Brégançon may open to public
Hollande says that president’s official Côte d'Azur holiday home should be opened up, perhaps as a museum
PRESIDENT Hollande has proposed that the presidential summer home at the Fort de Brégançon on the Côte d'Azur should be opened to the public.
The fort, where he spent his first summer holiday as president last year, dates from the 17th century and Mr Hollande says that it is not comfortable enough. He said that, despite its isolation on an island off Bormes-les-Mimosas in the Var, it was also too open to paparazzi cameras.
It has been used by all the presidents of the Fifth Republic but was an especial favourite of Georges Pompidou and Valery Giscard d’Estaing. It could be opened to the public as a type of museum of the Fifth Republic, with some details and photos of presidents holidaying there.
Although he stayed at Brégançon last year, this year Mr Hollande is officially still at work during the summer and not taking a holiday. He has been criss-crossing the country to keep visible while staying in La Lanterne in the Chateau de Versailles.
Brégançon was made an official presidential residence in 1968 by President de Gaulle but he rarely used it, preferring Colombey-les-Deux-Eglises.
President Chirac openly admitted that he found it annoying and President Sarkozy preferred his wife Carla’s nearby family holiday home of Cap Nègre.
Photo: Patrub01
