In the Vosges, the Santa Claus does not live quite as we imagine. No sledding under the Northern Lights, but a mountain chalet in Gérardmer. However, every year, this Father Christmas made in France takes an exotic detour:
direction Chengducapital of the Chinese province of Sichuan, where it brings the Christmas spirit.
“For them, Christmas is a bit like Halloween for us”he shared with France 3 Grand Est, before packing his suitcase on November 28, 2023.
After a break forced by Covid, the Vosges Christmas ambassador has rediscovered Chinese exuberance. His playground? The shopping center “New Century Global Center”a juggernaut of 1.7 million square metersfour times larger than the Vatican. There, he is not just a simple distributor of gifts, but a real star. “I'm a little nervous about going back, both stressed, but very happy. It's another world,
everything is oversized over there.”
A tricolor Santa Claus who has become a star in China
The Frenchman is received as a hero: guards of honor, driver, security agents, shower of roses and salary of 10,000 euros. “There, I am a living demigod. (…) Even in civilian clothes, someone takes my picture because of my appearance.”he confided. His schedule boils down to two hours a day of photos and meeting children, without speaking a word of Chinese. “Russia already tried to poach me and moffered 15,000 euros for ten days. I have too much to lose in China.”he shared.
Behind this exceptional Santa Claus, Alain Simonin, 71, a former lumberjack, built his legend with a natural white beard and a Santa Claus House in Gérardmer. Since 2013, he has fascinated Chengdu, a city where, he says, “I leave with a small suitcase, but I always come back with three big suitcases
filled with presents“. Once back in France, the magic comes up against a much duller reality. If children continue to dream in front of the illuminated windows, adults seem less and less inclined to take on the role of the man with the white beard.
A Santa costume that is struggling to find a buyer
A distressing observation: magic is having more and more difficulty finding its performers. “It almost takes make 100 calls to find an available person”lamented Kari Bounabi, founder of the Interim Spectacle agency in Toulouse, interviewed by France 3 Occitanie. The French scene, far from the splendor of Chengdu, is struggling to recruit these Santas for a day. Don the Santa Claus costume no longer attracts crowds.
If recruiters primarily target young retirees, they are also looking for candidates ready to put on makeup, with a
certain comfort with children. But the picture turns out to be much less idyllic than it seems: remuneration
caps at minimum wageenough to cool many ardors. “It is not rewarding for a person of
grill out on a weekend for three francs six sous”confides the recruiter. And this is felt: “No one rushes to the gate to answer and become Santa”. Under these conditions, each candidate becomes rare, to the point that the quest for the perfect Santa sometimes turns into a
true mission impossible.
© Shutterstock In France, the Santa Claus costume is struggling to find buyers, between low pay and growing disinterest
Santa Claus: a tradition in search of new volunteers
Even in the villages, where once a volunteer or a resident willingly took part in the game, the enthusiasm seems to have died down.
“Before, we always found in the villages volunteers and people who played the game. Today, I have the impression that there is less enthusiasm. That adults have a little trouble finding their childish soul again.”observed Kari Bounabi with regret. And to add, worried: “If there is no more Santa Claus,
we are in a bad way anyway !”
And as if the shortage of candidates wasn't enough, it even happens that Santa Claus resigns in the middle of a mission. Last winter, France Live thus told the story of a student who had thrown in the towel after being teased in costume. The beard and the hood no longer have the charm of yesteryear for adults, leaving a doubt: what if theChristmas spirit was he also struggling to reinvent himself?
