The childhood of a creator

I loved spending my Thursday afternoons in the Briançon library. I was fascinated and intrigued by science, and Dad was a big part of that. He had the ability to answer all my questions on a wide range of subjects, and I have to give him credit for this, which remained true right up to the end of his life. He was a well of science and an inexhaustible source to which the whole family always referred. In that famous library, I learned one striking thing: that Einstein had written to President Roosevelt to research nuclear weapons and launch the Manhattan Project that would lead to the first atomic bomb... The Internet and search engines were out of the question, and collecting information left and right helped me develop a great curiosity.

I had other hobbies. At boarding school, to integrate us, we were sponsored by a senior, with whom I discovered the film club and astronomy. The teachers were also very involved in our care, especially in physical education where our respiratory difficulties were remedied by sport. I still enjoy cycling to this day.

As early as 6th grade, my French class included a painting by Paul Klee called "Château". This work of art, which I contemplated for hours on end, was to be a defining moment in my life, inspiring my future creations. This fascinating memory is still with me after so many years.

I learned much later that the principal of this lycée, André Rouède, was a visionary, ahead of his time when it came to education. He wrote in a book, "Le Lycée impossible", just before May '68, that "I was paid to raise the level of humanity". I was fortunate to have this formidable example of humanity and an exceptional tutor, who took care to ensure that boarding school gave us a sense of responsibility at a very early age, and that his school made our minds grow.

I arrived in Saint-Étienne in 1967 and entered the lycée Etienne Mimard in seconde. But what I found was a boarding school where students went their separate ways, going home at weekends. We didn't do anything together, there was no solidarity between us. I even remember hearing one guy say, "Ah sir! I felt like I was back in kindergarten. As soon as people aren't federated, it's survival of the fittest. In class, I had the average, but I wasn't interested in living in this environment where the group spirit had disappeared and the quality of exchange had vanished.

I couldn't stand the atmosphere and left Etienne Mimard after 3 months. I asked my father: "Could I do an apprenticeship with you? Too happy to think that one of his sons wanted to do the same job as him, he agreed. My new life began.