Historique de Port Grimaud: the building permit

The Building Permit :

The building permit was granted by the Prefect of the Var on 13 June 1966 . However, the date of June 14th has always been chosen to celebrate this authorisation...

At that time, a high-ranking civil servant, Paul PLOIX, a close friend of Mr Spoerry, was in charge of the 'Port Grimaud' dossier in the town planning department. When François SPOERRY told him of his intention to baptise the first square of the lake city on the date of the permit, Paul's son Christian, who was present at the conversation, expressed his wish to see this square baptised not on June 13th but on June 14th, his birthday. François SPOERRY took the child at his word and willingly agreed to make the celebration of the building permit finally authorised coincide with this little child's birthday :

the 14th June square therefore commemorates the obtaining of the building permit on the 13th but also the birthday of little Christian !

Text of the Building Permit of 13 June 1966

The permit granted on June 13, 1966 was based on the plan of the future lake city opening its canals onto the Giscle River. But very quickly, while building the first part of the project, which ran along the sea, the architect was forced, after a flood of the river which flooded the building site, to change his plans and to open the water level on the sea... ²

And so was born PORT GRIMAUD...

François SPOERRY'S WORK...