Life is good for Paul Mirabel, the new sense of humor

There are signs that never fail.

His show, on display at the Théâtre du Marais in Paris, is sold out until mid-January.

His sketch at the last Montreux festival was seen more than 10 million times on the Web, a historic record, stronger than Blanche Gardin.

His style - atypical, efficient and without the slightest vulgarity - will propel him to the stage of the prestigious Rond-Point theater in the spring.

And his voice, recognizable among a thousand, has earned him joining the team of chroniclers of Nagui on France Inter since Thursday.

So much for the facts.

And the observation, implacable: Paul Mirabel, 24, is the new sensation of French humor.

When we meet him on this last Friday of the summer, the funniest ex-student in France does not brush aside this good news with the back of his hand.

But it does not roll mechanics so far.

“My dreams, I have exceeded them for a very long time, he confides.

I have goals, of course, but that's all the more.

"

A 2.0 phenomenon that has opened many doors for him

Last year, for the first portrait that we devoted to this rising star which was going to integrate the 2019 promo of the Parisian Hope Humor Stars, Paul Mirabel wore a t-shirt bearing the image of an American rapper.

This year, his skinny chest - “I have the same muscle mass as 0% yogurt,” he slips into his show - sports the colors of the little Minnie Mouse.

A shift that sums up the unique personality of this funny zebra.

His strength?

A very special style, an immediate signature.

From the first moments on stage, his slender physique, his phrasing that highlights the falls of jokes and this touching awkwardness enhanced with a charming hint of weirdness hit the mark.

Give it a minute, it bends a room over backwards.

Give it eight, as in his Montreux video in which he mocks “his head as a secretary who is called Chantal”, he triggers 11 million views in six months.

And sees his circle of aficionados grow, grow.

“At first, I had feedback from people who were really interested in humor.

Then there were my little brother's friends.

Afterwards, friends of my parents.

And there, it even affects those of my grandparents, ”he smiles.

A 2.0 phenomenon that has opened many doors for him.

Influential YouTubers McFly and Carlito invited him to their show.

On the web, Bigflo and Oli have declared their love for the young resident of the Jamel Comedy Club troupe.

He is also dubbed by the new generation of stand-ups, from Fary to Roman Frayssinet.

A whirlwind that does not affect its serenity.

“It's nice to be recognized by people in the field, to be a little

” he emphasizes, very simply.

He blackens whole notebooks with jokes by hand

He's 24, then.

A young man of his time, well identified by the Instagram generation even if he… no longer has the application on his phone!

"I uninstalled it during confinement," he reveals.

I had a hard time wasting time on it.

You can spend 4-5 hours there!

I prefer to spend this time on something I master: writing and working.

"

“Bosser”, verb from the first group that he conjugates all the time.

"I have to tell him sometimes

, to force him not to do open scenes at least once a week," smiles his producer Emilie Kindinis.

Open stages - passages of a few minutes in Parisian comedy clubs - he can do up to five or six per evening.

The rest of the time, he blackens entire notebooks with jokes by hand.

Some end up on stage, others in the trash.

“Before, out of ten valves, there were only two that passed.

There, it can go to 5 or 6: I feel that I am fairer in terms of tone, character.

I used to let people tell me I was funny.

Now it's me telling them

I don't give them a choice, ”he laughs.

The public pays him back.

On stage, he is more and more expected.

A pressure that he transforms into positive adrenaline.

"The fact that people know you and are happy to see you, it gives a confidence that I don't have in life, I say to myself

.

Like when you're in love, it gives a little excitement.

"

Conquering Nagui fans on France Inter

An excitement barely tarnished by the health situation.

“The masks, the context, it gives a little additional difficulty.

I hope that when it returns to normal, it will be like in Dragon Ball: we will have trained with weights for a year, and we can finally take them off, it will be easier!

"

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While waiting for the end of the masks, he released his columnist helmet at France Inter.

A new exercise that will allow him to hit a new target.

He who seduced the fans of McFly and Carlito attacks those of Nagui.

"I would like to touch them as well as each other, strike on both sides", he hammers without showing the muscles.

After radio, TV?

The boy, in great demand, could quickly bounce back into a serial format.

“I have things that don't fit in the show that could end up on screen,” he admits.

In humor, there are several branches: stand-up, comedy, writing… I don't want to rediscover the boredom you can have at school.

"

No weariness, then, but not a lot of free time either.

“There are only 24 hours in a day, I leave my house early in the morning, I come home, it is 2 am, that closes a lot of doors for a normal life.

I haven't seen a football match for… I don't know how long, admits this fan of the Montpellier club who compared himself to Olivier Giroud for his first column on Inter.

But I really like what I do… ”So do we.