In Class Act, Marcel Loiseau agrees to invest in Bernard Tapie’s new business, but their partnership does not last long. Fabrice Luchini plays the role of Marcel Loiseau.
Bernard records and releases an album in the hope of becoming rich and famous. Instead of making him rich, releasing the album puts him in debt. Now, he must find a way to repay the debt as well as keep a roof over his family’s heads.
He comes up with the idea of starting a subscription-based electronics store where subscribers would be able to buy electronics at a very low price. However, he needs an investor, and this is how he gets involved with Marcel Loiseau.
Mr. Loiseau’s dislike of disloyalty
Bernard meets Mr. Loiseau for the first time when he comes to Farid’s garage. Mr. Loiseau is a rich businessman. He built a mall in La Courneuve, and now he wishes to build another. For that, he needs to buy Farid’s garage, but Farid refuses to sell it.
Mr. Loiseau visits Farid every day to convince him. On one such visit, Bernard meets him and thinks about getting him to invest in his new business. Farid warns Bernard not to get involved with Mr. Loiseau because he is bad news, but Bernard does not listen.
He shows up at Mr. Loiseau’s house the next day with a TV in his hand. He tells Mr. Loiseau about his subscription-based store. Mr. Loiseau thinks Bernard’s idea is brilliant and gets ready to invest in it.
However, before that, he asks Bernard whether he finds his secretary, Dominique, pretty or not. Bernard refuses to answer that question, as he is married. He tells Mr. Loiseau that he is loyal to his wife because he loves her, and this answer satisfies Mr. Loiseau.
Since Mr. Loiseau is paying the starting capital, he refuses to name the store Tapie or let Bernard own 50% of it. Mr. Loiseau lets Bernard manage the store and keep 40%, while he himself gets 60%. Additionally, he warns Bernard that he should never try to fool him.
The electronics store is a success, and Bernard plans to expand the business. Mr. Loiseau is ready to do that, but he limits Bernard’s involvement in the new store. Furthermore, he somehow knows that Bernard went to have lunch with Dominique.
The idea of Bernard and Dominique liking each other seems to bother Mr. Loiseau. He warns Bernard to stay away from Dominique because, according to him, loyalty is the most important quality in business.
Bernard ignores his warning and keeps meeting Dominique. When Bernard ends up cheating on his wife with Dominique, Mr. Loiseau shows up at one of Bernard’s family gatherings and reveals that Bernard is having an affair with Dominique, which leads to Bernard’s wife divorcing him.
On top of that, Mr. Loiseau sues Bernard for mismanagement. Bernard loses his shares in the business and is given one franc for them. The court finds Bernard guilty of serious mismanagement, and he is prohibited from owning a business.
Bernard realizes that Farid was right about Mr. Loiseau. The man invested in his idea but took away everything from him the moment Bernard disobeyed him. Mr. Loiseau believed that Dominique was too good for Bernard, but despite everything, he still could not stop Dominique from ending up with Bernard.
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