A human tide climbs the Gardiole to accompany the Three Wise Men

The Three Wise Men are causing a sensation on the Gardiole. They willingly take pictures with the public. Hélène Amiraux

Les enfants sont impressionnés par les dromadaires de DromaSud. Hélène Amiraux

The walkers climb the Gardiole side by side with the dromedaries. Hélène Amiraux

Melchior, Balthazar and Gaspard, guided by the shepherd Alain Campos (right) the initiator of this friendly gathering. Hélène Amiraux

Pause musicale pour la troupe à mi-parcours, avec une vue imprenable la mer. Hélène Amiraux

Le succès de rendez-vous insolite et festif des Rois Mages de Frontignan ne se dément pas. Au moins 200 personnes se sont rassemblées à la Gardiole.

“Tant qu’on pourra, on continuera !”Gaspard (Pascal Cartier), Balthazar (Jean-François Sanchez) and Melchior (Maxime Hubert) never tire of embodying the Three Wise Men at each epiphany since Covid. This Sunday, January 5, 2025, the three members of the Club 40 of Frontignan (which belongs to the Maison des seniors de Frontignan) who had donned their incredible gold and silk costumes caused a sensation on the Gardiole climb starting from the Karabatic Sports Hall.

At least 200 people from the Muscat city and the surrounding area had made the trip to take part in the joyful procession, accompanied since the beginning of the adventure by the musicians of the Graïlhes de Thau group led by Jean Alingrin and the dromedaries from Coralie Le Meur's farm (DromaSud).

“Every year there are more people”

“We has been coming for the Three Wise Men for two years, says Cathy from Frontignan, who joined in with her friend Sabine, also a member of Club 40, to play the costume game. “It's an opportunity to come and celebrate the galette. And then we get out of our daily lives a bit, it brings joy at the time of winter when it's always a bit sad”, confides this former childminder. “We walk every Monday with Club 40, it's a bit of a reunion”, says Sabine. Young and old alike rush to take photos with the Three Wise Men but also with the dromedaries that everyone hopes to pet.

The parade follows the route of the sports route. At each stage, a musical interlude of popular songs. “Every year, there are more people, shares Alain Campos, initiator of the event.< em> We started during Covid, continues the host of Club 40 and the city hall's culture department. It started like crazy, we did this outing with less than 10 people because of the restrictions and we filmed. We posted the video on social media and people were like crazy, we gave them a dream it was incredible.”

Since then the craze has continued to grow. “The following year in 2021, we had a tide human. Last year, there were 150 of us, even though it was Siberia, it was so cold!” According to Alain Campos, the success of such an event is due to the desire “not to forget traditions, even if we do not offer a historical reconstruction . It's a real popular gathering.” At the end of the march, a glass of muscat awaited the most daring at the top of the hill.