Île Chaumette

Summer, 1780. At Place du Port-Villiers in Chalon, on the newly laid-out banks of the Saône, a group of men and women in their Sunday best chat cheerfully as they wait to board the river coach: some bound for Tournus, others for Mâcon or Lyon, the final stop. They are already looking forward to this peaceful journey along the water. It may be a little slow, but the scenery from the river is so beautiful… there is never a dull moment…

Then a rider arrives, dressed as a boatman. He has come along the towpath, also known by the evocative name “chemin de la tire”, from the Croix Picard, a cross that has since disappeared. It stood on the bank of the Saône in the territory of Varennes, just beyond the boundary with Saint Loup, opposite Epervans. He dismounts and announces to everyone: “We are not leaving; we cannot get through!”

Extract from an article by François GUILLERMIN