It was in this vast residence with two turrets, surrounding an ocher facade, that Charles de Batz de Castelmore was born at the beginning of the 17th century. Better known as d’Artagnan, his life in the service of the crown of France inspired the famous character of Alexandre Dumas. Today, the future of his castle, in Lupiac in the Gers, is at the heart of a duel between a private buyer and the communities. The latter are worried about seeing a property slip away from them that they dream of transforming into a tourist and cultural attraction.
For several years, public actors in the surrounding area have wanted to use the international reputation of the royal musketeer to develop the territory, spearheading the castle located approximately 120 km from Toulouse. In 2022, with the support of Jean Castex then Prime Minister, the department wanted to acquire the property, valued at around “one million euros, with possible variation of more or less 20%” by the estates service, explained Philippe Dupouy, president (PS) of the departmental council. But the department finally had to give up, with the owner demanding double the amount, not to mention major renovation work.
A new purchase proposal
In 2023, the year of the 350th anniversary of the death of the musketeer, the communities (community of communes, department, region, State) have not let down their guard. They launched “Autour de d’Artagnan”, a “prefiguration association” to bring about an “ambitious” project exploiting “the socio-cultural, economic and tourist potential” of the proud Gascon. In this context, the community of communes of Artagnan en Fezensac, whose president Barbara Neto (LR) took the reins of the association, went back, with the support of the State, to attack the castle with a new purchase proposal last summer.
While on the big screens in France, the musketeer was battling Milady de Winter at the end of 2023, the “Around d’Artagnan” project seemed to be well underway. But a surprise decision came to dampen the enthusiasm of public actors.
“A private housing project”
On December 19, the Gers Land Development and Rural Establishment Company (Safer), which has a right of pre-emption over the castle due to the approximately 150 hectares of agricultural land surrounding it, opted for a another track. She has in fact highlighted her interest in the purchase proposal from the CEO of Auchan Retail, Yves Claude, who has “a private housing project” for the estate, according to a source close to the matter.
Safer’s opinion is “extremely wrong” and is “very poorly understood here”, storms today a local political actor who prefers not to be identified. On the community side, the blow is tough. “It would be a real shame if such heritage fell into the hands of the private sector,” says Muriel Abadie, elected from Gers and vice-president (PS) of the Occitanie region in charge of tourism.
To maintain hope, the public partners of the project are clinging to the fact that the procedure before Safer has not been completed. According to a source close to the case, a final decision could resolve the case around January 22.