The square of the Tourist Office is full to bursting.
The mayor of Argelès-Gazost (Hautes-Pyrénées), Gaëlle Vallin, did her best.
Well helped in his mission by the future-ex-prefect of the department, Rodrigue Furcy, former deputy chief of staff at the Élysée, leaving for the neighboring Pyrénées-Orientales.
Together, they composed - and even concocted - a tailor-made welcome committee for Emmanuel Macron.
Read alsoMacron savors his “pilgrimage” in his “darling Pyrenees”
Elected officials, traders, associations… All the “happy few” who have been invited therefore rush to try to shake hands with Emmanuel Macron.
Even, ideally, to hope to get a photo with him.
All smiles, the Head of State savors.
With the sumptuous Hautacam massif in the background, he takes advantage of the postcard decor that cradles him to declare his love for his “darling Pyrenees”.
Those who saw him grow up, when he went to spend his holidays with his grandmother "Manette".
Suddenly, voices rise in harmony a few meters away.
They cover all the others, and for good reason.
Emmanuel Macron - in shirt sleeves - raises his head, takes a look, then begins to discreetly hum the refrain he hears at the same time as he signs autographs.
A song he knows by heart
The president recognized the words to
Refuge
, the famous Pyrenean song by Edmond Duplan, which he knows by heart.
He then rushes towards the choir which interprets it, and harangues:
“Are you tired or ready to do one last?
Come on, the last one!”
Stakeholders are over the moon.
He immediately joins them to accompany them a cappella.
He is immediately put on the appropriate black beret, so that he blends in with the theme.
The piece lasts more than three minutes, and time is running out, but who cares.
The performance ends with loud applause from the audience of believers, and a series of hugs.
Questions from residents worried about the cost and supply of energy are kept out of this parenthesis.
However, the head of state will not escape it a few minutes later.
