The 22-year-old Émilien was seen daily on a French TV quiz for two years. Until Sunday evening. After 646 consecutive victories in the popular quiz, he was eliminated. The quiz champion leaves the show with no less than 2.5 million euros in prize money.
Émilien won 1.7 million euros in cash and 800,000 euros in gifts, including travel bags, blenders, vacuum cleaners and 23 cars. “I try to share them with the people around me and I’m going to sell the rest,” he told French media.
The student decided to sign up for the game show Les 12 Coups de midi in 2023. In this quiz, candidates are presented with questions that must be answered at a rapid pace. It was his grandmother who encouraged him to participate, writes Le Monde. “I did it partly to please her.”
“I am very happy that I was allowed to participate for so long,” Émilien said during his last broadcast. “It’s amazing, the experience has already been exceptional for 21 months, I never expected that I could stay that long.” He is the biggest winner in the history of TV competitions in France.
Émilien previously studied history and geography in Toulouse, but stopped temporarily because the studies were difficult to combine with the game show. According to Le Parisien, he wants to study again in 2026. First, he’s taking “a year to enjoy and catch his breath.”