The Gendarmes are back in town

Hundreds of people turned up to the re-opening of the building, and the warm, sunny weather made it a perfect affair, with delicious champagne and aperitifs being served throughout the day.

The Museum of the Gendarmerie and the Cinema of Saint-Tropez was inaugurated by Mayor Jean -Pierre Tuveri and the Gendarmerie General David Galtier, in the presence of Christian Estrosi, President of the Provence Alpes-Côte d'Azur, Vice President of the Council of the Var department, Muriel Lecca -Berger and President of the Fondation Saint-Tropez, Yves Sabouret. Several of the actors from the original iconic series of film Les Gendarmes de Saint Tropez were present, including Patrick Prejean and France Rumilly. American actress Jane Seymour also attended the event.

The newly created museum dedicated to the infamous Saint-Tropez gendarmes puts the visitor in the atmosphere of the sixties by showing film clips and photographs taken during filming, and even historic vehicles like the famous Dodoche (Citreon 2CV ). The museum is also home to a unique document: the seventh screenplay of “Le Gendarme,” which seems to be about a UFO, but was never actually filmed.

The building that housed the real gendarmerie from 1789-2003 became legendary in the films of director Jean Girault. Brigitte Bardot, who is known as the face of Saint Tropez, is also represented in the museum as it was here that Roger Vadim realised the film “…And God Created Woman.”, creating with it the myth of Saint-Tropez.

The museum offers an introduction to the history of cinema in Saint-Tropez and reveals the many films shot in the Var peninsula, along with the various trades related to the cinema.

The museum is primarily set up into three areas:

• The ground floor offers an insight into the history of the Gendarmerie in Saint-Tropez and the building itself.
• The saga of the films "Le gendarme de Saint-Tropez" is on the 2nd floor. As if you were there, you will find many items from that period, reconstruction of scenes, excerpts from films, and a life-size bronze sculpture of Ludovic Cruchot to welcome you in.
• The third area represents the myth and reality of Saint-Tropez through cinema. Since the beginning of the 20th century, Saint-Tropez has welcomed filmmakers and renowned writers, including those of Jean Girault and Roger Vadim, and also Philippe Harel and Danièle Thompson.

Also on the ground floor is a temporary exhibition hall. The first temporary exhibition of the museum is entitled Dudognon Georges, which looks at the cinema of the French Riviera between 1949-1966 through a series of photographs. Georges Dudognon (1922-2001) was a humanist photographer who followed the actors of Saint-Germain des Prés all the way to Saint-Tropez.

This museum is certainly worth visiting to discover what truly put the small fishing town of Saint Tropez on the map.