Patrick Malavieille confirms the invitation extended to Léon Marchand to the “Charbon ardent” festival in Cévennes

Screenshot of Patrick Malavieille's post on his Facebook page. – Jenny Bernard

The vice-president of the Gard departmental council, Patrick Malavieille, explains the reasons for his invitation to the event, made via a Facebook post on Friday, August 16.

The vice-president of the Gard departmental council, Patrick Malavieille, launched, on Friday, August 16, on his Facebook page, an invitation to Léon Marchand, for the Charbon ardent festival, which will be held in the town of La Grand-Combe next December.

Also read: Patrick Malavieille invites Olympic champion Léon Marchand to the "Charbon ardent" in Cévennes

The proposal, judged "excellent" in the various comments visible under the post, is not to be taken in the second degree since it is well confirmed by the elected official, from his vacation spot in South America. &amp ;quot; The idea is that he can, after the stroll which starts from the city center, brandish the miner's lamp from the top of the Ricard Well, which is listed as a historic monument& ;quot;, he admits. Patrick Malavieille is referring to the lamp that the swimmer carried during the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games. This lamp, which represents the symbol of the miners to whom the town of La Grand-Combe pays tribute every year at the time of Sainte-Barbe, “patron saint of firefighters and miners” because of its mining past. “He would be the guest of honor, that would be extraordinary.”

“It's a Cévennes invitation”

This invitation has a greater purpose than the simple image of the four-time Olympic swimming champion at the top of the building. " Léon Marchand will receive an official invitation that we will make with the sports department of the Gard department. The Occitanie Region and the department have athletes who have shone during the Olympic Games. The event would thus be an opportunity to bring them together at La Grand-Combe and to link culture and sport", explains the elected official, who was also mayor of the town in question. "This would also make it possible to put young people from the Alès basin in contact. This boy is brilliant and carries values, my proposal could perhaps interest him". Then he finishes: “He was born in Toulouse. So we have one thing in common which is Occitania. It's a Cévennes invitation… Fingers crosseds".