The story begins on a 31st of December. And ends on the 31st of January. I am doing a tour of France by car for Le Monde Magazine. I chose the city of Sète as my starting and finishing point. Why ? Because Paul Valéry, who is buried in the marine cemetery here, once said that France « is as diverse as the people who inhabit it » And also because now I am from Sète . . .

The idea is to drive. To drive through the snow, the fog, as well as the rain to a different town and region each day. A month is a short amount of time to lay out the landscape of a country. My assistant Nicolas and I will have driven roughly 10000 km with exciting encounters along the way.

We were expecting to come across a France caught up in the crisis, but instead we have discovered a nation in resistance. No longer joyful nor resigned. The French are maybe proud of their republican values and ready to defend them, but nonetheless they remain welcoming and hospitable….