ET hasn't aged a bit, it must be said that he already had a very wrinkled face 40 years ago.
On the occasion of the anniversary of its theatrical release in France on December 1, 1982,
20 Minutes
returns to extraterrestrial phenomena explained or not.
In Châteaneuf-du-Pape, in the Vaucluse, extraterrestrials are persona non grata.
And for good reason: a decree issued 68 years ago, still in force, prohibits "the overflight, landing and take-off of aircraft".
Behind this wacky idea hides a shrewd mayor who skillfully pulled off a huge publicity stunt for the small town of Vaucluse.
In Châteauneuf-du-Pape (Vaucluse),
This Thursday, ET celebrated its 40th anniversary in France.
The story does not say if, in space, they planned a small party and enough candles for the event.
But one certainty: if the most famous extraterrestrial in the world is looking for exoticism, or good wine, to celebrate this anniversary, he will not be welcome in Châteauneuf-du-Pape.
Since 1954, a decree prohibits "the overflight, landing and take-off of aircraft called "flying saucers", or "flying cigars", of any natural origin whatsoever" on the territory of the small town of Vaucluse.
The loose leaf is carefully taped in the register of municipal decrees of the town hall, whose stone walls and round tower give the air of a fortified castle.
Head of the heritage service within the town, Anthony Avon points to the handwriting of the famous decree, still in force.
"Any aircraft called flying saucer or flying cigar that lands on the territory of the municipality will be immediately impounded", warns article 2 of the text.
"The rural guard and private guards are responsible, each as far as they are concerned, for the execution of this decree", adds article 3.
“A brilliant idea”
“And I asked the prefecture in 2018 if he had passed the legality check, continues Anthony Avon.
And that's the case !
Today, it would be up to the municipal police to intervene in the event of a flying saucer landing.
“We will cope because we are a peace officer above all, laughs Stéphanie, stationed in Châteauneuf-du-Pape since 2007. We are used to any type of population.
There is no problem.
On the other hand, it may be necessary to consider having us do special training in the Martian language.
Finally, with gestures, we should be able to make ourselves understood.
»
Mayor of Châteauneuf-du-Pape since 2020, Claude Avril is formal.
“We must maintain the intergalactic war with the cosmos.
The previous mayor had an incredible sense of anticipation on a very current situation today.
Recent studies demonstrate the existence of this type of phenomenon.
The aedile lets out a laugh.
“We must render to Caesar what belongs to Caesar.
Me, I had nothing to do with this brilliant idea, this bluff that still today, international television shows parade in the village which is known all over the world.
We talk about it every year.
We are always on a show about the most unusual things!
»
A publicity stunt… for wine
Behind this decree hides a mayor who was a figure in the town: a certain Lucien Jeune, a former resistance fighter.
“Some people think my grandfather was a weirdo, but that was not the case, rectifies his granddaughter Isabelle.
Above all, he had a great sense of humor.
In the middle of the 1950s, Lucien Jeune had indeed decided to orchestrate a buzz, even before the word buzz existed and was part of our daily lives.
.
“You have to put yourself in the context of the time, explains Anthony Avon.
In 1954, the mayor is elected since the end of the Second World War.
In the television news, we are beginning to talk a lot about flying saucers.
There is a crazy media impact around these issues.
Lucien Jeune realizes this during a wine fair in Paris where he goes for professional reasons.
He then had a stroke of genius, of which he was perhaps not necessarily aware: it was to take this decree, to do a publicity stunt for Châteauneuf-du-Pape and its vineyard.
»
letters from all over the world
At the time, the controlled designation of origin of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, the very first in France, was not even twenty years old.
“Our wine has been known since the Middle Ages, but it was already fashionable at court to drink Burgundy,” recalls Anthony Avon.
“I remember when my father told me that, says the son of Lucien Jeune, Pierre, now 82 years old.
I was coming home from college.
It was a joke, a joke as we say in Provençal.
But it's a joke made with love for his village, with so much irony.
He was still very visionary.
»
The publicity stunt is extremely effective, beyond the mayor's expectations.
“He received letters from all over the world, reports Pierre Jeune.
People from Senegal, Brazil, Madagascar wrote to him because they believed in extraterrestrials.
When I visited vineyards in the United States a few years ago, there was a "Flying Cigar" cuvée, in reference to the anti-UFO decree.
A man from the North of France sent him a saucer plan to invite him to go with him into space.
I saved everything!
»
Around Pierre Jeune, in his large office, hundreds and hundreds of archives trace the life of his father, and in particular the incredible uproar caused by the paternal joke.
The octogenarian gets up, searches through his papers, helped by his daughter Isabelle.
“But where is the UFO file?
» After half an hour of research, it is necessary to resolve to the impossible: the invaluable intergalactic binder mysteriously disappeared… A revenge of the extraterrestrials, vexed by the affront of his/her father?
Pierre Jeune turns his head, looking mischievous.
"Don't say that laughingly.
»
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