But it’s not about politics that Patrick Mottard will speak, but rather the release of his book “Fragments de Nice,” which has just hit the bookstores.
A book of memories that has the sweet scent of the city of Nice, from its Jean Bouin stadium through the famous Gare du Sud, and then meandering toward distant destinations seen through the eyes of someone who arrived as a child in the Pasteur district. Patrick Mottard loves Nice, and this love is evident in this collection of snippets of memories turned into fragments.
Nice Premium met with Patrick Mottard before he himself went to meet his readers, for a session of questions and answers drawn from the prose of his first written piece.
Nice Premium: Patrick Mottard, do you believe in a lucky star under a rainbow?
Patrick Mottard: If you are referring to the name of the building I lived in as a child in the Pasteur district when I arrived in Nice, the answer is “yes, of course.”
It was at the Arc-en-Ciel, Bérénice entrance, where I learned about the city… and life!
NP: What were you waiting for yesterday and what are you waiting for today at the end of the final straight?
PM: Today, as yesterday, I hope it never ends… the unreachable star, so to speak!
NP: What makes Patrick Mottard run?
PM: The pleasure of running with it. The pleasure of running for it. The pleasure of running, period.
NP: A Station, the South, and…?
PM: A beautiful political battle and a magical place, even though the South of the Gare des Niçois has nothing to do with Nino Ferrer… The south of the Niçois is often to the north, towards the villages.
NP: How many “For better or for worse” do you have under your belt?
PM: Just one as the main actor. With not so much of the worst!
For the weddings I have officiated, there are currently 160. And they are always very beautiful republican moments.
NP: 2001, a certain September 11. What do you think about it today?
PM: The same thing as at the time: the end of a century and the beginning of a millennium. A millennium that promises to be destructive. But the worst is never certain for men of goodwill.
NP: “Give me a lever, and I will move the world.” Should we really always listen to the old Greeks?
PM: Let’s just say I have been able to act and express myself differently since the help of an old Greek, back in March 2001.
NP: Finally, are there any upcoming fragments in Patrick Mottard’s pen?
PM: Given the success of this first work, the encouragement from my preface writer, Claire Legendre, and the confidence of my publisher “Toute Latitude,” it’s certainly feasible, even though my current focus (aside from politics, of course) is rather theatrical starting next week.
Indeed, I have written a play “On a Harp’s Tune” which has been staged at the Alphabet Theater and will be performed on the 20, 21, 27, 28, and 29 of April.
