One of Jean Balladur's goals was to make it easy and pleasant to travel around in La Grande Motte, between the seafront and the inland areas. By creating footbridges, the architect was providing a way for pedestrians and cyclists to get around without interfering with car traffic. If you walk or cycle [sounds of footsteps, bicycle bell], you'll be surprised at how rarely you come across cars. Jean Balladur's aim was to give everyone - residents, holidaymakers, campers - easy access to the sea.
While two of the six footbridges stand guard at the gateways into the city, the Saint-Jean footbridge is located right at the centre of La Grande Motte. Jean Balladur wanted to make this a symbolic work. It's a truly original piece themed on astronomy, with a large pylon set on the celestial clock... Let's hear what its creator has to say:
[Balladur quote]: Every year, on St John's Day and the summer solstice, the sun's rays come through the elliptical gap in the structure dominating the bridge and project the image of a perfect circle - like the stamp of the Holy Alliance - onto the bridge deck.
So it is that during the summer solstice, the sun's rays draw a circle on the deck of the footbridge... This sun-worshipping event is, in fact, celebrated at La Grande Motte on June 21st every year, the first day of the summer...
[Balladur quote]: La Grande Motte is given a flashing recognition by the cosmos, that turns into a legitimate daughter of the summer.
This footbridge "of St. John's Day" is a veritable ode to the sun, bearing witness to the architect's originality. A philosopher by training and pupil of Jean Paul Sartre, this is a man who endows his creations with powerful symbolism. All of his work hints at universal principles and offers a multiplicity of possible interpretations. Here is a vast playground for the imagination, and why not, an introduction to philosophy... But no need for books here, all you have to do is walk around, open your eyes... and open your heart.
Each of the city's footbridges has its own "personality" and they'll all tickle your imagination with humour and poetry. The "Escargot" footbridges, with their antenna-shaped lampposts, evoke the calm slowness of the snail... Take your time, stroll around, take it nice and easy... That's what they seem to tell you!
At the city's gates stand two footbridges - that of the monsters and that of the lamphadores. The first, with its strange beasts, protects La Grande Motte from external attacks. The second, with its imposing sculptures standing tall, like torch-bearing guards, welcomes visitors and lights the way for passers-by...