• Disabled after contracting a nosocomial illness, Faouzi Derbouz risks one day not being able to walk.

    In the meantime, he organizes hikes.

  • He created an initiative called Night Trotters, a night hike he organizes in the capital each month.

    This Saturday, the hike starts from the Rosa-Parks station at 7 p.m. to reach the Forum des Halles around midnight.

    The opportunity to then enjoy the Nuit blanche afterwards.

  • Walking at night, “There's nothing better for discovering a city,” he explains.

    There is less pollution.

    And then there is a poetic side to the night.

    »

“Ah but finally there are people!

The astonishment resounds several times, as the hikers meet at the meeting point, in front of the Square des Anciens Combattants d'Indochine, in the 12th arrondissement.

This Friday, around fifty people equipped with poles, hiking shoes and leggings joined the Night Trotters, to walk until the end of the night in Paris.

"When I decided to organize marches, I immediately wanted to do them at night," says Faouzi Derbouz, guide for the evening.

There is nothing better to discover a city.

There is less pollution.

And then there is a poetic side at night, we meet people we wouldn't do during the day.

»

Departure from Porte Dorée, arrival at the Jardin de Reuilly, passing through the zoological park of Paris, the Lac des Minimes or the Bois de Vincennes.

That is 35 kilometers to cover in twelve hours, between 9 p.m. and 9 a.m. the next morning.

"I thought of the course so that those who wish can stop on the way, at 5, 10, or 20 kilometers for example", reassures Faouzi Derbouz.

Walk as much as possible

Thirty-five kilometers on foot, it stings.

But, on one of Faouzi Derbouz's night hikes, don't you dare complain.

"Do not come and tell me 'I'm in pain', I can feel the pain myself", he says.

Disabled since 2014, following a medical error that caused him to lose 25% of his mobility, Faouzi Derbouz suffers with every step.

But he continues to advance “as long as he can”.

In 2014, after catching a nosocomial illness which earned him two months of hospitalization, “guys in white coats” told him that he would certainly end up not walking.

And he feels that he will “eventually go through it”.

But in the meantime, he organizes long walks.


“One day, I said to myself that I was going to do it,” he says.

For several months now, Faouzi Derbouz has been thinking about a crazy project when he decides to tell his family about it.

He wants to cross Paris on foot.

“I wanted to prove that people shouldn't be condemned,” he confides.

He ignores the advice of his doctors, who believe that “it will simply send him to a wheelchair sooner than expected”, and organizes the expedition.

A successful bet, on the night of July 12 to 13, 2019, he managed to cover 35 kilometers in one go.

A feat repeated since, with each night walk.

About once a month.

This Saturday, the hike leaves from the Rosa-Parks station (19th arrondissement) at 7 p.m. to reach the Forum des Halles around midnight, i.e. 18 km (compulsory registration 5 euros).

The opportunity to then take advantage of the Nuit Blanche.

All Night Trotters profiles

"To surpass oneself", "to socialize, because you discover people differently at night", "to discover Paris differently", "because, at night, it's reassuring not to be alone"... Everyone of the Night Trotters has its own reasons for coming, on a Friday night, to spend the night with total strangers.

Some regulars are real sportsmen.

Kousseila is used to organizing his own hikes, he participates in night walks for their conviviality.

A few steps from him, Samya, addicted to challenges, walks with a hiker friend.

But Faouzi Derbouz ensures that the hikes remain accessible to this lady who cannot finish the course because of her health, to Daniel aged 74, or even to this group of friends who have come to offer their dogs a long walk. .

Once at their destination, the Night Trotters end their night with breakfast.

Faouzi Derbouz then waits for everyone to leave.

"I like to watch them leave, a little as if I were giving them back to the world after having taken them elsewhere for a night," he confides.

  • Paris

  • Ile-de-France

  • Trek

  • Disability

  • Visit

  • Night