READING A Dispatch from Le Mans
WORDS AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY Noa Avishag Schnall
JUNE 24, 2024
Samuel Chauveau embodies the spirit of Le Mans, and he is no gearhead. He’s the owner of La Bulle bookstore, among the most prolific vendors, if not the top seller, of ‘bande dessinée’ in all of France.
Bande Dessinée, or as they’re better known, BD, are an extremely popular, majority French, and culture-specific form of comics, some hyperrealist in style. Chauveau is so passionate that he can barely keep still; he adores them. And it’s this compulsion for BD that brought him closer to his city’s claim to fame: The iconic 24 Hours of Le Mans.
“We are at the heart of the machine. Even if you're not interested in cars as a Le Mans native, if you've been here for a long time, you're bound to be affected by it all,” says Chauveau, “and it's also true that the 24 Hours week gives the city a real, real energy. There's an atmosphere, there's something different from the rest of the year.”
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The Cathedral of Saint Julian of Le Mans was built mostly during the Medieval period, using Romanesque and Gothic architectural styles.
For one week in mid-June, the French city of Le Mans swells to accommodate the 24-hour endurance race, which bears its name, and which just last year celebrated its centenary. Fanatics from all over the world come to enjoy the week-long festivities leading up to the race, and the circuit that has made its way into pop culture, immortalized on film by Steve McQueen in Le Mans (1971) and more recently in Ford v Ferrari (2019), among so many others.
The race, won by the car that covers the greatest distance in 24 hours, takes place on the legendary Circuit de la Sarthe race course, which is currently in its 15th iteration, the most recent modification made in 2018. The race is partially run on the private Bugatti Circuit, which includes the historic Dunlop Curve and arc, and partially on public Le Mans streets that are temporarily shut off for the race and the week prior. The Circuit is nearly eight and half miles long, making it one of the longest in the world, where cars reach maximum speeds of around 200 mph. Because of the cars’ intense acceleration and deceleration, the Circuit has been a testing ground for durable innovation for manufacturers. Yet, this playground for modern engineering is juxtaposed against a city that has a rich ancient and medieval history.
Chauveau’s first bookstore was nestled in the old city, Cité Plantagenêt, where the famous Le Mans Cathedral dedicated to Saint Julien of Le Mans is also located. The Gothic Cathedral, bigger than Notre Dame in Paris and built mostly during the Medieval period, is replete with stunning stained glass work. The cavernous nave and transept mixes Romanesque and Gothic styles. Parts of the Roman wall from the 4th century, a candidate for UNESCO World Heritage status, are still standing on the city’s outskirts.
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Samuel Chauveau, owner of La Bulle bookstore with copies of the Michel Vaillant bande desinée or BD.
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Samuel Chauveau reveals the inner panels of the Michel Vaillant BD.
It was in his bookstore that Chauveau connected with the 24-Hour race. Samuel grew up reading the Michel Vaillant BD, created by Jean Graton, about a manufacturer of fictional Vaillant race cars whose test driver son, the eponymous Michel Vaillant, races at Le Mans. Shortly after opening his shop 41 years ago, he contacted Graton to collaborate. “It's thanks to Michel Vaillant and Jean Graton that I was able to go to the Circuit much more easily.” From there, the collaboration blossomed and Michel Vaillant limited editions were created for La Bulle.
The Michel Vaillaint colors and character are well-known in France and among racing fans internationally. Jean-Louis Dauger, Director of the Michel Vaillant Brand, thinks the reason the BD really resonates with readers and has been so popular — with over 25 million sold — is the mix of motorsports and family values. Additionally, according to Dauger, the attention to detail in the Vaillant cars and their evolution over the years likens the brand to a real car manufacturer.
“Le Mans has always been key in the story of Michel Vaillant. I think in all 83 albums, Michel Vaillant drove in Le Mans 14 or 15 times. So it's always been a key location because it's magical,” says Dauger.
Since joining the brand, Dauger has found ways to bring Michel Vaillant to new audiences while still retaining legacy supporters. He’s even been able to run cars, decked out in the Valliant colors, in the 24-hour race on several occasions.
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Jean-Louis Dauger, Director of the Michel Vaillant Brand, has created a limited series of high-end art prints.
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View from the old city looking down on the Hypercar parade.
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On Test Day, a Hypercar whips past the upstairs window of L’Auberge des Hunaudières restaurant, which looks out on the Circuit.
In the week preceding the race, there are ticket-free festivities accessible to all. Since 2012, the events have been held in the Place de la Republique. The square has been called the “heart of the relationship between the city and the race,” where spectators, drivers, manufacturers, and passers by can all peek in on the action. Before the ticketed circuit events kick off, there are the Republique activities, including weigh-in and scrutineering days, the newly added Hypercar parade, the Pilot Parade.
Le Mans locals in the service industry know that this will be their busiest time all year. Charlotte Boucheron, Director of Le Mans Metropolitan Tourist Office, cited a 50 percent surge in race attendance from 2022 to 2023 attracting more than 325,000 spectators, more than tripling the city’s population of just under 150,000 people.
Bars and restaurants with good views onto the public road sections of the circuit are fully booked on race weekend and some in the week leading up to it. One needs to have made their reservations well in advance to gain access. On the legendary Mulsanne Straight (called ‘La Ligne Droite des Hunaudières’ in French), not far from the first chicane, is one such restaurant, the Auberge Des Hunaudières. Founded by the Génissel family in 1925, who originally ran it as a hotel and restaurant (and briefly as fuel suppliers!), they brought it to prominence and made it the historic hangout of drivers, engineers, race team members, and high society. The champagne brand, Moët & Chandon, whose PR manager in the mid-’60s was from Le Mans, used to organize a lavish winners’ dinner on Sunday evening at the Auberge, after completion of the 24 Hours.
Nowadays, the husband and wife duo Dominique and Nathalie Trotté own and operate the restaurant and have since 2007. When their son Ludovic was five or six years old, his room was just upstairs from the restaurant and faced the street. Dominique recalls little Ludo being surprised by the cars going past when they first moved in. He watched the race live on TV, “and he said to me, ‘Dad, the cars passing in front, are they the same ones on TV?’” Dominique confirmed. The two rooms upstairs are now popular viewing spaces for the race, with windows that provide panoramas of the cars whipping past.
The family has a clientele that sometimes includes former drivers. Derek Bell, five-time Le Mans winner is a regular; four-time Le Mans winner (and record 33-time participant!) Henri Pescarolo has been in on several occasions. “What's a bit funny is that we often see the drivers jogging by … I think all the drivers recognize the restaurant,” says Dominique over the swarm of hypercars circulating on Test Day.
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The historic wood-paneled structures of the old city of Le Mans, Cité Plantagenêt.
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Fred Bouvier, proprietor and bartender at Le Pilier Rouge, located in the old city of Le Mans.
Back in the old city, proprietor Fred Bouvier mans his bar, Le Pilier Rouge, located in one of the historic and picturesque wood-paneled buildings that line the narrow cobblestoned streets. Tourists are in and out drinking on the terrace, enjoying the 24 Hours atmosphere. Locals have finished their Sunday shopping at the nearby Marché Des Jacobins, the weekly open-air market at the foot of Le Mans Cathedral, and have come in for a drink.
Fred’s place is a local haunt where Manceau couple Thierry and Carine feel so at home that Carine jumps behind the bar to help dry glasses. Local artists, José and Jean-Paul, enjoy beers after spending the afternoon painting in the park a few meters away. Others come in to get their scratchers and cigarettes. Samuel Chauveau greets Fred before continuing busily down the street. Lovingly, Fred admits that sometimes the mentality of Manceau people can be a bit rural, what he calls the “jetset rillette” after the Le Mans delicacy of preserved meat. But he adds that everyone respects the 24-Hours, and what it brings to the city, in atmosphere, history, and tourism.
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Madame Grudé’s business, Maison Grudé, located at the Marché des Jacobins has a steady stream of locals lining up to purchase her rillette, sausages, and free-range eggs.
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A classic Ferrari on display at the 8th annual R’Hunaudière event in neighboring town Ruaudin.
“Everyone has a relationship with the automobile here. And locally, there's also a great industrial history,” says Bertrand Corbeau, President of the Sarthe delegation of the Automobile Club of the West (or the ACO in French). The ACO organizes the 24-hour race and had a booth at the 8th annual R’Hunaudière event in neighboring town Ruaudin, which this year paid tribute to Italian brands such as Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, Lamborghini and Isotta Fraschini. Each year, a few days before the race, the town celebrates a different model, manufacturer or decade of vehicles, though all cars were welcome to show off their goods. Corbeau has been in attendance at the 24 Hours for the past 40 years. “Like a lot of people here, eh?” he says, “it’s a real fever.”
The 24 Hours of Le Mans has unequivocally reached cult status, becoming even more famous abroad than in France. Every year, local tattoo artist Ana Mady Sun has several clients come into her shop, La Nuit des Temps in the old city, asking for a tattoo of the famous Sarthe circuit outline. After one day in Le Mans, you’ll know the outline nearly by heart. You can find it everywhere: on car decals, on posters, on the vinyl wrap of the city’s trams, on posters, and it’s even the shape of the 24-Hours Museum building.
For 23-year-old Le Mans native, Brandon Metivier, attending Day 2 of Weigh In and Scrutineering sessions with his parents means wearing wigs in the Italian national colors. Aside from that, however, their gear is 100 percent Ferrari red and yellow. They consider the 24 Hours a family passion, and have brought Brandon every year since he was five. The Metivier plan is to arrive early on Saturday for the start of the race. “And of course,” says Brandon, “we stand in front of the Ferrari pit to encourage them as much as we can throughout the race.” For the following 24-hours they plan to move around the circuit to catch their best glimpses of the cars, and Antonio Fuoco, Brandon’s favorite driver, who would go on to win the 2024 Hypercar division with his team Ferrari AF Corse. As far as the family tradition, Brandon says, “I will try to pass that on to my children.”
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This 1936 Renault Vivaquatre Familiale is a homage to the Renault plant in Le Mans, founded in 1920.
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Heart of Racing Aston Martin on Weigh In and Scrutineering Day 1.
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Brandon Metivier (center) and his mother and father, attend Weigh In and Scrutineering Day 2.
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Die-hard Ferrari fans cheer on the team on Weigh In days.
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A scene from the 2024 Hypercar Parade.
Come Thursday before the race, all events have moved to the track and ticketed entrance is required. The stadium itself is enormous, with a capacity of 100,000, and navigating from stands to booths one can easily get in their 10,000 steps. But in central Le Mans, near Place de la Republique and north of the Circuit, things are beginning to calm.
At West AF Délice Food DTF African Le Mans, soccer is on TV and men converse about politics, the recent EU election, and the ensuing match. The restaurant specializes in Malian and Senegalese dishes. Just before heading to the Circuit, I’ve come in to pick up an order of Senegalese Chicken Mafé and a side of Acheke, chicken in a thick red peanut sauce with root vegetables served with cooked granulated cassava. Not expecting much interest in the race, I ask in passing if the Manceau cashier is interested in the 24 Hours or not really, even posing the question in such a way presupposing a certain response. “Yes! Yes! What, you’re not from here?”
Despite every opportunity to, and perhaps every reason to, express even slight bother by the race’s complete overturning of their city for one week a year, seemingly all locals have a dear place in their hearts for this venerated event. The race has brought their city international renown, and Le Mans natives are proud of that. Says Bertrand Corbeau, “You say I live in Le Mans, but Le Mans is known everywhere.”
Please note that a previous version of this article ran with a photograph incorrectly identifying Guillaume of Exotique Mans shop as the cashier of West AF Délice Food DTF African Le Mans.
