At the risk of tiring those who know them, do we need to remind them once again of the origins of Sceaux's Félibrean and southern tradition? Yes, if only for the benefit of newcomers who may well wonder what these eleven busts are doing "in the beautiful garden next to the church". The few words engraved on their stele are far too cryptic to serve as an explanation.

If Sceaux is often regarded as a sort of southern enclave in the Île-de-France region, it's because our town has an unusual tradition, stemming from the discovery by Paul Arène and other members of the southern friendly society "La Cigale", in 1878, of the tomb of Florian*, a fabulist, novelist and playwright from the second half of the 18th century.

A native of Languedoc, Florian had set the action of his pastoral novel Estelle et Némorin on the banks of the Gardon and had enriched this work in French with a song in "languedocien". In the 19th century, this earned him the reputation of being a precursor of their action by the advocates of the revival of the langue d'oc, foremost among whom were the members of Félibrige, a literary movement founded in 1854 by Frédéric Mistral and a few friends to defend and promote the 'language of the South', which had been endangered by centralism.

It was in memory of Florian that "Cigaliers et Félibres" established - and maintained - with the support of the mayor and the municipality, the practice of holding festivities in Sceaux every year, in late spring or early summer, These festivities have on many occasions been presided over by eminent figures such as Frédéric Mistral (twice), the Romanian poet Vasile Alecsandri, Émile Zola, Anatole France and, more recently, André Chamson and Hervé Bazin. .. This is also where the busts mentioned above have been erected over the years, in memory of the most famous Félibres. In the same spirit, conferences and historical and literary meetings are regularly held around the langue d'oc. On a more popular level, the tradition has also given rise to the Foire aux santons et crèches de Provence, which celebrated its 37th anniversary last December, and the Marché de Provence, which will be celebrating its 22nd edition in early June.

* Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian was born in 1755 in Sauve (Gard) and died in 1794 in Sceaux, where he spent much of his short life at the court of the Duc de Penthièvre.