At the western entrance of the city is a footbridge set upon the shoulders of Atlas. The 12 sculptures along this footbridge were created by Michèle Goalard, sculptress in Jean Balladur's original team, in 1987. The two had already been working together for almost twenty years. This time, Jean Balladur asked for Michèle Goalard's collaboration on a whole new project:
"At the end of July, I received a letter in which he told me: you will come to La Grande Motte in August and see the bridge that I made near Carnon, so understand that there is the Abîmes footbridge on the Grau side, which opens, there is of course the big footbridge, and there are the two little "Escargots" (snails) in between; and he told me, there, facing the old fort at Grand Travers, is where I would like you to create the guardians of the temple for me. "
Michèle Goalard set to work, designing huge silhouettes that tower over on the bridge, four metres tall, brandishing torches to light the way for passers-by... In another situation, these guardians might have held sharp, pointed spears, but here, in this place of leisure and relaxation, it seems right that they should hold... well, quite simply, light... for a warmer welcome.
But the whole challenge for Michèle Goalard lay in how to incorporate the sculptures onto a footbridge that was already built while adapting her work to the requirements set by Jean Balladur...
"Then he says to me, what you need to do is blend in, because this bridge is already made... you have to blend in with my larger work, blend in with every groove, you have to blend seamlessly into my work... So I went to see his footbridge and sent him a letter back, saying: thank you for offering me this job, as challenging as it is, I am already fascinated"...
A few months later, the "Lamphadores" were born. Eight men and four women.
"There, so I said to Jean, I've made you a few women... I'm sure you'll understand, it's the feminist in me... So he came to see my model, and he said, very good, as he always did when he believed in my work..."
And it's true that the architect really did trust his team. From the very beginning of La Grande Motte's construction in 1966, Balladur showed no hesitation in working with young artists such as Michèle Goalard, Albert Marchais or Josephine Chevry; artists who were not yet 30 years old and had little or almost no experience... Struck by Jean Balladur's trust, these artists soon grew devoted to him, developing strong relationships based on respect, trust, and friendship...
"In that respect, he was truly unique... Working with other architects, I've found they tend to want to influence you, to throw their weight around, whereas with Jean, it wasn't like that at all. We always felt trusted, we felt free - and I think we did fulfill his expectations..."
This trust, together with the creative freedom it brought and the complicity of a united team, was undoubtedly the deciding factor behind the project's success. Ultimately, that's what made La Grande Motte a place where people can enjoy great quality of life to this day.