2-Romain, 1-Félicien | Not eligible | 4-Kamel, 3-David, 2-Thomas, 1-Romain | Not eligible | Evicted (Day 64) | Evicted (Day 64) | Evicted (Day 64) | 52 |
| Romain | 6-Lauryne, 5-Lesly, 4-Karine, 3-Sandra, 2-Angela, 1-Julia | Not eligible | 5-Karine, 4-Lauryne, 3-Sandra, 2-Angela, 1-Lesly | Not eligible | 4-Karine, 3-Lauryne, 2-Angela, 1-Sandra | Not eligible | Evicted (Day 57) | Evicted (Day 57) | Evicted (Day 57) | Evicted (Day 57) | 32 |
| Lauryne | Not eligible | 6-Kamel, 5-David, 4-Romain, 3-Félicien, 2-Thomas, 1-William | Not eligible | 5-Félicien, 4-Thomas, 3-Romain, 2-Kamel, 1-David | Not eligible | Evicted (Day 50) | Evicted (Day 50) | Evicted (Day 50) | Evicted (Day 50) | Evicted (Day 50) | 37 |
| Félicien | 6-Angela, 5-Karine, 4-Julia, 3-Lesly, 2-Sandra, 1-Lauryne | Not eligible | 5-Karine, 4-Lauryne, 3-Sandra, 2-Angela, 1-Lesly | Not eligible | Evicted (Day 43) | Evicted (Day 43) | Evicted (Day 43) | Evicted (Day 43) | Evicted (Day 43) | Evicted (Day 43) | 30 |
| Lesly | Not eligible | 6-Kamel, 5-Romain, 4-David, 3-Félicien, 2-Thomas, 1-William | Not eligible | Evicted (Day 36) | Evicted (Day 36) | Evicted (Day 36) | Evicted (Day 36) | Evicted (Day 36) | Evicted (Day 36) | Evicted (Day 36) | 32 |
| William | 6-Julia, 5-Karine, 4-Sandra, 3-Angela, 2-Lauryne, 1-Lesly | Not eligible | Evicted (Day 29) | Evicted (Day 29) | Evicted (Day 29) | Evicted (Day 29) | Evicted (Day 29) | Evicted (Day 29) | Evicted (Day 29) | Evicted (Day 29) | 8 |
| Julia | Not eligible | Evicted (Day 22) | Evicted (Day 22) | Evicted (Day 22) | Evicted (Day 22) | Evicted (Day 22) | Evicted (Day 22) | Evicted (Day 22) | Evicted (Day 22) | Evicted (Day 22) | 19 |
| Marlene | Walked (Day 7) | Walked (Day 7) | Walked (Day 7) | Walked (Day 7) | Walked (Day 7) | Walked (Day 7) | Walked (Day 7) | Walked (Day 7) | Walked (Day 7) | Walked (Day 7) | 0 |
| Against public vote | Julia, Lauryne | Thomas, William | Angela, Lesly | David, Kamel, Félicien, Romain | Angela, Karine, Lauryne, Sandra | Romain, Thomas | Karine, Sandra | David, Kamel, Thomas | Angela, Karine | David, Thomas | |
| Walked | Marlene | none | none | none | none | none | none | none | none | none | |
| Evicted | Julia 42% to save | William 47% to save | Lesly 30% to save | Félicien 24% to save | Lauryne 21% to save | Romain 42% to save | Sandra Fewest votes to save | Kamel Fewest votes to save | Angela 49.58% to win | David 48.71% to win | |
| Evicted | Julia 42% to save | William 47% to save | Lesly 30% to save | Félicien 24% to save | Lauryne 21% to save | Romain 42% to save | Sandra Fewest votes to save | Kamel Fewest votes to save | Karine 50.42% to win | Thomas 51.29% to win | |

## Criticism

Loft Story became a craze when it was screened, but as it went on, it became extremely criticized, mocked and belittled by the media: the premise of ordinary young people being filmed most of the time in a cozy loft (and letting themselves out, they got a reputation of being stupid), being voted off by people on phones and getting to win money at the end, got it called high-rated "garbage tv".
Loft Story is considered to be the precursor of reality shows in France where the contestants get voted off by viewers.
Like other Big Brother-style programs, the show's sexual content was criticized as several contestants were seen having intercourse on camera.