With the Obama in Provence
A few days after the D-day's birthday, former President Barack Obama arrived to spend a holiday near Avignon with a whole battalion of friends.
In the alleys of Avignon, a procession of eight black cars follows a Chevrolet, Armored Suburban model. Obama is no longer entitled to "The Beast", the presidential vehicle, but his mastodon is not bad either. It does not go unnoticed in the medieval city. This is, moreover, not the goal. The Secret Service dismisses the passersby while the French reinforcements of the anti-crime brigade observe … as in the cinema. White shirt with long sleeves, slightly rolled up for the casual, here is the star: Obama advances, without a look around him. His path is marked. Even during the holidays, his travels respect a protocol calculated to the millimeter. In the midst of a rehearsal of "Architecture", Pascal Rambert's play, which will open the Festival on the 4th of July in the courtyard of the Palais des Papes, Jacques Weber finds himself caught in an unexpected scene and sneaks between the men of the President.
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Shortly after 19 hours, the Palace is closed. For nearly a century, he welcomed the popes. He is now receiving Barack, Michelle and their daughters. The visit is fast. It usually takes seventy-five minutes, it is shipped in less than an hour. The president seems especially interested in sight. Does he seek to see the island of Barthelasse, in the middle of the Rhone, which he made his kingdom of passage? He appears between the crenellated towers, busy taking a picture, like everyone else. But it comes out immediately. A few more meters and he enters the restaurant of the hotel La Mirande, a star in the "Michelin Guide". The chef, Florent Pietravalle, has a cult of farm products. All that Michelle likes. We will not know more. The Ice Chief explains: "We signed a confidentiality clause. "
Between the crenels of a tower of the Palais des Papes. Not an archer but a former president armed with his Smartphone. © Bestimage
That same morning, the Obama girls appeared in a convoy of only three cars with tinted windows. They crossed the fields of lavender and poppies, borrowed the winding roads to get to the mythical market of L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue. Malia, haughty port and infinite legs, in mini-shorts and Dr. Martens, wanders with Sasha, bob screwed on the skull. In chaperones: Konrad Ng – Maya's husband, half-sister to Barack – and Michael S. Smith, American decorator. Malia seems more attracted by cheap glasses than Provencal soaps, but lingers in front of strawberry trays, continued by the murmur of American tourists: "There she is! " (Here it is !).
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This week offers a rare opportunity to reunite with Obama: Malia enters third grade at Harvard and Sasha finishes high school. Their parents roam the world. They receive about fifteen guests, served by a staff in beige shorts and white shirt. We took out the Provencal dishes. At Mas des Poiriers, everything seems new, even the copper pots. Elegant tapestries of the house Frey, swimming pool, tennis, French-style bushes … It's beautiful like a shoot in Hollywood. But Paul, the American chef, does not forget to have on the buffet the essential elements of folklore: sausage and baguette.
The building was purchased in 2015 by a wealthy Connecticut family. Eric Varvel is a senior executive of Credit Suisse; Shauna, his wife, takes care of the property and the charity dinners. Neighbors do not see them, and Shauna does not spread on the pedigree of her prestigious "guests". On her Facebook page, she is more talkative. We understand that in his life, only his family and politics count; she does not hide that in 2012 she wanted to vote for Barack's opponent, Republican Mitt Romney. No hard feelings For 55,000 euros a week, the seven rooms have been reserved by the Obama. His pension as former head of state would be a little fair, it amounts only to 200,000 dollars a year; but his foundation charges each of his lectures $ 400,000. Not to mention the records achieved by "Becoming", Michelle's Memoirs. To which are added the contracts of the couple: they are now producers for Netflix ($ 50 million) and Spotify. At 57, the most famous retiree in America can see the future serenely.
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