“Right away, he said yes. » But not only that: “He arrived with very good news, they were also financing the statue, it was royal for us. » Pascal Dufour, international secretary of the HDC Desperados, a motorcycle club founded by Johnny Hallyday in 1992, speaks about the mayor of Fréjus. And the life-size bronze statue of their idol which should therefore take place, during 2024, in a square at the end of the marina, as revealed France Blue Provence. The vice-president of the National Rally is one of the singer’s fans. “France mourns #JohnnyHallyday, and will never forget it, thank you Johnny for all the joy you gave us,” tweeted David Rachline, after the announcement of his death in 2017.
“We don’t do politics, it’s Johnny who counts,” says Pascal Dufour. Many fans cannot afford to travel to Paris, let alone Saint-Barth. » The idea of a statue in the south of France was born after the inauguration in Paris of the sculpture in homage to Johnny: a Harley-Davidson on a mast representing a guitar neck… “For us, that makes allusion to rock’n roll, but not to Johnny”, say the Desperados.
“Bikers are not particularly welcome”
The club set out in search of a city which would this time host a real tribute, and dreamed of Saint-Tropez. “The town hall didn’t want to know anything,” regrets Pascal Dufour. Bikers are not particularly welcome. We tried to make it clear that we were not thugs, that we were looking for a place of contemplation, not to spoil the image of Saint-Tropez. » Contacted by 20 minutes, the city did not follow up. The Desperados are turning to other villages in the Gulf of Saint-Tropez, such as Cogolin or Ramatuelle. In vain.
Pascal Dufour prefers to look forward, and is delighted with the statue to come, “which will be a Johnny with a smile” and in the “splendor” of his 50 years at the Parc des Princes. In his workshop, located in Aude, the sculptor Olivier Delobel is already at work. “I’m in the process of making Johnny’s eyes,” he says, dispelling any controversy over funding from an RN town hall: “if someone asked me for a statue of a sulphurous character, that would be complicated, that’s not the case. is not the case. » As for the amount, we will just know that a bust is around 5,000 euros. This is a life-size statue.
Olivier Delobel, on the other hand, knows he is expected by the fans. “There are so many people who specialize in Johnny, some are able to say that his right elbow was quite sharp. You have to pay close attention to all the details. » “It probably won’t please everyone, but that doesn’t matter,” he temporizes. The main thing is to make a beautiful, expressive, living statue. » Different in short from those of Viviers (Ardèche) or Verneuil-sur-Avre (Normandy). “Many fans come on pilgrimage to La Lorada, his villa in Ramatuelle,” also observes Desperado Pascal Dufour. The statue will not be very far away, it will become a crossing point in continuity. »