FAIT DU SOIR Life on the water aboard a century-old barge in Villeneuve-lez-Avignon

39m long by 5m wide for 170 tons. These are the measurements of the "Hasard", a century-old barge in the colors red, white and black. She has docked since the beginning of the year, alongside six other boats, along the Chemin du Vieux Moulin in Villeneuve-lez-Avignon.

On board: Jean-Marie Pape, Avignonnais by birth, and who chose to go to the Gard side of the Rhône after 17 years on the banks of the island of Barthelasse. "I moved town, changed department, region in 45 minutes without making a single card", he jokes. This life on the water, he wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. He didn't hesitate to sell a house and a sailboat to afford this dream: “My only regret is not having taken the leap before. I work at SAMU. In the evening, when I come home and cross the catwalk, I pass into another world. »

It is true that a holiday air blows on the barge “Le Hasard”. On the bridge, Jean-Marie Pape has installed a beautiful table sheltered from the blazing sun, but also a swimming pool and a vegetable garden. In the holds, there is more than a hundred square meters of living space flooded with light coming through the portholes and bay window roofs. On the other side of the boat, there are two other independent rooms rented as guest rooms. “We tried to keep the original appearance as much as possible“, assures the Villeneuvois. And the concept appeals to the point that both layers are sold out all year round.

Sunk in 1940 but never sunk

If the barge is used today as a dwelling, this has not always been the case. Jean-Marie Pape has always been curious to know the history of his boat. After a call on social networks, he ended up getting in touch with an old lady from Compiègne. A certain Nelly Cornelis who once owned the barge with her husband Joseph. She told him about the origins of her house on the water.

Initially, “Le Hasard” was called “Le Paysan”. The boat was manufactured in 1920 by the Baasrode shipyard in Belgium. It was used to carry goods. Not yet equipped with a motor, it was hauled by roped horses on the canals of the flat country. It was in 1926 that the barge was sold to the Cornelis family, made up of four children.

Fourteen years later, "Le Hasard" was seized by the Allies during the Second World War. But at the time of the breakup, the boat was sunk in June 1940 by the allies in the water station of La Bassée, in the North. "They didn't want the Germans to collect it and melt its steel to make weapons or use it to transport their ammunition," says Jean-Marie Pape. It was not until 1946 that the barge was refloated and motorized by Joseph Cornelis, the last of the siblings. He will marry years later with Nelly, daughter of a large French family of sailors.

A few escapades between 8 and 10 km on the Rhône

They will work on board until the 80s, but at that time, river transport no longer really has the wind in its sails. They cease their activity, he becomes a pilot of a river boat in the capital and she is employed at the sub-prefecture of Compiègne. During this time, the boat, abandoned, remains at the quay. But chance does things well. A Parisian couple has a shared crush on the barge and wants to live on board. They plan to go down to the south, to take advantage of the more favorable climate while the development work is being carried out. Finally, the boat will never leave the arms of the Rhône and the pontoon of the island of Barthelasse until the beginning of 2021. In the meantime, it has passed into the hands of Jean-Marie Pape who lives there peacefully with his wife, his cat, his dog and his parrot.

The latter pampers the iron hull on which the effects of time and the waves collide. To the point that "Le Chance" does not look its age at all. Equipped with two engines, the barge sometimes leaves its location and its breathtaking view of Mont Ventoux to travel on the Rhône, piloted by its happy owner. But never at more than 10 km/h. This leaves time to see the landscape scroll by and enjoy every moment.

Mary Meunier