Note to the reader: Before going to the scene of the long-awaited report in Montcuq, within the editorial staff of 20 minutes, giggles and other risky jokes crossed the open space. For example, I was offered to go to a rotisserie to “check if Montcuq was indeed chicken”, or asked if “the path was narrow until Montcuq”. Of course, the expression “To have Montcuq between two chairs” was also followed by some laughter. But, at the risk of disappointing you, we will formally avoid limiting ourselves to this simple saucy name to describe the village of Montcuq.
From our special correspondent in Montcuq (pronounced “Monkuk”),
It is 2 p.m. on Monday and the Café du center is still very popular on the pretty square of Montcuq, in the Lot. On the terrace, hikers and passing cyclists taste typical Quercinois dishes while listening to French variety. Inside, the sound system spits out sad song lyrics My pal by Daniel Guichard and denotes with the general atmosphere. ” You see, it was not misery. It wasn’t heaven either whisper three friends seated and sore from their hikes on the GR65, better known as the Camino de Compostela.
At the counter, Maurice, in his early twenties, laughs with his colleagues and even his competitor across the street, the Café de France waiter: “What time do you finish? In an hour ? Do we catch up after? At the counter, for Maurice, there is no doubt, Montcuq is much more than his name. “The village is really pretty. When you walk in the middle, you have pretty nice alleys that look very much like the old days, he says, pointing to the 12th century keep that dominates the town. And the medieval tower is not something you have in every village! »
Daniel Prevost’s Legacy
Leaving the terrace, the small steps lead to a pretty sloping street whose name has made the reputation of the town today: the rue du Petit rapporteur. In 1976, a now famous sketch by comedian Daniel Prevost marks a real turning point for the small town of 1,800 inhabitants: “for the first time on television, I am going to show you Montcuq. And forty-seven years later, his legacy is still firmly rooted in the town.
In his small town hall, at the top of the famous street, the mayor of Montcuq Alain Lalabarde – in shirt and sandals – is delighted and says he is still surprised: “no one would have thought at the time that it would last until in 2023. So why bother taking these saucy jokes, you have to seize opportunities. Above all, it allowed us to make the town known. “In 1977, there were people who came to visit the village. It went on, and it never stopped. And it is from there that the village evolved,” he recalls. Some tourists still pass the village in memory of the sketch, others stay to live there.
A question of balance, always
Because if the village has become a vacation resort in the summer, Montcuq is nonetheless alive in winter. This is surely what makes the strength of this town which, unlike others, dies more when hikers return home. Here, there are restaurants all year round, shops of all kinds, schools up to college and there is no shortage of doctors. “It’s rare, even extraordinary”, rejoices Alain Lalabarde who relies on the attractiveness of the town, while keeping its “rural spirit”. “It’s all about balance,” he says.
Further down rue Petit rapporteur, in his “Quercycles” shop, Philippe rents and sells bicycles… summer and winter, seven days a week. Arrived in the village five years ago for “the quality of life”, the shopkeeper is in no way disappointed: “it’s lively all year round. We are lucky to have quality craftsmen, quality merchants. And above all people stay there. But very quickly, he is interrupted by the arrival of Gaëlle, pained by the weight of her shopping bag on the sloping street. Former teacher, the young woman decided after the health crisis to leave everything to convert to theupcycling : “I mainly specialize in renovating furniture. “Since the end of November, she has occupied the small shop – which also serves as her workshop – opposite the town hall and nothing will make her leave Montcuq now: “It’s the perfect place, because there are a lot of tourists but also a lot of activities with the locals. »
The passion of traders
So inevitably, if more and more traders decide to settle in the town, the space there is more and more limited. “It’s complicated to find commercial premises,” says Gaëlle. “Yeah it’s a hassle,” adds Philippe. Others have been a little luckier in their quest. This is the case of Stéphane, originally from Lot, who decided in 2015 to open his own artisanal brewery “La Rapiette”*, located outside the town.
Tired of his business, the impression of pushing the walls, this former engineer decided to retrain first by brewing beer at home to sell it to friends from work. “Not to make money, but to see if there really was a market,” he recalls. Then, reassured by his success, the self-taught definitively left his job to increase his production. “He’s someone who has his head on his shoulders”, describes him the mayor who, reassured by the solidity of the project, will call him twenty-four hours later to offer him an old barn on the way to Cayrel.
Eight years after the launch, Stéphane now sells six different beers and his production allows him to make a living: “Last year we made 730 hectolitres, or 73,000 litres. With the other co-founder, Charles, it does a lot of work for us. But in the Lot, we don’t have big needs. With only three vats, however, you have to be careful. Sometimes the demand is greater than the supply. “It is necessary to remain cautious when taking an additional store. It’s 4 p.m. and Stéphane has to go, he has to get the bread from the bakery. A new guy, a farmer has just settled not far from his brewery and he makes his bread: “that’s also the strength of this area, we manage to live well without being governed by finance, but without being neglected however. »
“We end up forgetting it”
Back in the village, we have one last encounter, the one for whom words have meaning. In her pretty bookstore/tea room, opened four years ago, Nathalie remains cautious at first about the pronunciation of the name of her town: “sometimes, they give us diction lessons, explaining to us that the Q is not not pronounce. But we do not say a rooster and not a co. What’s more, everyone remembers that Montcuq only owes its name to its geography, because the village is located on a small hill.
Near her big coffee machine, Nathalie – born in the Ile-de-France – nevertheless tries to think about what would make her village strong. Some jazz notes resonate in the background. Customers come and go between the two floors of the bookstore and the pretty garden where you can have tea. “It’s hard to know. But when we walk people around during the day, at the end, they say “if I want to live somewhere, it’s in Montcuq and not in Castellnau or in another village”. Then come the same answers as the other inhabitants. The living side all year round. The vitality of businesses. But for Nathalie, there is something else: “the beauty of the place. » « There is a charm because it is a pretty village without being completely perfect. We are not in Gordes, in the Vaucluse. We don’t have this impression that if we move the geranium pot five centimeters, it’s going to be horrible, ”she compares.
So if these assets allow the village to be attractive, it is not guaranteed to find a place there. There are now very few vacant houses in Montcuq. Evidenced by Jean-Yves who was looking to settle in the town. But this one wanted a very large space. “Two three hectares”. He will have finally found further, but comes to enjoy the Montcuqoise atmosphere every day. “Here, we don’t get bored. We even manage to go out at least once a week”, he laughs in chorus with his bike rental buddy, Philippe.
As for the name, we end up forgetting it. “We don’t necessarily pay attention to it anymore,” admit the Montcuqois. Within the village, however, there are still anecdotes that cannot be invented, as evidenced by the appointment in 2008 of Chantal Larrey (Balat) as director of the Community of communes of Montcuq.
* Alcohol abuse is dangerous for health