Delphine Schiltz 9:41 p.m., November 18, 2022

They were thinking of taking the train, they met Marcel Proust.

A hundred passengers made a giant dictation this Friday at Saint-Lazare station in Paris to celebrate the centenary of the writer's death.

"It's an original operation", laughs at the microphone of Europe 1 a participant.

The operation, organized by SNCF Gare & Connexions and France Culture, is unprecedented.

A giant dictation offered to the public in the Gare Saint-Lazare in Paris, on the occasion of the commemoration of the centenary of the disappearance of Marcel Proust, November 18, 1922. Several texts by the writer - one of the most studied, commented on and quoted all over the world - were read to the public.

Among those who lent themselves to the exercise: retirees, students, passers-by or travellers, but also lovers of words.

At this dictation, fans of Proust…

In the middle of the tables just before the control gates, a stone's throw from the platforms, there is Fabrice, a fan of Proust.

For him, this giant dictation devoted to the writer is only a stage in his pilgrimage.

"I come from 44 rue de l'amiral Hamelin," he says.

It is at this address that the former residence of Proust is located, which he has just visited, before going to the station for the dictation.

Round hat, round glasses with black rims, Fabrice finds the dictation a little too easy: "there is no imperfect subjunctive, there are no very rare words, there are no incises", he describes.

But he understands the choice of the organizers: "it's to show everyone that Proust is extremely accessible… and what's more, funny!"

…And onlookers

Kamel, happened to him there by chance, just after his day's work.

"I saw all these people who were writing. I said to myself why not get started".

In his thirties, he does not have the baccalaureate and is currently training to pass it as an independent candidate.

This dictation is an opportunity for an unexpected test.

"At my table, everyone was focused during the dictation but afterwards we were able to discuss. We looked at who had made the fewest mistakes possible. And it wasn't me!", he says, laughing.

There is one every hour between 1 and 5 p.m.

Count 30 minutes of maximum exercise with the correction.  

Rail travel as a theme

At the next table, Luc and Agnès have settled down facing each other for the next round of dictation.

"It's an original operation," enthuses Agnès.

"I didn't think we would be so close to the trains".

“We will have to listen well and not be distracted by the trains leaving and the announcements!”, she smiles.

The selected texts all have the same theme: stations and train journeys.

A nod to the special relationship that the writer had with the "locomotives" that took him from Paris to Normandy or Beauce at the turn of the 20th century.

And faced with the enthusiasm surrounding the operation, SNCF Gare & Connexions and France Culture wish to organize giant dictations in the provinces soon.