“The year after stopping, I already wanted to come back”, the confidences of Pilou Pilou launcher Cédric Abellon for his return to the microphone at Mayol

He's back. Several years after stepping back, the emblematic Pilou Pilou pitcher reappeared, bare-chested and with visible tattoos, on the Mayol pitch for the first of the year 2025. A pre-match moment filled with emotions for the 46-year-old former aeronautical electrician and tattoo artist, who had been waiting to take the microphone again for a long time.

You sang Pilou Pilou again on Saturday January 4, more than five years after your last performance. What did this give you?

Cedric Abellon: I managed to get the chills on my own. It was just magical. I also thank the supporters for the welcome which touched me a lot. I missed all that and it feels good to come back.

What is the story of this return?

The RCT contacted me to see if I wanted to come back. We saw each other, and there were no problems. I myself have wanted to do it again for several years. In fact, I think that the year after stopping, I already wanted to come back. (laughs)

What does this song mean to you?

For me, it's the history of Toulon. Many do not know what it means and believe it is a folk song. But, in fact, it has a real story. The lyrics were transformed in the 1940s by Marcel Bodrero in relation to the Landing.

How do we prepare to chant the “terrible war cry”?

There is no special preparation. I usually do my makeup at home. There, I did it at the stadium because it had to remain a surprise. I even had to hide so the cameras wouldn't see me. Otherwise, it makes people laugh but, in general, before the Pilou Pilou, I drink two or three pastis! (laughs) It numbs the vocal cords a little and allows me to yell a little easier. (smile)

Do you have a favorite passage?

The first sentence. Roughly, “Ah! We the terrible warriors of Pilou Pilou who descend from the mountain towards the sea”, it was when the Germans landed in Toulon and the warriors came down from the forts. And, as in Toulon, we don't like to lose too much on our land, we will say that it is this sentence which gives me the most thrills.

You decided to retire in 2019. Why?

It was really gripping. I was losing a lot of time with my family, birthdays, things like that where I had to leave to go do Pilou Pilou. In the end, it was my family who saw that I missed it. My relatives told me: “It doesn’t matter, it’s your passion. So live your passion.” They were even the ones who encouraged me to start again.

Wasn't it too hard to see someone else singing the song you had embodied for eleven years before?

It was hard because I missed it. There was nostalgia. But there were some before me and there will be some after me. This tradition must continue.

Did you still go to Mayol?

Yes, because the RCT remains a passion. My father took me to the stadium when I was three years old. I grew up with it. For a Toulon resident, Rugby remains in the blood and in the heart. When we see the people there were in port when they brought back the Shield and the Cup, it was maddening. I wandered around a bit, then stood on one of the balconies. France 3 asked me to do a Pilou Pilou from up there. People downstairs were saying “chut, chut” and, suddenly, there was no longer a sound in the port. I was asked if I needed a microphone. I said: “Don’t worry”. And the port exploded.

Beyond the supporter, who is Cédric Abellon in everyday life?

I closed my tattoo parlors. I was first in Mourillon, then in Mayol, and finally in Ollioules. But I was planning to renovate a house, so I no longer had time to take care of it. There, I opened a swimming pool company in the area. And now, I tattoo for friends and for fun, because it remains a passion.

Have you ever tattooed professional rugby players?

A lot, even! The one I have tattooed the most, I think it’s Mathieu Bastareaud. Afterwards, there was Steffon Armitage, Gerhard Vosloo, Josua Tuisova… I kept in touch with quite a few of them.

What are your next goals?

I'm going to start running my business and maybe I'll reopen a salon to give my daughter, who is also a tattoo artist, a foot in the door. At the RCT, I signed on for an indefinite period and I don't plan to leave. Unless I no longer have a voice one day, I think I'll stay for a long time… Unless the club decides to change the way things are a little or bring in someone else. On the Internet, some supporters have also suggested that guys could come and do it with me once in a while. It would give them something nice and unique to experience. This is something that could be doable