Can the festival continue to grow? “I don’t want to get ahead of myself, but I think we are calibrated for 25,000 people and 80 or 90 authors,” explains the councilor. Although the halls were very often full to bursting, leaving festival-goers in the lurch, the 2024 edition was a success. Over the three days of the event, the public was able to meet 84 authors and participate in 76 editorial meetings.
Quantity over quality
Chef Thierry Marx is known for his committed cuisine and his fights, and the City of Périgueux wants to continue on this path.
Stéphane Klein / SO
The books of honorary president Thierry Marx sold very well, as did those of certain guests in the opinion of several booksellers. “The chef gave another color to the festival,” notes Marie-Pierre Mazeau-Janot, from Les Ruelles, in Périgueux. This year, the public had very interesting thoughts on the way we eat. »
Media figure, Thierry Marx is also known for his committed cuisine. “We had several emblematic leaders, but who had things to say,” confirms the first magistrate. We want to strengthen this line next year, talking about the major issues of reducing inequalities and ecological transition. » Substance rather than form, quality rather than quantity. The 2025 edition will be engaged or it will not be.
An honorary president?
It will also be festive, and for good reason. The festival – the last of the current political mandate, with the next municipal elections taking place in 2026 – will celebrate its 35th anniversary and this will be the 25th edition. The date is not yet known, nor the theme nor the honorary president. Delphine Labail spoke in 2023 of her desire to see a woman take on this responsibility for the first time in the next two years and Thierry Marx, as committed as he is, does not check this box.
Two certainties: the previous honorary presidents will all be invited, and a day will be added to the program, Thursday, for schools. Numbering 1,500 this year, there should be 3,000 in 2025. “It is a very suitable way of reaching out to students who do not find themselves in traditional learning,” argues Delphine Labail. Children's authors will therefore come one day earlier to Périgord to share their knowledge with schoolchildren.
