Like the football World Cup, the cousinade of the Deffontaines-Maes family is organized every four years, in Hauts-de-France. The other common point with the high mass of the round ball is that the event requires an impressive, professional organization, which has nothing to envy to the biggest event agencies. Inevitably, because it is not a question of gathering three small children around a Formica table in Grandma Huguette’s kitchen. For this 2023 edition, the descendants of Charles-Louis Deffontaines and Louise Maes were no less than 825.
As much to say it right away, the Deffontaines-Maes family does not draw its origins from the French aristocracy, the descendants provided and the organization of cousinades not being the prerogative of particle names. It is in the land, near Bouvines, that the family roots grew. Roots that have spread widely since: “Our ancestors, Charles-Louis and Louise were farmers. they had six sons, 5 of whom were also farmers and the last, a general in the army”, explains Luc Crombez, triple great-grandson of Emile, one of the sons. And it was because he was keen to maintain a link between his sons that Charles-Louis, in his will, engraved in stone the principle of regularly organizing family reunions.
Six sons and 4,500 descendants
Even with this honorable parentage, it was relatively easy in the early days to plan events that brought everyone together. Except that, as the years and centuries passed, the family grew: “There are approximately 4,500 descendants from the six sons, of whom 3,940 are still alive today. It’s a lot, ”recognizes Luc Crombez. The task of organizing cousinades today might seem insurmountable. She’s not that much. The will of the ancestor having been respected, a detailed family tree and a very complete contact file of family members have been created and are regularly updated. It was also decided, forty years ago, to professionalize the approach: “We had to structure ourselves, so we set up the Deffontaines-Maes association, which publishes an annual magazine, as well as a group of 22 people dedicated to organization of the cousinade”, details the descendant of Emile.
Concretely, the preparation of this gigantic family reunion lasts a year, the members of the special group dividing up the tasks according to their specialties. “There are centers of expertise, in graphics, logistics, catering, registrations… The most complicated thing is managing invitations, reminders and activities offered during the day”, recognizes Luc Crombez. This year, out of the 3,000 guests, 825 attended on Sunday at the Genech Institute, near Lille. The youngest was 10 months old and the oldest 97 years old. It should also be noted that the geographically most distant cousin still made the trip from San Francisco, in the United States.
Contribution to costs and derivatives
A year of preparation, therefore, and a cost that is not negligible, between the rental of the place, the equipment, the activities and especially the food. To finance the cousinade, the association uses contributions, asks for a contribution to the costs and offers derivative products! On a stand, on “D-Day”, are sold T-shirts, caps, posters, souvenir photos and even, this year, a special cuvée of champagne produced by a winegrower cousin.
When the event is over, the organizing committee can breathe a little. It remains to plan a review meeting to determine the points for improvement. “The next one will arrive quickly, and this time, we are aiming for a thousand participants”, launches Luc Crombez. See you in 2027, the same year as the presidential election, however, wishing them a better turnout.