Paul Peytoureau is a freelance journalist and videographer. After the death of his grandparents, he decides to interview elders to preserve their memory. Since then, he has thousands of followers on social media and is currently on tour in France, meeting nonagenarians in France.
“The trigger was the death of my grandparents.” After the loss of these ancestors, condomois Paul Peytoureau began interviewing elderly people. In 2022, it starts with its neighbors before expanding its horizons. Since the end of the year, he has gradually posted the content on social media and quickly found an audience: “I think people relate to the interviewees, because it reminds them of their own grandparents, especially those who have lost them, the authenticity and the sincerity of the testimonies are also very pleasant”, analyzes the independent journalist.
For two years, the counters have been panicking on the Gersois networks, which has more than 150,000 subscribers. Requests for interviews are pouring in from all over France, keeping up with subscriptions. To try to answer as best as possible, Paul decides to embark on a grand tour of France, to meet people over 88 years old in our country: “We divided France into four zones, one month per zone, to represented all departments. and to have an exhaustive overview, I plan to conduct around 130 interviews between June and September,” Condomoisul indicates.
In general, speed is the law on social media when trying to capture the attention of internet users. But Paul doesn't hesitate to get off the beaten path and take his time with the elders: “I can't get people's attention three-quarters of the time. Primarily because I'm not looking for it: in many cases of videos. , there is teasing (a few seconds of the most sensational passage), which I try to be as honest as they are on the show, without cheating, altering or improving it doesn't have a million views I don't care; 20,000 views, I'm already happy.”
Started in June, he already has more than 80 talks on his tour in France: “I choose themes by comparing two incomparable eras. We discuss health, comfort, education, marriage, etc. However, I remain flexible and let people express themselves. .”
Sensitive to the words of his interlocutors, the 30-year-old drew several lessons: “First of all, the resilience of these people, who went through hard times, sometimes without free time. Then the values of this generation: honesty, the desire to do good, family, sharing But also their sense of economy, that is to do a lot with very little, whether in the kitchen or in DIY. They taught me to think differently about how I spend and it starts with simple things like not leaving the water running.”
A documentary in the works?
It is precisely these moments of sharing with nonagenarians that Paul knows better than anyone that they are fragile: “I interviewed a person who died a week later. The family was very grateful to have their memories. Elders often leave nothing behind, so these interviews are valuable.”
Last Saturday, the Condomois returned to the roads for a final month of exchanges with the ancestors of the metropolis before going to meet those overseas. In total, he estimates that editing all the Tour de France episodes will take him six months. At the end of 2025, it aims to release a documentary to summarize this major project.