Hours and historical meetings, Pierre Assouline has composed an anthology of the best extracts presented in the form of a primer, which he had commented on by a surprised Bernard Pivot.
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
 Bernard PivotSelf | Self |
 Pierre AssoulineSelf | Self |
| RRoland ToporSelf (archive footage) | Self (archive footage) |
 Françoise SaganSelf (archive footage) | Self (archive footage) |
 Gabriel MatzneffSelf (archive footage) | Self (archive footage) |
 Bernard-Henri LévySelf (archive footage) | Self (archive footage) |
 Patrick ModianoSelf (archive footage) | Self (archive footage) |
 Alexandr SolzhenitsynSelf (archive footage) | Self (archive footage) |
 Marguerite YourcenarSelf (archive footage) | Self (archive footage) |
 François MitterrandSelf (archive footage) | Self (archive footage) |
 Marguerite DurasSelf (archive footage) | Self (archive footage) |
 Daniel Cohn-BenditSelf (archive footage) | Self (archive footage) |
 Denise BombardierSelf (archive footage) | Self (archive footage) |
 Roland BarthesSelf (archive footage) | Self (archive footage) |
 Élisabeth BadinterSelf (archive footage) | Self (archive footage) |
 Muhammad AliSelf (archive footage) | Self (archive footage) |