The Vesoul family came to our agency. – © Philippe Combrousse
A couple and their two daughters, natives of Reunion Island, stayed a few days in the prefectural town whose name they bear.
Admit it, it’s not common to be called… Vesoul. This name, as we have verified, is the one that appears on the passports of Jean-Olivier Wilman, Yolaine, his wife, Maëlys and Emie, their daughters and obviously, of Marie-Sylvette, his mother. Because at the time, when the information reached us, we immediately thought it was a joke, until all these little people pushed the door of the agency of our weekly La Presse de Vesoul, an obligatory passage when we call ourselves Vesoul.
For a few days, at the beginning of last week, the Vesoul family stayed in Vesoul and strolled through the streets. “The first business that we discovered was the boutique Quelle pas!, located on rue Leblond, we have a store that has the same sign in our town, except that the exclamation point is replaced by a question mark, but the “The activity is identical, you can find second-hand clothes and items there,” reports Yolaine.
“We are proud to be called Vesoul,” underlines Pierre-Olivier Wilman after having toured the prefectural town (the English Garden, the lake leisure area, etc.) and interacting with the residents.
Thursday, before continuing their stay in France near Auxerre, the family spoke with Alain Chrétien, mayor, who on this occasion gave them a book on Vesoul, but also caps, pens and a bag of races. “This is the first time that I have met a family called Vesoul,” the town’s chief magistrate told them.
If Marie-Sylvette, 64 years old, had already come to mainland France in 2010, as part of a pilgrimage to Lourdes with a group of Reunion Islanders, on the other hand, it was a first for her son and daughter-in-law, remaining in Saint-Gilles-les-Bains. Which landed at Orly, after an eleven and a half hour flight.
“We had heard about Vesoul through the Brel song, which they told us about,” reports Jean-Olivier Willman, self-employed in construction and public works, who lives some 12,000 km from the town of Vesoul.
Their visit to Vesoul was part of a trip to Lyon where the eldest of their daughters, Maëlys, 9 years old, took part in a classical dance competition where she obtained 2e price. A fourth grade student, the resident of the Saint-Gilles-les-Bains ballet studio, a dance school she has been attending for three years, finished first in Reunion, with the added bonus of being the jury’s favorite. “We had two months to prepare for the trip,” explains Yolaine, medical secretary.
“Do you have snow?” asks Jean-Olivier Willman, 35, who has no memory, except through the window of the small screen, of having seen a snowflake. “Currently, with us, temperatures are around 30 degrees and are around 15 degrees in winter,” he says.
Concerning the origin of his last name, he does not have any documents on the subject. Jean-Olivier Willman promised to look into the issue before returning to Vesoul next time. He’s at home here!
