Previously, in the second episode of Class Act, Bernard Tapie faced legal trouble from his business partner, Marcel Loiseau, which led to a court verdict that banned Tapie from owning any business in the future. Tapie’s personal life also suffered from family and marital issues. Tapie started working on a project that turned out to be a new business called Heart Assistance, an emergency health service for heart patients. Dr. Nahon joined him, but things went downhill when the service turned out to be unreliable. However, moving on from the failure, Tapie’s next venture was to acquire a dormant brochure factory, and to get it off the ground, he convinced a banker to invest in it. He also proposed marriage to Dominique, and she agreed. The fate of this new business venture is uncertain, leaving us curious about what will happen next.
In episode 3, we saw Bernard Tapie’s success with the Diguet-Deny brochure factory. Finally, after overcoming many hurdles, he seemed to have found his footing, and the company was now owned by his wife, Dominique, who was also expecting a child. Tapie was full of ambition, generating good revenue from the factory and even giving bonuses to his employees. However, a hiccup arose when Dominique heard about a dissatisfied bookseller named Mr. Couteanceau, who had negative feedback about the book’s quality. Tapie, undeterred, ventured into another business opportunity: a slaughterhouse. His financial advisor, Boegart, suggested investing in the meat business would potentially help him gain massive profits.
Did Tapie Go With The Slaughterhouse Business Venture?
Meanwhile, Dominique took matters into her own hands and met with Couteanceau, attempting to win his trust by showing him a book bound with an advanced machine from the US. She had learned valuable business tactics from her husband and proudly represented the company as its owner. Despite her efforts, Couteanceau remained hesitant to do business with Diguet-Deny. In a desperate move, Dominique banged the book on the table quite a few times to prove its sturdiness, which eventually led her to win Couteanceau’s trust. Meanwhile, Tapie wasn’t quite into the slaughterhouse business, which didn’t sit well with him. Getting frustrated by his disgust and the heat inside the office, he proposed installing an air conditioner to make it more comfortable for employees. However, the secretary, Nicole, rejected the idea as unaffordable. It became apparent that Tapie was exploring various business ventures in his quest to elevate his status, but the slaughterhouse venture didn’t seem promising.
Dominique and Tapie welcomed Alexis and his wife to their home to enjoy a pleasant reunion. During this visit, Alexis confided in Tapie about a significant business project involving Wonder Batteries. Alexis said it was highly confidential, but little did he know that he confided in the wrong person. This revelation sparked an idea in Tapie’s mind. He dropped the idea of doing business that harmed animals. Instead, he decided to pursue buying the entire Wonder Battery Company. However, his financial advisor, Boegart, stated clearly that it was impossible for Tapie to receive funds from the bank to buy the company. So he advised selling Diguet-Deny to secure the necessary funds. Dominique agreed with the plan, but Tapie couldn’t just give up on their family business.
Tapie sought his father’s help to arrange a meeting with the workers’ union representative at Wonder. Despite his father’s warning about their growing greed, Tapie and Dominique were determined to seize this opportunity to become the owners of Wonder. Meanwhile, Dominique faced challenges as Tapie’s mother became overly protective during her pregnancy.
Did Tapie Sell Diguet-Deny?
Consequently, Tapie went ahead with the sale of Diguet-Deny, keeping the concerns of his workers in mind. He invited the prominent businessman and politician, Charles Coupant, who was quite impressed with the brochure factory’s use of highly advanced machines from the US. However, Coupant proposed outsourcing the factory and relocating it somewhere else, which Tapie firmly rejected. Tapie might be a greedy man, but he never wanted to jeopardize his workers’ lives. He decided to go back to his original plan, which had yet to be revealed. Meanwhile, Dominique went into labor, giving birth to a healthy child.
Finally, after Tapie became a father, he had some stability in life. But his greed didn’t diminish, nor did his wife’s. Tapie’s father, Jean, being a member of the union of the worker community of Wonder, set up a meeting for his son. But as Tapie presented his proposal that he would buy the company for one symbolic franc, he became the subject of mockery and laughter. Tapie found himself facing tough competition from Alexis, who was bidding 350 million francs to buy Wonder. Tapie realized that he needed a new strategy. Initially, the union didn’t trust Tapie’s plans to innovate the company. Feeling the pressure, Tapie decided to step back from buying Wonder, but Dominique encouraged him not to give up. One night, when Tapie was watching a television report about the Emir of Dubai and his successful overseas business ventures, it inspired him to hatch a plan. He approached Nicole, his secretary, and asked for her assistance in expanding their business.
What Was Tapie’s Plan? Did He Manage To Buy Wonder?
Tapie devised a scheme where Nicole would contact Alexis and pretend to be the intermediary for Rachid ben Saif Al Maktoum, the Emir of Maktoum. Alexis agreed to meet, but it wasn’t clear what Tapie’s ultimate plan was. The next day, Tapie involved Farid in a bunch of lies and deception to ensnare Alexis. The story took an intriguing turn as Tapie plotted a new course for his business endeavors.
In a clever move, Tapie dressed up Farid as the Emir of Maktoum and Nicole as his intermediary. They pretended to strike a business deal with Alexis, who was, in his mind, all set to become the president of Wonder. Nicole and Farid, posing as Emir and his secretary, claimed to have inside information about Alexis’ supposed 350 million franc payment to buy Wonder. Initially, Alexis had doubts, but in a clever tactic, Nicole exaggerated the lie and told Alexis that the Emir of Dubai was actually in a business deal with China and was willing to buy Wonder. As Alexis realized that China was planning to buy Wonder and make him a shareholder, he admitted the truth. He didn’t actually have 350 million francs; it was all a ruse to gain Wonder’s trust. Farid and Nicole recorded Alexis’s confession under his nose. Then they approached Wonder and played it for the union representatives, who realized that they were dealing with a dishonest person. They also reflected on the differences between Tapie and Alexis. While Alexis was about to deceive them, Tapie demonstrated honesty and a genuine concern for the workers despite not having the money. As a result, Wonder was handed over to Tapie, making him the company’s president. This turn of events didn’t sit well with Alexis or even his wife, who was once close to Dominique. She felt extremely betrayed by Dominique and confronted her. However, Dominique proudly declared it was all part of a game in which Alexis had lost.
Tapie’s journey as president of Wonder brought new challenges. He discovered that Wonder was already in debt, owing 150 million francs. This crisis required Tapie to find a solution. Charles Coupant, however, suggested relocating Diguet-Deny to Asia and outsourcing the factory, a move that could bring Tapie immense wealth but put his workers at risk. Tapie found himself torn between saving his workers at Diguet-Deny and securing the success of Wonder. It was a difficult decision, and the workers who had once trusted him now felt betrayed as the Diguet-Deny factory closed or seemed to be relocated, causing financial hardship for them.
While Tapie attended press conferences and spoke passionately about his business endeavors, his father was not pleased with his impulsive and greedy decisions. Tapie’s path as a business leader was filled with tough choices and consequences, and it remained to be seen how he would come up with a solution in the upcoming episodes.
