It was around thirty years ago, but in Cour-L'Evêque, the oldest residents remember it as if it were yesterday. Eglantine was then the star of the village. She was the domesticated sow of Jean and Michèle Galizzi.
The story recalls that of Rillette, collected by the Haut-Marne horse breeder, Elodie Cappé, established in Aube. Eglantine also had dealings with the authorities, who wanted to seize her. Keeping a wild animal is prohibited in France, except after authorization from the Prefecture. “I remember my grandmother circulating a petition. She wanted to keep it. She had warned that she would have to be killed first, if someone wanted to take “her” Eglantine,” says Jean-Christophe Douchet, who was just a kid at the time.
Taken in by his grandfather, when his mother was the victim of a falling tree, the boar was immediately adopted at home, into a family of hunters. “She behaved like a dog. My grandmother ended up obtaining permission to keep her, on the condition that she called the rendering plant when she died,” recalls Jean-Christophe Douchet.
In the village, for more than 15 years, the animal attracted the sympathy and tenderness of the inhabitants. “He was a bit of a mascot. The police came to see her. Every morning, the postman, Sandro, brought him a cake. She was waiting for him, the devil! It's crazy how smart she was. As for the baker, he gave him all the unsold goods from the day before,” he says.
-“We did mud baths in Eglantine in the summer”
With no enclosure available, it was a neighbor of the grandparents who offered land. Only once did Eglantine escape, after her owners went on vacation. “We were going for a walk with her at our feet. In the summer, we gave him mud baths for his fur. The dog was playing with her, they were having wild races! », he continues. One day, leftover shrimp from the day before remained intact, Michèle Galizzi worried about Eglantine. Upon arrival, the animal had died a natural death, leaving a big void in the daily life of the couple who had seen her grow up.
“The “Rillette” affair brought back lots of memories. I know Elodie Cappé (the owner). She and the animals are a great love story. I trust her completely, I am convinced that she takes care of Rillette perfectly,” confides Jean-Christophe Douchet. Rillette's case was examined in summary proceedings this Monday at the Châlons-en-Champagne administrative court. A decision has not yet been made regarding the animal's future.
Delphine Catalifaud
