final tribute to Victor Renaud, the pioneering organic gardener

The scene takes place in the early 2000s, during a Agricultural showPorte de Versailles, in Paris.

A regular visitor, the President of the Republic Jacques Chirac arrives in the space reserved for authors and book publishers. He rushes towards the table behind which Victor Renaud is sitting, shakes his hand vigorously and says to him: “I am happy to shake the hand of a peasant writer. »

Straight away, the Preslois gardener replied: “And I’m happy to shake the hand of a big vegetable. »

Scathing humor

The anecdote was told on Thursday January 9, 2025, during the civil funeral of Victor Renaud, in Presles (Val-d'Oise). She made the public laugh as she had made the former head of state laugh at the time.

That was also Victor Renaud: caustic humor and sniper repartee, all delivered with a crooked smile and an eye full of mischief.

The annex room of the sports and leisure center (Csl) had difficulty containing the hundred people who came to attend the ceremony in tribute to the gardener, pioneer of agrobiology, who died on December 25, 2024 at the age of 89 .

“He participated a lot in the life of the town,” recalls Céline Caudron, the mayor (Se) of Presles. We published his columns in our municipal newspaper, he was a personality from Presloe. »

Organic pioneer

A pioneer of organic farming and a fervent defender of eating better, Victor Renaud has published several dozen works since his first book in 1982. An endearing character, the Preslois gardener had also published several practical sheets in The Echo, the Regional et The Gazette du Val-d'Oise.

He shared his passion for ancient vegetables with everyone. “Victor opened his garden to the public every year and there were people who came from all over France,” remembers Pierre Bemels, the former mayor of Presles, who awarded him the insignia of Commander of the Order of Agricultural Merit , in 2019. We went from discovery to discovery, especially with the enormous tomatoes that he grew. He was forward-thinking, always smiling and loved to joke. »

Huge tomatoes

After Céline Caudron's speeches, Michel, his son-in-law and Gisèle, his partner, the family and friends of “Father Victor” paid him a last tribute before accompanying him to the Presles cemetery where he now rests .

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