This film is based on the testimonies of some of the actors still alive (in 1995-1996) of the Occupation period, whether they were on one side or the other. Each of them tells the story of the French militia, which was created in Vichy at the end of January 1943 by Pierre Laval, from his own point of view.
Apostrophes was a live, weekly, literary, prime-time, talk show on French television created and hosted by Bernard Pivot. It ran for fifteen years (724 episodes) from January 10, 1975, to June 22, 1990, and was one of the most watched shows on French television (around 6 million regular viewers). It was broadcast on Friday nights on the channel France 2 (which was called "Antenne 2" from 1975 to 1992). The hourlong show was devoted to books, authors and literature. The format varied between one-on-one interviews with a single author and open discussions between four or five authors.