The viewer first met Kamel Belghazi in the role of Nourredine, the apprentice cook and boyfriend of the daughter of the great chef Beaumont in the series “Une famille formidable.” Over the episodes, he rose through the ranks to surpass the master and become his son-in-law. Today, he has hung up his chef’s hat and apron (but not for long) to wear the uniform of a gendarme.
This year, Kamel Belghazi portrays one of the heroes in the new police series on TF1 called “Section de Recherche,” which has 52-minute episodes that follow the daily life of a gendarmerie unit specially tasked with solving criminal cases. The series also features recurring actors Xavier Deluc and Jean Pascal Lacoste.
Nice-Première has gone to investigate at Karément about this new “Section de Recherche,” led by the young captain Ghemara who, for the occasion, swapped his boots for blue flip-flops, the most noticeable footwear at the festival!
Nice-Première: Captain Enzo Ghemara, could you introduce me to Kamel Belghazi?
Kamel Belghazi: Hello (Smiling). He’s a notorious delinquent (Laughter). No, no. It’s super complicated. He’s quite kind, down to earth, and very pragmatic. He’s nice.
N-P: Has he committed any crimes?
K.B.: When he was younger? No. He did not go as far as committing a crime. He committed a few minor infractions, nothing more than others. Nothing that would require “cleaning up” with a Kärcher (Smiling). No court, no prison. Kamel Belghazi is an honest man, a good citizen, quite respectful of the rules and the law.
N-P: He switched to playing the role of a gendarmerie captain. Why?
K.B.: I don’t think he chose this role to play cops and robbers but rather because he genuinely wanted to act. But today, being a captain in the gendarmerie is quite something.
N-P: Cop or robber?
K.B.: As a child, he was more on the side of the robbers without being an actual robber. I think we’re always on the side of the robbers when we’re young. There’s a whole narrative about delinquents. Youngsters have a special admiration, a fascination with thieves, probably tied to their personality, I think. When you’re a kid in a group, it’s more fun to be the “robber,” trying to escape others than chasing them. It’s just more fun! (Smiling)
N-P: A thief’s name that comes to mind?
K.B.: Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves.
N-P: And Kamel Belghazi, what kind of thief would he see himself as?
K.B.: Arsène Lupin. A classy thief or like Robin Hood, beyond the myth, I don’t compare myself to Robin Hood: taking from one side to give to others, kind of a social, charitable view of the known market. Sharing resources so everything doesn’t go to the same people. When the law, administration, or job doesn’t allow people to get by, it’s not bad that there are sometimes people like that. “Robin Hoods.” (Smiling)
N-P: Would you have liked to pursue a career in the gendarmerie?
K.B.: At one point, I thought: “Police commissioner, that’s a fine profession” because it involves a sense of detail, investigation, psychology. It’s a job that encompasses many qualities. It’s not for everyone. You need the ability to understand, analyze, synthesize, lead, unite. You need a lot of human qualities to do this job. Yes, it’s a profession that interests me, but I would never have become a gendarme or a police commissioner. I have no repulsion towards these people. Especially now, there are very interesting investigative methods, and there are very brilliant people working in the police and gendarmerie. It’s not just the small-town cop like “The gendarme of St. Tropez” (Smiling). There are really interesting aspects to this profession and also very high-quality people.
