Released on September 11, 2026, on the platform HBO, the four-part documentary series Professeur Raoult vs le gang des Cerises investigates the COVID-19 pandemic controversies surrounding Didier Raoult and the promotion of hydroxychloroquine. According to co-author Caroline Benarrosh, the project examines the scientific debates and public clashes that emerged after Raoult, then head and co-founder of the IHU Méditerranée Infection in Marseille, championed the antimalarial drug as a treatment.
The documentary centers on a collective of whistleblower scientists who scrutinized the published research originating from Marseille during the early months of the global health crisis in 2020. Benarrosh explained that the investigative direction shifted significantly after the production team connected with Magali Carcopino-Tusolini, an angiologist and the daughter of Professor Raoult.
According to the documentary creators, Magali Carcopino-Tusolini initiated an independent review of her father’s research studies to evaluate their scientific validity during the initial 2020 pandemic lockdowns. Operating without disclosing her identity on social media initially, she connected with other whistleblowers who shared the objective of examining clinical trial anomalies. This network adopted the moniker “Cerises trottinettes,” a name derived from a blend of an English idiom regarding cherry-picking data and a phrase by Didier Raoult who claimed that scooters caused more deaths than Covid-19.
The series features interviews with various figures involved in the controversy, including former French Health Ministers Agnès Buzyn and Olivier Véran, alongside Professor Raoult himself. The production utilizes archival footage to chronicle the public polarization surrounding treatment protocols, vaccine rollouts, and the intense online scrutiny directed at critics of the Marseille institute’s findings.
Regulatory and Professional Fallout for Didier Raoult
The release of the documentary coincides with formal disciplinary measures enacted against Didier Raoult in France. Following a decision by the disciplinary chamber of the Ordre des médecins in appeal, a ruling went into effect on February 1, 2025, suspending Raoult from practicing medicine for two years.
The series highlights the human cost and professional friction experienced by researchers who challenged high-profile institutional claims during a period of intense public uncertainty. Caroline Benarrosh and Martin Boudot structured the documentary around these real-world tensions, contrasting institutional authority with peer review scrutiny and independent data analysis.