PHOTOS – Floods in Ardèche: the Papeterie Canson et Montgolfier museum in Davézieux is not about to reopen

From the outside everything is fine, but when you enter the Canson Stationery Museum in Davézieux : shovels, brooms and around fifteen volunteers with boots full of earth. On October 17, 2024, mud invaded the museum. More than two weeks later, it's time to clean up again. In a room on the ground floor, Christine sorts papers. Historical treasures, yellowed and still warped: “the first step was drying, we had to dehydrate the documents to avoid mold and now we are sorting the documents“. Among these archives, an official publication dating from 1943.

Up to 6 feet of water and mud in the basement

“There was mud everywhere, the water was up to my waist,” remembers Marie-Hélène Reynaud, the head of the Ardèche museum: “I created this museum, imagine, when you see it soaking, when you see the water rising. There is a moment of despair and then we roll up our sleeves, we wade through the mud. Some save archives, others repair machines, each on their own. It's extraordinary“. The walls still bear the marks of the flood.

In the basement, the water rose up to 1.80 meters. The paper machine which dates from 1900 and which had been operating until now was completely submerged. Robert, a retired employee and volunteer of the museum, helps this heritage, he knows the machines by heart: “I reassemble the engine but the whole machine still needs to be lubricated, see if there is any water inside, it hurts, we have the impression that we are not going to make it, that everything is ruined and then when we start together, we see that things are progressing“.

More weeks of work

Another room, further down, was even more affected. Some archives stored high up were able to be saved. The mud even overturned a tank capable of holding 6,000 liters, which remains in the passage. Marc, volunteer, has worked in the industry, he has training in electronics and takes care of “the electrical cabinet which was drowned in water, we are in the rewiring phase and then we will move on to troubleshooting“.

The work is far from finished, there are still weeks of cleaning and repairs and it is impossible to know when the museum will be able to reopen, regrets the manager. “We are not at the end of the road“.