Nicolas Pagnol

Newest of the Provence natives

Nicolas Pagnol holds the literary and cinematic estate of his grandfather, that quintessentially Provençal writer and filmmaker Marcel Pagnol. Nicolas divides his time between Nice, Paris and Normandy. But the South, the scent of thyme and the blue sky are in his bones.

Avec la complicité de Benjamin Perles

“It takes more than a few years to become a Provençal. To belong to this region you have to have and almost physical love of the land, the silvery blue-green of the olive trees, the dry soil, the strident buzzing of the cicadas, the restful chirping of the grasshoppers, the sharp bite of the sun in summer, the fragrance of the garrigue and the inimitable scent of the Mediterranean sea.

I think Provençal identity is grounded in a kinship with the land and the elements. I’ve been away in northern France for 25 years, spending a lot of time in Normandy, but I will never feel Norman, although I’ve got used to its tender green and diaphanous blue. The economic and cultural energy newcomers bring to Provence is an indispensable asset, but its corollary is that the local culture, refusing to merge with globalisation, has been turned into folklore. I think Provence performs a remarkably successful balancing act, embracing modernity while fostering initiatives that promote its identity. That’s doubtless what underlies its appeal and its unity over the years and centuries. Provence loves all who are willing to love it back.