A piano hums a few notes. The camera rises. The drone soon overlooks the three floors of a white mansion. Its garden is bathed in the Moselle. In low angle, the blue sky shines. In February 2019, Adrien and Maëva C. show their YouTube subscribers a tour of their “half-castle”. Their four toddlers run through the rooms. Nearly 200,000 people vibrate with the adventures of this ideal family-like tribe.
Two years later, the residence of Châtel-sur-Moselle (Vosges) sounds empty. The two thirties are separated. Thousands of anonymous people laugh at their misfortunes, mock their every move and sometimes insult them. Pedophile comments attack their children.
A pioneering family on social networks
The phenomenon of “family vlogs”, a contraction of “blog” and “video”, has been spreading in France for nearly five years. These families broadcast their lives on YouTube and monetize their audience through advertising and product placement.
Young parents and kids love this content … often very banal. The most emblematic French channel of its kind, Neo & Swan, counts more than five million spectators. Abroad, the holder of the world record for the number of subscribers is seven years old: seventy million fans follow this little Russian called Nastya!
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“AdriChou” and “MavaChou” are among the pioneers of the genre. These two website managers established in the Grand-Est posted their first videos at the end of 2015. Meals, shopping and everyday hassles punctuate the program of their channel.
In two years, nearly 30,000 people subscribed. “The mom without taboo is the buzz on YouTube”, enthuses the local press in 2017. Tiphaine, 22, discovered them at that time. She would almost apologize: “It was the typical example of a harmonious, perfect family. It made me dream. “
The quest for notoriety at all costs
Parents complement each other well; she, the brunette, dynamic, sporty; him, more in roundness, good body, the red beard provided. Both perfect their image in a popular program, “We exchanged our moms”, on NT1. The voiceover describes a “strict mom who likes to be respected”. His index finger rests on his lips when his son raises his nose from his plate: “Shh! Mom is talking. “
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In the house, a flat screen hangs on the purple wall of a child’s room. The 27-year-old mother admits: “I am not suspicious of tablets, technologies…” On the contrary. The young influencer is always looking for more virtual notoriety. In a sequence that has gone viral, she is annoyed that a clip supposed to promote her recent breast operation only received “2000 views” on the first day.
His clear eyes focus on the camera. “I have never done so lousy as a result. […] It’s rotten to 32,000 subscribers! Finally, you explain to me! I’ve been asked how many times this video? And what ? 2000 views? I’m sorry, […] to my audience, that’s crap. »A snide community is forming on Twitter. The praise gives way to diversions of their videos, insults. Clashes with other influencers are increasing. Internet users, especially women, are annoyed by this shrew obsessed with her shopping site.
Controversies and microscandals
Children, they believe, would be poorly pampered, malnourished, not sufficiently supervised. Chiara, 29, a saleswoman in Montpellier (Hérault), is one of these fierce observers: “Parents have invited everyone to look at their daily life. How can we be surprised that people form an opinion? “
The duo of YouTubers got into new trouble in February 2018. Its operation “Little Smile” must provide donations and equipment to “orphanages and homes in need”. Almost 4000 euros are raised. But foreign associations refuse to let them film all the time. Maëva gets annoyed: “Blurring faces, no, that has no interest. People want to see the faces of children. “Budding detectives unearth old racist comments … Suspected of acting out of interest, the duo ends up sending the donations.
Perverse effect of social networks, controversies and microscandals boost the celebrity of the couple. Both browse Instagram, TikTok, Twitch, Facebook and their respective YouTube accounts, plus a channel dedicated to the paranormal. Élodie follows their adventures from Nevers (Nièvre). “It’s like a Netflix series. There are always twists and turns. “
Anonymous calls, espionage …
The sitcom turns to trash in 2020. The couple is torn apart. The father wonders several times about the supposed infidelities of his ex-wife who, he accuses, “did not want a child”. The “18-25” forum of jeuxvideo.com is rebelling. The site is known to have hosted numerous cyberbullying campaigns, especially against women.
Anonymous calls were made to the four children’s school, aged 5 to 10. Internet users spy on the mother’s home. The photograph of a vehicle parked in front of his garage is posted on the Internet. A clue, according to its author, of the frivolity of the YouTuber.
The custody process turns into hysteria. Two clans are formed. A group accuses the father of having filmed them for a long time during this difficult period. “I don’t put them on (on stage) like that because I want to exhibit them, he defends himself one day live. […] It works a lot better than putting my head on its own, that’s all. “
Family blogs, a “gray area” in legislation
Maëva, she ends up removing all of the content in which they appeared. By e-mail, she assures us that she has “never made an excessive partnership with them”. “The few times the children participated in a toy presentation, they received an income […] and will therefore be able to get their money back when they turn 18, ”she explains. The “followers” revel in their household scenes. Debate their accusations of violence with cover-up words. Monday, the couple tore off their offspring at the end of school … The mayor of the village, appalled, said to have discovered the situation that day. The municipality is considering whether to seize social services.
Solicited, both parents declined our interview requests. To regulate this phenomenon of YouTube channels dedicated to minors, Parliament adopted a law at the end of October. The text, soon in force, institutes a protective regime within the framework of well-defined activities such as “unboxing”, the opening of gifts offered by brands.
Its promoter, the deputy Bruno Studer (LREM), recognizes that family blogs constitute a “gray area” in the legislation. Adapting the law takes time. Adrien and Maëva, them, publish their videos in a few clicks. This week, their subscribers were treated to new unboxing every day.
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