Did you know ? In the south of Tarn, there is a principality…

It starts as a funny story. Then it gets serious. But it’s still a funny story. In the south of TarnThere is a principality. Which also has hundreds of members abroad. And who will soon distribute identity cards.

This principality is that of… Mazamet ! Its prince is Corentin Galibert. He looks back at the genesis of this adventure which today takes a new turn.

Anti-Castrais just for fun

“It dates back to the beginning of the 2010s. We created the principality to provide schoolboy humor,” the prince explains to Occitanie News. Independentist for laughs, on social networks, the principality especially destroys the Castres, eternal enemies.

The association is reborn from its ashes

“And then it kind of fell into oblivion. With a friend, we then created an association. The goal was to sell goodies,” continues Corentin Galibert. But that too “fell a bit out of the water”. Until recently…

A few months ago, the association regained momentum. “We wanted to connect Mazamétains all over the world”explains the prince, who recalls that “the Mazamétain is a traveler” since the industrial boom of what is today the sixth city of the department with around 10,000 inhabitants, but had more 150 years ago and still exceeded the 17,000 souls in the 1960s.

This time, it’s serious. A census is carried out. Around 450 Mazamétains are located everywhere. A new logo is created. With a charter, less schoolboy.

Evenings in Toulouse and Paris

And in October 2023, a first Mazamet evening is organized in Toulouse. A success. In the process, the association relaunched the idea goodies. Polo shirts, mugs, caps… The principality’s branded products sell well. Finally, on March 28, 2024, the association is organizing a second evening, in a city where the diaspora is very present: Paris. Corentin Galibert lived there. Besides, there, we called him “Maza”…

Next step: an app. “It is currently under development,” explains Corentin Galibert. Previously, the association used stupid Google documents to identify its members. Soon everything will be automateda way to connect Mazamétains a little more.

“During the Parisian evening, I saw two ladies talking, they only knew each other by sight before. There is also someone who found a person he had not seen for 25 years,” says the prince, who wants to build relationships. And to do this, there will still be evenings. Two per year in Toulouse and one or two elsewhere in France: Paris, Bordeaux, Lyon…

Soon in Canada?

Dreaming, one day, of doing the same in Canada. Because it is there that we find the most Mazamétains abroad according to the first census data. But it is not only in Quebec that we find nostalgic for the old ski resort of Triby or discussing the merits of the Hautpoul footbridge. They are found in Thailand, Cameroon, Panama, Luxembourg, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Ivory Coast, Taiwan…

The app will be officially launched during a new evening in Toulouse, on June 27. ” There will be a free game and another, more developed, paying,” specifies the prince, who presents the thing as a real internal Mazamétain social network. “For example, we can contact each other for visiting advice or find a plumber,” he lists.

A highly sought-after identity card

Another project, that of making portraits of Mazamétains. But that’s not all. In September, the principality will issue an identity card. “It was in high demand,” argues Corentin Galibert, who sees the association as a soft power tool that promotes the city. And that the town hall sees favorably.

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