History of Port Grimaud: the beginning of the works

Priority to the PARTY :

From the very first house sales, the architect used his influence and knowledge to attract personalities from the arts and politics to his lakeside town. It was necessary that people talk about this village under construction just a stone's throw from Saint Tropez. Among the first buyers were the singer Philippe LAVIL, Jacque CHARIER, ex-husband of Brigitte BARDOT, the writer Henri TROYAT, the Prince de Broglie, deputy of the Eure, the director Robert DHERY, Paul Emile VICTOR, the Prince NAPOLEON, the actor Peter SELLERS, then a little later, the former President of the Senate René MONORY...

Emerging activities :

Anectode :

Mr. BRUCKMAN, François SPOERRY's collaborator, had to open, at the request of the latter who wanted to celebrate the delivery of the first houses, a restaurant in a brand new building.
And the first meal was a big sauerkraut!

As soon as the first houses were sold, François SPOERRY made sure that a commercial activity was set up in the Place des 6 canons and under the arcades in the middle of the Grand'Rue. Thus, a general press agency (Mr COPPENS), a creperie (Mr ETIENNET), a butcher's shop (Mr LACHAL), a fruit and vegetable shop (Mr BELHASSEN), a shop selling household linen, furniture and carpets, which bore the initials of its owner, 'J.R.' (Mrs Jeanine RUBELLI), were all set up. ( Mrs Jeanine RUBELLI ). In the Grand Rue, Mrs. MABILIAU opened, thanks to Mr. SPOERRY, her first decoration shop 'Le Cagibi'. There was also a restaurant (Mr. BOISSIER), an antique dealer (Mr. JEANBREAU), a bakery/pastry shop, a Naval Architecture Company, and 'Logi-Service' which, at the time, was involved in the maintenance and repair of boats, but also in the maintenance of houses and gardens before going into real estate.

The first business to open was the restaurant l'Amiral in the Grand'Rue whose owner was Monsieur Gassier.

Some painters, abandoning for a time their place on the port of Saint Tropez, came to exhibit on the Place des 6 Canons.

Brigitte BARDOT :

, at the height of her fame, came to the site of PORT GRIMAUD to shoot a video which was to be part of a programme by Jean Christophe AVERTY scheduled for the evening of 31 December 1968.

François SPOERRY took advantage of his presence to show him the city under construction and, on these photos, the Place des 6 Canons...

BB à Port Grimaud

The restaurant 'La MARINE' :

At the end of the Place du 14 juin, a restaurant called "La MARINE" opened directly on the canals. Thus the customers coming from Saint Tropez, could moor. One could often rub shoulders with BB and his court, Anabelle BUFFET, Jean Marie RIVIERE, Eddy BARCLAY and his friends including Gilbert BECAUD, or the famous 'clown' on a one-wheeled bicycle in front of Sénéquier's "COIN COIN"...

       As it was located far from the car park at the entrance of the lake city, the owner "LOLO" had the idea (and the means!) to acquire a very nice Rolls Royce convertible of 1925, reserved for the transport of his customers…
       It was a great success !..

       In addition to having a Rolls, Da Lolo, the owner of the restaurant, liked to pick up his customers with a cheetah given to him by Grimaud's veterinarian, who was expatriating to Kenya. !...

       Brigitte BARDOT, who had also received another cheetah from the same donor, seems to have made friends with the feline during the filming of the "Brigitte Bardot Shows" where she sang a song in the Grand'rue.

The REGAL VAROIS :

       Jacques CHARRIER had bought the only house overlooking the beach. He therefore participated in the opening of the caterer 'Le Régal Varois', place des 6 Canons...

       The Place des 6 Canons was the first commercial square of the new city. Then the Market Square and the Craftsmen's Square, once finished, became the 'strategic' centre at the expense of the 6 Cannons...

       On the first Christmas in 1967, in the nascent but already bustling lake town, the children were surprised and delighted to see Father Christmas emerge from a miniature submarine, made by the Havas brothers.

Robert DHERY :

Another new regular and resident, the actor, screenwriter and director Robert DHERY had a 'crush' on this emerging lake town...

First anniversary of the city :

For the first anniversary of the place du 14 Juin, a big party was organised with sardinade, pétanque, regatta for the young people on the initiative of Claude GRAF and Daniel ALLARY, then ball in the evening...

The local gazette "Le courrier de Port Grimaud", created by François Spoerry, reported the event in its n°2 of May 1968...

Sacha distel in Port Grimaud

This gazette was born from the architect's desire to create a means of informing residents about the progress of the work, but above all to inform them about forthcoming festivals in the city, the opening of shops and everything that makes the city lively...

THE WORK of François SPOERRY...