Cédric admits he is a complainer, but he also sees himself as diplomatic and respectful.
At 21, he embarked on the most extraordinary adventure of his life with his father. It was a terrific experience that made him realize something: “We don’t realize how lucky we are to live in France. We are spoiled. Sometimes, I feel like saying: ‘Open your eyes, look at the living conditions in poor countries.’ Some think that the reality of Brazil is Club Med and Copacabana, while it’s really the favelas and no television. Yes, we are really lucky to be French.”
Born in Nice in 1987, he attended various schools in the city, from Ray School to Gorbella, then Fabre College and Parc Impérial High School. Afterward, he studied for a year in BTS Customer Relations at the Parc, but decided to quit school three years ago because he realized it “no longer wanted him.”
What followed was a year of odd jobs at McDonald’s or as a pizza delivery guy. A year without much direction, and then the spark hit. Fascinated by trains, he tried his luck with SNCF to become a ticket officer. He sent applications all over the regions, but things didn’t go as hoped. “I wanted to be a ticket officer, preferably on the Coast but the applications are managed in Marseille for the PACA region, and they don’t take people from Nice. However, since I had applied everywhere in France, Nantes got back to me to offer me a controller position, which I accepted.” That was two years ago. Now, he lives in Loire-Atlantique with his girlfriend, Emeline, from Paris. They met three years ago and have been living together for a year and a half.
He doesn’t particularly enjoy life near La Beaujoire, though he finds the city “very nice.” “In Nice, I’m at home. Here, it’s not the case; I feel like a foreigner. Fortunately, people are welcoming, the Nantais as well as my colleagues. They never asked me to be quiet or made me feel like a kid.”
He does not hesitate to defend his profession: “I don’t understand why people criticize SNCF when they don’t know what is really happening. We sleep out twice a week, some work six days a week. Controllers work on Sundays, sometimes far from their families and children. There are many misconceptions about our profession. That’s why I was writing a book about the life we lead before the adventure, but I decided not to publish it because some might think that I’m using my slight fame to sell more copies. It’s important to know that we have many other functions than just checking tickets. We have to take care of the connections, the trains at a stop. It’s really not easy.” Cédric could talk for hours about his love for the rails, and he knows it.
This trip in South America was a revelation. His father, Gérard, had long planned such a moment: “I always said that when he turned twenty, we would do something big together. We thought about trekking in Nepal or Tibet. It ended up being Pékin Express, funny how chance works. But now, we’re even more motivated to tour Asia, once we’ve thanked those who hosted us during our journey.” Cédric has fallen in love with traveling. His desires have multiplied. Today, he too wishes to set off with a backpack. Like father, like son, dreaming of going “to Asia, particularly to Japan to train in karate with Japanese masters.”
The young man from Nice owes his love for martial arts and football to Gérard. “He took me to matches when I was little, but it was he who demotivated me because he would tell me to do this or that in the car. But I also owe him for making me practice karate between fourteen and seventeen years, before devoting myself to boxing for a year. It was also he who took me to my first OGC Nice match. It was a Nice-Lens in 1994 at Ray (1-1), a great memory.” Now, every defeat of his favorite team is heart-wrenching for Cédric, it’s almost sickening. That’s why he has taken several items representing his favorite colors. You can see him wearing scarves, flags, and jerseys representing the Aiglons.
A love for his city that brings him closer to his family. That’s what gives him the strength to cope with tough times in Nantes. “I adore my sister; when she arrived, I was really happy. Now, she has a tecktonik phase, which I find disgusting. I try to reason with her even though every generation has its own burden. Ours was rap, theirs is tecktonik.” With his parents, it’s the same thing. “When I left Nice, it brought us closer. A site that presented Pékin Express had stated that I had left the city due to a bad relationship with my parents. I was disappointed because I call them every day. Otherwise, it’s a lack. They gave me a pendant with an eagle, which I wear every day. I also frequently call my grandparents. It’s important. It’s really only when you leave something or someone that you realize how much you love them.”
This love is reciprocal. Gérard is admiring of his son. He actually can’t find any fault and had to think for a few minutes before he could: “He is messy, but we say nothing because he comes very rarely to the house so we want to have good times. But I hate it when he taps on my neck when I eat; he needs to stop. In Nice, he tours the family, he’s happy, he never complains.” Not complaining is a contrast to what Cédric did in Brazil where he couldn’t stop grumbling about himself. He, however, clarifies: “Before, I used to snap at the smallest thing, but that’s not the case anymore. Plus, I don’t complain about others, just about myself. But if I have something to say, I say it. I’m direct and honest.”
At only twenty-one, he was shaken by Pékin Express. Even though he wouldn’t host homeless people at his place, “it’s too hard,” he saw his relationship with money transformed. He recalls: “When I returned and started working again, a passenger hadn’t validated their ticket. I asked for twenty-five euros, he gave me thirty. It felt strange. I felt bad when I saw all that money while having lived some time with one euro per day. So I returned the thirty euros to the passenger. I discussed it with my boss; he understood the issue but told me I had to quickly readjust to the context, that what I was doing wasn’t mean.”
He’ll soon return to Ray for the match against Marseille. Several people will recognize him, he doesn’t mind. “Good if people recognize me, they should not hesitate to come and talk to me, I am and act as before. I haven’t changed,” he explains. Cédric hopes they will say he represented Nice well, and that he and his father were good ambassadors of the city in South America. He plans to return to his hometown as soon as his girlfriend completes her nursing studies. That’s all one can wish for the young couple, happiness.
Meanwhile, with his father, they will be in the third stage of “Pékin Express, the Inca Trail” tonight on M6 between Diamantina and Rio Verde.
Photo: Christophe Geral
