Les Grosses Têtes: LE LIVRE DU JOUR - "Chalôns-en-Champagne à voir & à vivre" de Jean-Christophe Sauvage

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RTL, the book of the day.

The book of the day.

The pen?

No.

It's a book on a castle in Champagne.

A book to see and to live.

It's published in the black editions on earth.

And we obviously wanted to,

on occasion of our visit here,

recommend a book that...

Me and my pink shirt.

No, that could...

50 in love.

Who could learn from our viewers

who don't know the region or the castle in Champagne.

But to know a little more,

we'll have the author of this book in a moment on the phone.

Mr. Jean-Christophe Sauvage.

It's with Jean...

I'm from Dior.

It's with Jean-Marie Le Comte

that he signs book by book,

not only with the texts that tell us about the castle,

but also with very, very beautiful photos.

And what's interesting, too, is the extract.

The extract that we can read

in order to present this book,

an extract of an author,

an author who came here to the castle in Champagne.

At the time, it was surely a castle in Marne.

Mr. Sauvage will confirm it to me.

I read this extract,

written by this great writer.

I spend delicious moments in the castle

with Bobby and Vannes.

We swim...

Bobby and Vannes, but it's Côte-Ouest and Dallas.

We swim in the Marne.

We find food to drink.

We swim in the cathedral,

quite little impressive,

in the charmant church of Notre-Dame,

in the church even more charming of Saint-Alpine,

which has the most exquisite tour

that I have seen since he crossed me.

Who wrote these few lines?

But it's someone really famous there.

Yes, yes, of course, a great writer.

Victor Hugo?

No, no, no.

Simnon?

And it's a question for Mr. Goujon,

who lives in the Longerot in Menélois.

Balzac.

It was a long time ago?

Ah, it's not Balzac.

Flaubert, Flaubert.

No, think about it.

I don't know.

He ends this extract by...

This great writer writes about Chalon

by saying,

since then, he crossed me.

Ah, the crossing of Paris?

But no, not that one.

He crossed it.

He crossed it, he crossed it.

He was on the Marne.

But no.

He crossed the Manche.

He writes,

I spend delicious moments in Chalon

with Bobby and Vannes.

Ah yes, so it's in English or in American?

In American?

In American.

In American.

In American.

Vannes is a camping car, no?

No.

In American.

In American.

In American.

In American.

No.

William Stairon?

No, no, no.

Did he have a name for American consonants?

So, American consonants...

No, I would rather have wanted to say

consonants, rather...

Russian.

Latin.

German.

By the way, his father was Portuguese.

Ah, that's what it is.

It's John Dacoustin.

No.

Garcia Marquez?

Ah, he's crazy.

No, but it's true that he has a name.

Pedro Joao or something.

He has a name more...

Portuguese, in fact.

Ah, that's what it is.

An American.

So, to think about it...

Ah, yes, that's what it is.

To think about it, all the people who do work at home.

But he...

No, but he...

Dacosta...

That's his parents.

Dacuña.

No, but listen.

Sorry, I'm looking for him.

He was...

Pablo Picasso.

No.

No, but why?

He was born in Chicago, you see.

Neruda.

No, no, no.

Dacosta.

No, no.

And he was just hired on July 1917

in the Ambulance Corps during the First World War.

Which made him stay in France for a while

and he passed away in Chicago.

Del Passo, Del Passo, the...

John...

No, Del Passo, that's the stuff...

That's the stuff from X-Mates.

Calamba, Calamba.

It's not Del Passo, no, it's not that.

No, you have it, but in fact...

Shit.

Ah, Passo.

Ah, yes.

Del Passo, it's not that.

But no, it's not Del Passo.

Well, De Passo.

No, no.

El Pondor, Passo.

El Pondor, Passo.

Pésaro.

Ah, no, but I'm not far away.

It's Pésoar, Pésoar.

But no, not Pésoar.

No, it's...

Pésaro.

It's not John El Passo.

No, not Del Passo.

John Di Passo.

Not Di Passo.

De Passo.

De Passo.

De Passo.

De Passo.

De Passo.

De Passo.

John De Passo.

No, no, it's not that, it's not that.

It's not that, it's not that.

It's because of the Del Passo brand's recipes.

You know, if you ever...

You already bought the little Kitt Faritas.

John...

Del Passo.

I'm just pointing out there's an author

who's called Jean-Christophe Sauvage.

Ah, sorry.

He's a patient and who's heard your stories.

Oh, well...

I'm ashamed of my big heads, Mr. Sauvage.

Mr. Sauvage will seem very intelligent.

Yes, Mr. Sauvage.

Hello.

Yes, good evening.

Good evening.

Sorry, sir.

We're sorry.

And it's true that they could have identified

a little faster this American writer

who we must...

Manhattan Transfer.

Ah, there you go.

One of his most famous books,

Manhattan Transfer.

John De Passo.

He really went through Chalon,

Chalon-sur-Marne at the time.

Yes, yes, I confirm it.

He's got a reason for the other names.

With his quote and especially his perception of Chalon,

we immediately enter a certain life of Chalon.

And Chalon, it's first of all the quality of life.

And it's true that he was involved in the American army,

in the medical body of the American army.

When he passed away in Chalon,

this text was written in July 1918.

So let's go to the photos of the book

and the text.

And by the way, even the cover,

I would ignore that there was a beautiful circus

like that in Chalon in Champagne.

Yes, it's one of the last circuses in France,

still standing, with this one in Paris and this one in Amiens.

It's a revelator of an era.

It's the end of the 19th century.

And at that time of the show,

the show that was going on, above all,

and it's such a show designed for the greatest number.

And today, what's going on in this enduro circus,

well understood, I'm not talking about a chapter.

It's a circus in the construction of the 19th century.

Yes, the 19th century.

A historic building today, I imagine.

Yes, exactly.

That's what we call the historical circus.

And since this building is part of the national school of the arts of the circus.

That's right.

And Paris, there are even shows that are played today

at Las Vegas, which were designed here, in this circus school.

It was designed and tested.

Yes, yes.

Yes, yes.

Yes, yes.

That's what it says, yes.

That's what we learn from each other in your book.

I also see an incredible fall,

one of the falls of the Cimetière de l'Ouestre,

which is the first Cimetière Chalonais.

Is that right?

Yes, yes.

Yes, yes.

It's the first Cimetière Chalonais

that is not in a church,

until the other time, we saw people in the churches,

essentially.

It was taken from the square.

And next to this photo, another photo,

that of the famous statue of Jean-Darke,

Jean-Darke Berger,

a bronze statue that is all close to the cathedral.

Yes, yes.

Yes, yes.

Yes, yes.

Mr. Sauvage.

Yes, yes.

You are here, sir.

I think it's cut.

Ah, well, I hope so.

Yes, yes, yes.

Otherwise, it has become...

It is very Sauvage.

It has become a muet, otherwise.

Sauvage.

Mr. Sauvage.

I think Mr. Sauvage.

It's not that he is hooked, Mr. Sauvage.

It's that we have a small technical problem.

Yes.

A relationship with Paris, isn't it?

Leon Wigilux.

And maybe at 8 o'clock,

we will be able to get Jean-Christophe Sauvage.

Oh yes, it would be tomorrow.

And in any case, I can...

Well, the doctor says no.

But in any case, I can advise you

this very beautiful book,

Chalon in Champagne,

in black, earth editions.

A story, Jean-Marie.

It's a guy who's drunk, he's drunk.

It's a faithful husband and all the mess.

Fortunately, in the cars of the bathroom,

he sees suddenly a woman

who is in front of her car's wheel

who is manifestly dead, you see.

And he stops, because it's a good guy, you see.

And he says, well, let me help you.

He changes the wheel of the bathroom.

She is sublime.

The girl says, I don't know how to thank you.

If you want, I offer you a little glass at home.

Well, she looks at her watch and says,

OK, why not, but not for a long time,

she comes home,

she's going to put on a transparent dress, you see.

And all, and she sits next to him

and she starts to...

Slowly, he...

He...

Well, you see, he's a little bit shambled, you see.

He comes to kiss her,

she dresses up.

Completely, they fall in love with a banquet.

Then they go to the room and everything.

And all of a sudden, she looks at her watch

and it's two o'clock in the morning, what can I say.

They say, fuck my wife.

And the hotelist says, well, what can I do for you?

Well, he says, listen, give me a little piece of blue chalk.

He says, are you sure? Yes, yes.

He gives a little piece of blue chalk

and he puts it on a little bit,

you see, on the shoulders, a little bit on the sleeves

of his suit, he comes in.

And his wife, he's waiting for him.

Two o'clock in the morning, he doesn't give a fuck.

What have you done?

Well, he says, listen,

I'm not going to lie to you, I went in, there was a sublime woman

who came to die with her ring, I didn't expect anything at all.

I never saw my life, my life at home.

She comes back half naked, throws herself on the mic,

I think it's a real story, you know.

And her wife looks at her, she says, stop your bullshit, you moron.

You were still making a beer with your friends, that's it.

Thank you, I'm happy to have called you while we were...

While we were recovering, Mr. Sauvage, excuse us, excuse us, Mr. Sauvage.

I don't know what happened, there was a cut-off between Chalon and Paris

because, curiously, you may be here, in the region, by the way.

Oh yes, I'm in Chalon.

Yes, but the region, of course, of our show is in Paris.

It's almost the 22nd anniversary of this story, you see.

It seems a little...

Exactly, to conclude, because it's going to be 17 o'clock soon,

I obviously mentioned the liquid elements dear to this city,

whether it's the water, the mud, the champagne.

But a word, too, on a character who was called Pierre Eugène L'Amérès.

I imagine that it tells you something, Mr. Sauvage.

Oh, it's not the most famous of the Chalons.

No, but he brought back statues that we can see here,

at the Musée des Beaux-Arts and the Archaeology of Chalons in Champagne.

I'm not mistaken.

No, no, you're not mistaken, that's right.

Statues that were presented at the Universal Exhibition in 1867 and 1878,

that he brought back Douda, that's it.

Yes, yes, that's it.

It's private collections at the time, yes.

I advised our audience, of course, to get this book,

if you want to come visit Chalons in Champagne,

it makes you want to know a little better this region and this city,

Chalons in Champagne to see and to live in the Black Earth editions.

Thank you anyway, Mr. Sauvage.

Machine-generated transcript that may contain inaccuracies.