Juliette Gréco kept the memory of "the scent of ice cream" from Montpellier

Juliette Gréco, with her medal of honor from the city of Montpellier, in 2012 -

From these young years in Montpellier (Hérault), where her father, a police commissioner, was assigned, Juliette Gréco kept "a very poetic image".

The idol of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, who died Wednesday at the age of 93, was born on a winter morning, in 1927, at 2, rue Doria.

The doctor had announced to his mother that she was a boy, before recovering, she liked to tell.

In this Arceaux building, she lived until her third birthday, with her mother and sister, Charlotte.

“From our house, I only remember a large dark corridor, the artist had confided in 2012 to

.

We walked very often in the gardens of Peyrou with my mother.

When I was little, I found there a magical atmosphere, of a fairy tale… Something very beautiful, as if it were a dream.

I also remember the games with the other children and the scent of the ice cream we ate there.

"

"She was very moved"

She had never returned to rue Doria, until that day in October 2012, when the city of Montpellier had made her an honorary citizen.

On the arm of her husband, the pianist Gérard Jouannest, who died in 2018, she unveiled a plaque on the facade of the building that saw him grow up.

“It still had to be 85 years old for Montpellier to pay tribute to her,” confides Talaat El Singaby, the director of the Internationales de la Guitare, which she closed that year.

She was very moved.

But she said something very mischievous: "I was born in Montpellier, but I came to the world in Paris".

"

Juliette Gréco, in front of the building where she was born, in Montpellier, in 2012 - N. Bonzom / Maxele Presse

If, in fact, we saw her more at the Café de Flore than on the Place de la Comédie, her medal from the city of Montpellier, Juliette Gréco had brandished it, proudly, in front of a swarm of photographers.

“This distinction means a lot to me, Montpellier is a city steeped in history, which nourished the resisting ambitions of Jean Moulin, had confided the singer and actress.

It is a young and hopeful city.

All that I love.

"

"She made a memorable concert"

That same evening, in a Berlioz Opera that had been packed for weeks, Juliette Gréco had sung

,

or

.

"She made a memorable 100-minute concert, without an intermission, without taking a single sip of water, with an energy that had transported the audience," continues Talaat El Singaby.

It was unbelievable.

She never got old, she was young, modern.

"

In memory of "the great artist she was", the mayor of Montpellier Michaël Delafosse (PS) promised Wednesday to give the name of Juliette Gréco, soon, to "a cultural place in the city".

"We say goodbye to the muse of Saint-Germain-des-Prés but also to one of the most famous children of Montpellier", notes the elected official.

Culture

Juliette Gréco died at the age of 93

People

Juliette Gréco, hospitalized for a stroke, "is better"

• Disappearance

• Culture

• Languedoc-Roussillon

• Montpellier

• Song