Le Figaro Bordeaux
A silver castle, topped with a star and two gold fleurs-de-lis supported by a snake representing the
Ségur
flowing below, proudly sits on the coat of arms of the pediment of the town hall of Castelmoron d'Albret.
The smallest village in France, located around fifty kilometers from Bordeaux, in Gironde, is as much about its title as its history.
A troglodyte village built on a rock in the Middle Ages, the town was deprived of its land by Robespierre under the Third Republic because the canton's deputy displeased the Montagnard, the
village councilor tells Le
Figaro .
Since then, the town, which refuses to be incorporated into its neighbors despite prefectural proposals, only covers 3.5 hectares, the equivalent of around 5 football fields.
And André Greze, 79 years old, elected in 2020 after six years as first deputy, intends to make this punishment of yesteryear the object of a reputation in the surrounding area.
Already known for its nativity scene village, which attracts crowds every two years during Advent, Castelmoron d'Albret aspires to increase its notoriety.
“On a cultural and heritage level, Castelmoron d'Albret aims to give new influence to the territory
,” summarizes the mayor, who joined forces in 2020 with three neighboring municipalities (Saint Martin-du-Puy, Caumont and Rimons). ) within the Macaucasrie association with this objective.
Projects to create a grocery store 400 meters from the town, organize concerts in the old stables... The village mayor is working to make his mandate useful and has already installed a new designer boutique in June .
An artist couple also recently arrived.
On his desk sits a worn top hat, which he puts on to make the children smile in the summer.
Inhabited by just under 55 souls, the four streets of the village are in fact populated by nearly 10,000 tourists, who come and go from spring to the start of the school year.
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Cobblestones and kings
From the Grande Rue to the Rue de l'Amitié, via the Rue du Jasmin, curious passers-by admire the buildings.
The day
Le Figaro
visited the place, two young Instagrammers from Bordeaux were strolling there.
Overlooking the small village located 60 meters above the seafront, the Romanesque church - which still houses the Blessed Sacrament despite the few masses celebrated there - is the guardian of the history of the place.
Built in the Middle Ages for an Ursuline convent, it was enlarged after a visit by King Charles X.
A few steps away, in the garden of the village elder, Madeleine, 80 years old, stands a tower, a vestige of the castle of Castelmoron d'Albret, which was allegedly destroyed by Cardinal Mazarin in the 17th century "because it had
been bored by mosquitoes and the croaking of frogs
,” says André Grèze.
Opposite, the owners of the oldest house in the village can boast of having welcomed Laetitia Casta within their walls for the filming of La bicyclette bleue.
On the doors of several houses, a curiosity in Gironde, Vendée hearts are engraved.
Symbols inherited from the Middle Ages, after their installation in the village whose population had been decimated by the plague, they coexist with the Protestant temple, built a few years later when the canton fell, by alliance into the Protestant hands, of Queen Jeanne d'Albret (1528-1572).
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Human comedy
Two distinct clans, which still exist within the village, many centuries later.
“It’s a very interesting village and very complicated to administer.
Everything we do is seen.
There are rivalries and sensitivities, we meet people every day and they express their grievances
,” recognizes councilor André Greze.
The village potters, the only traders established in Castelmoron d'Albret until last June, mince their words less.
“It’s a bit like an island. A little thing grows big very quickly. We weren't gossips when we arrived, but we are becoming one
,” says Christophe Atquin.
One of the village families planning a vacation in Greece?
“Well, you didn’t go to Greece!”
, the mayor will say to them, in front of
Le Figaro
, as he passes them.
A human comedy that gives way when one of the villagers is in difficulty.
“Apart from two or three resisters, when someone is sick, we all make an effort
,” concludes the potter’s wife, Cécile Atquin.