Thirty years later, Sarah perfectly remembers her evening of February 4, 1994. Despite the invasion of the city of Rennes (Ille-et-Vilaine) by 5,000 fishermen who came to demonstrate to defend the industry, she decided to honor the invitation to his colleagues’ restaurant.
After the meal, they had a last coffee in a bar.
“On our way out, after midnight, we saw a strange glow on the town hall square.
No noise.
We imagine, in the distance, fireworks,” she recalls.
Then they approach the Parliament of Brittany... burning.
Fanned by a strong westerly wind, the fire started at the sundial due to a distress flare launched during the demonstration which degenerated.
“Stunned, we witnessed the agony of the monument,” says Sarah.
Waking up on February 5 was hard for many people in Rennes who discovered the tragedy and went there to gather in silence, as if at the bedside of a missing loved one.
The wooden frame has gone up in smoke, the large hall of the lost steps is open to the sky.
A place to defend the privileges and freedoms of the Bretons
“I cried, to the amazement of my family,” confides Dominique Drion, Heritage Tourism and Leisure mediator at Destination Rennes.
At the time, when she was just a young tour guide, she ended all her guided tours in front of the magnificent facade of Parliament but “without ever having entered it”.
And for good reason, the monument built in the 17th century cannot be visited because it houses the Rennes Court of Appeal.
Everyone calls it the Courthouse.
The Grand Chamber, at the center of which is Dominique Drion, Heritage Tourism and Leisure mediator at Destination Rennes, is one of the jewels of the Parliament of Brittany.
LP/Solenne Durox
Many people from Rennes pass by without knowing its history, without knowing that the Parliamentarians who sat there under the old regime in the name of the king could also oppose his decisions in order to preserve the privileges and freedoms of the Bretons.
Paradoxically, the fire allowed them to rediscover the treasure they had before their eyes.
Ten years for a restoration costing 55 million euros
“Awareness of this inestimable loss of heritage was immediate because there was a lot of media coverage.
People saw the works taken out by the firefighters, risking their lives, and placed on the ground in the street,” says Dominique Drion, pointing to the exceptional royal decorations which have found their place in the Grand Chambre, the jewel of the Palace.
She does not hesitate to draw a parallel with the trauma felt by Parisians during the fire at Notre-Dame Cathedral.
Read also Everything you need to know about the monuments and works of art in Rennes using the Whatizis app
The decision having been taken to rebuild identically, the people of Rennes also closely followed all stages of the restoration which lasted ten years and cost 55 million euros.
They contributed to this by raising funds through numerous events organized for this occasion.
An enthusiasm which materialized in the opening to visitors, for the first time, of the monument in 1999 during the restoration work.
“When we then launched the guided tours in 2004, it was a phenomenal success and the enthusiasm has continued ever since,” indicates Dominique Drion.
The Parliament of Brittany is today the most visited monument in the Rennes capital.
In addition to year-round tours, special themed tours will be offered during the commemorative weekend of February 9-11.