If we speak English in the streets ofEymet, a small Périgord village near Bergerac, in the Dordogne, it is not only because it attracts tourists. Nearly 10% of the population of the town (about 2,600 inhabitants) is of British origin, according to the mayor of Eymet. In front of the restaurants, the menus are in both languages and, even more notable, even the poster at the corner of the street, which suggests joining the local choir. In this charming medieval bastide, which was an English place during the Hundred Years War, we also necessarily talk a little more than elsewhere about the death of the Queen of England, announced Thursday evening.
“I am really very sad”
This Friday, the streets of the village are adorned with paper flowers but that has nothing to do with the death of the sovereign. The Félibrée, a popular Occitan festival, is celebrated there. In the center of the village, under a beautiful arcade, Frances, 54, runs a tea room with English crockery which does not disorient her British customers too much. She has lived in this very quiet town for three years, after leaving the hustle and bustle of London. When the death of the queen is mentioned, her eyes are veiled and she says to herself “really very sad”. It seems too early to organize anything here in France, she needs time to digest the news. But in October, she will go to London and maybe do something with her friends then.
Lindsey, 46, takes advantage of the charm of the bastide by walking along the Dropt, before going to a wedding organized in the surroundings. “I’m really very sad, it’s the end of an era, the whole world will miss her,” she reacts. She’s lived a great life, been everywhere and seen it all. “She was old and couldn’t live forever,” adds her pragmatic husband. For Lindsey, the death of her husband Prince Philippe, in 2021, had marked her a lot. She talks about it with the same empathy as if it were a member of her family, with all-English restraint. No demonstration of emotion in public or special event after this royal death, but a palpable emotion with these nationals by evoking the queen.
“We feel more French than British”
Other subjects of his majesty are less affected. Since 2005, David has lived in the Dordogne with his wife Carina who runs a tea room in Eymet. They settled after falling in love with a beautiful house in this hilly corner of the Périgord Pourpre. “We feel more French than British,” replies David, 62, in French, to justify his relative indifference to the disappearance. “Maybe my mother is sadder than me,” he says. I haven’t had her on the phone yet.
Finally, some local residents are perhaps more upset: “it doesn’t matter after 70 years”, says a resident. “And she was a queen loved by her people, you shouldn’t blame her if she was cold, it was her job,” added another. According to rumors, the village would even be favored by a cousin of the queen who would sometimes go there on vacation in the summer. The fascination for the monarchy does not seem to be the monopoly of the English in any case…