Flo on France 2: why the biopic about sailor Florence Arthaud angered her family

The biopic Flo, directed by Géraldine Danon and starring Stéphane Caillard, retraces the extraordinary journey of Florence Arthaud. As the first woman to win the Route du Rhum in 1990, the famous sailor deserved a tribute worthy of her immense talent. However, behind the maritime epic, the film's release was preceded by a severe legal and family storm.

A legal action filed by the sailor's daughter

As soon as the project was announced and presented at the Cannes Film Festival, a clear fracture arose between the production team and the champion's relatives. Concerned about how her mother's image would be portrayed, her only daughter, Marie Arthaud-Lingois, took emergency legal action to obtain the full script. Although the Paris judicial court rejected this request in April 2023, tensions only continued to mount.

The brother's anger: a portrait deemed too dark

Opposition quickly shifted to moral grounds. Hubert Arthaud, the sailor's brother, did not hesitate to describe the film as completely distorted. According to his family, Florence Arthaud's sporting achievements were overshadowed by an excessive focus on her flaws and intimate struggles. Several factual inaccuracies were also criticized, including the depiction of a 1974 car accident where she was merely a passenger.

The director's response

Faced with criticism, Géraldine Danon remained firm. As a longtime friend of the champion, the filmmaker claimed her artistic freedom. To ease tensions and respect the privacy of living individuals, an explicit disclaimer was ultimately added to the credits, establishing the film as a fiction inspired by real events.