Les Effrontés

Les Effrontés (The Shameless Ones) is a play by French dramatist Émile Augier, written in 1861. Augier was a prominent playwright during the Second French Empire, known for his morally didactic comedies that often extolled middle-class virtues.

In Les Effrontés, Augier turned his critical eye towards the venality of the press and the corruption of financiers. The play is noted for its trenchant portrayal of these societal ills, comparable to the Naturalist novelists of the era. Augier's work, including this play, aimed to reflect contemporary values and preoccupations, often with a conservative moral stance, while satirizing societal vices such as greed and speculation.12