Purchased by the City of Manosque eight years ago, Le Paraïs, place where the author of Hussars on the roof wrote all his work, has been closed since October 2023. “He is on the verge of ruin, total abandonment», protests Sylvie Dubert-Giono.
Jean Giono (1895-1970) was born and died in Manosque, a small town wonder nestled in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence. They can be counted on the fingers of one hand, the writers whose work is rooted in their native land and yet has taken on a universal dimension. The author of Hussars on the roof gave to Manosque international fame.
However, today, his daughter, Sylvie Dubert-Giono, is sounding the alarm: Le Paraïs, the house in which he lived and wrote almost all of his work, is in complete disrepair. Classified as a Historic Monument, it belongs to the Town Hall which has closed it since October 2023 in order to renovate it. But Sylvie Giono finds the time long, hence her appeal.
Le Paraïs, or for aficionados, Lou Paraïs, is a magnificent place overlooking the town of Manosque. The author ofA king without entertainment spent his childhood and adolescence in the old town, at number 14 rue Grande. It was in 1930, after the success of his first novel Hillsthat he decided to dedicate himself to writing: he then abandoned his job as a bank employee and bought the Lou Paraïs villa where he settled and rarely left. It was there that he wrote most of his magnificent works, many of which were adapted for cinema by Marcel Pagnol (the novel Hills became the movie Angela ). Some of his texts are directly influenced by the region, notably Baumugnes And Manosque-des-Plateaux and where he sensually evokes the Mont d’Or: “This beautiful round breast is a hill“. The residence is located on the slopes of this mountain which is so dear to him and its address resembles the title of a novel: Montée des Vraies Richesses!
But the maintenance of this 18th century buildinge century, listed as a Historic Monument since 1996, which has become a place of pilgrimage for Giono lovers and researchers (the archives are stored there), was too heavy. It is for this reason that Sylvie Dubert-Giono transferred it to the town hall of Manosque, almost eight years ago. But the deterioration has reached such a degree that Jean Giono’s house has no longer been open to the public since October 2023.
Sylvie Dubert-Giono gave us a mind-blowing description: “Gutters noted in February 2024 permeate the walls of the author’s famous office where he always wrote. The office library books are infested with fungus due to humidity. The carpets are moth-eaten. One of the statues representing the god Horus is broken, not to mention the curtains, which have never been taken down or dusted since the acquisition of the house. The electricity is no longer up to standard, we don’t even change burnt out light bulbs. No more plumbing, no more heating for years, no more sanitary facilities. In short, on the verge of ruin, total abandonment», she protests. She wonders about the reasons which pushed the town hall to buy the place if it is to leave it abandoned. Even the superb garden which houses works of art is eaten by brambles and ivy.
Usually smiling, full of optimism, Sylvie Dubert-Giono is bitter. Fortunately she has the support of her writer friends, including Salvatore Lombardo and Paule Constant with whom she works for the Jean-Giono Prize and the Sud-Jean Giono Writers’ Days.
“My father’s notoriety does not suffer from this state of affairs.emphasizes his daughter. He has long since passed the limits of this city. It is the city which will suffer from this contempt towards the man who made the name of Manosque known throughout the world thanks to the translations of his works, more appreciated than they are locally.”
Le Figaro has, on several occasions, tried to contact the cultural management of the town hall by telephone and via a written message, in vain. We do not have official information on the progress of the work. It is unofficially that we learned that they could start at the end of the year, the permit submission is ready, and the length of the wait would only be linked to the fact that the house is classified as a Historic Monument. But, for the moment, no reopening date is planned.