Le Figaro Nantes
This colossal Christopher Nolan star is the size of a frigate.
Or almost, since it is a squadron escort, a former warship of the French Navy.
The only French surface vessel of its kind transformed into a museum, the
Maillé-Brézé
has been anchored for almost 40 years along the Quai de la Fosse, in Nantes.
But this 132 meter long veteran is not just a place to visit.
He is also an actor.
Appearing in 2017 on the screen in the film
Dunkirk
, by Christopher Nolan, the escort must now have a makeover.
He sets sail on Saturday March 16 for Saint-Nazaire.
“The
Maillé-Brézé
is classified as
a Historic Monument
and therefore requires maintenance approximately every ten years, in accordance with the approval controlled by the Regional Directorate of Cultural Affairs
,” indicates to Le
Figaro
Xavier Guillet, vice-president of the Nantes Marine Tradition association, responsible for the ship.
This one million euro operation is 85% financed by the State, with a supplement paid by the Heritage Foundation.
Once towed into dry dock in Saint-Nazaire, the
Maillé-Brézé
should be completely repaired and repainted.
A two-month project.
“This large fairing, which should also make it possible to redo some welding, has in particular an environmental vocation, since it is a question of not letting the old paints peel off in the Loire
,” notes Xavier Guillet.
An “old-fashioned” ship
The old ship needs these makeovers.
Launched in 1955 at the Lorient arsenal - at a time when French shipyards could still produce 12 warships in 2 years - the
Maillé-Brézé
is indeed sailing for 69 years.
But his old age is not a shipwreck.
In addition to welcoming some 25,000 visitors per year, the building is courted by the cinema industry.
In 2016, the British director Christopher Nolan - awarded several Oscars a few days ago for his biopic
Oppenheimer
- rented the French ship and had it towed to Dunkirk to make it play, not without a few minor cosmetic changes, a British building involved in Operation Dynamo in 1940.
Also read: Immersive journey to the heart of the naval battles of the Second World War
“It was a huge production which lasted three months,”
recalls Xavier Guillet.
We had left the keys to
Maillé-Brézé
with Warner.
They had complete freedom to use the ship during filming, as long as they returned it to us in good condition and cleaned
.
As this enthusiast recalls, the building is in the technical lineage of the ships of the Second World War.
An era now well over.
“We don’t make them like that anymore.
We are old fashioned!
, proudly proclaims Xavier Guillet.
There is a real bridge, bulky weapons wiring.
And then everything is analogous, where there are only computers on board modern ships.
Other productions have also snatched up the old escort.
Around ten documentaries, several clips, films, series... His silhouette will appear later this year, in Lucas Bernard's comedy,
À Tout allure
, with Pio Marmaï and José Garcia.
Its entrails also served as a setting for the series
Deep
, the filming of which in Nantes in January caused a few Nazi flags to flourish in the city center.
The passageways, crew stations, galleys and torpedo room of the surface ship will have to create an illusion to represent the interior… of a Third Reich U-Boat.
So many commercial requests that allow the
Maillé-Brézé
to stay afloat, on the quays of Nantes.
And in the holds of Saint-Nazaire.