Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur releases several hundred thousand euros for the promotion of the work of Marcel Pagnol

This is the emblematic point of the partnership that Renaud Muselier has just signed with Nicolas Pagnol, grandson of the writer and filmmaker. A major exhibition celebrating Marcel Pagnol and his life in Marseille will be inaugurated in October at the Major maritime station, near the Old Port. A place almost under the balconies of the town hall of the Phocaean city, which will not please the socialist mayor Benoît Payan.

Wednesday April 17, the anniversary of the death of Marcel Pagnol, the Renaissance president of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region and the playwright's heir presented a three-year plan, running until 2026, for the development of the work of Pagnol. In addition to the loan from the Major ferry terminal and financial aid for the Marseille Pagnol exhibition (the amount of which has not yet been voted on), Renaud Muselier is providing 100,000 euros of support for the animated film Marcel et M. Pagnol which concludes Sylvain Chomet (Les Triplettes de Belleville) for a cinema release in 2025. He will also pay 150,000 euros per year for a call for projects from cultural operators in the region under a label whose co-chairmanship is entrusted to Nicolas Pagnol. The region will also participate in the restoration of original film reels. Out of 22 feature films, five remain to be restored, including Merlusse and Les Lettres de mon Moulin, at a cost of 50,000 euros per film.

The region will also help restore the olive grove of Bastide Neuve, Marcel Pagnol's vacation home located on the heights of Allauch. Organized every October, olive picking is a festive day. Open to all and free, this particularly nice initiative allows you to learn about this Provençal tradition by climbing ladders to throw the olives into nets on the ground.

Finally, the region will support the Pagnol d'Allauch museum for an amount which has not yet been voted on. The total cost of this museum is ten million euros. Renaud Muselier is in discussion with Lionel De Cala, mayor (LR) of Allauch whose teams will manage the museum. “We would like the Region to be the main partner alongside the Ministry of Culture and the Bouches-du-Rhône Department,” explains Lionel de Cala.

With its reconstruction of the Bar de la Marine, correspondence, manuscripts, large format photos, a documentary on Marseille produced by Marcel Pagnol in 1949 and extracts from his films such as Marius, Fanny and César... the exhibition at the Major maritime station foreshadows the collections of this future museum. Installed at the entrance to this very pretty Provençal village in a magnificent old red brick electrical factory, it is due to open its doors in 2026. Finally and above all, this exhibition is cold revenge against Benoît Payan because the standoff has become political . If he is angry with the councilor of Marseille and his deputy for communist culture Jean-Marc Coppola, Nicolas Pagnol benefits from the full support of right-wing elected officials.

Since Nicolas Pagnol's association was not renewed at the Château de la Buzine in September, Benoît Payan must request the rights to use the name and image of Marcel Pagnol. He is prohibited from showing his films and putting his photo inside Pagnol's books distributed to Marseille schoolchildren. Between Benoit Payan and Nicolas Pagnol, two men with strong personalities, the tone is raised. Which does not prevent the mayor from having received an invitation for the next celebration planned for the fiftieth anniversary of the disappearance of Marcel Pagnol in 2024.