Carnet de Voyage: Brisk Butcher

Travel notes from the real France. Carnet de Voyage is a weekly personal travel story in France sent in by readers. If you’d like to write a story for Carnet de Voyage, head here for details on how to submit.

This letter was originally published in the Jun/Jul 2025 edition of France Today Magazine.

I regret that I am too old at 87 to go to France anymore, but we had several Mr Magoo-like avoidances there over the years. I have one memory which remains sharp even after 66 years.

In 1959, I got a lift once from Oissel to practise for the French Grand Prix at Les Essarts. This was with the village butcher in his Peugeot 404 Estate. Part of the route was beside the Seine with a cliff wall on one side and a vertical drop into the river on the other. The road followed the same tortuous path as the Seine. The circuit included public roads which were closed for practice and the race. Practice was from 7am until 10am.

On the way there just after 6am, there was not much traffic and the drive was uneventful. However, on the way back, the butcher was fired up and doing his best to emulate ‘Jeem Clark’ as he wanted to open his shop. This was a real white knuckle ride, as the 404 was no Lotus – but I got back safely

Read our other Carnet de Voyage entries here.

Lead photo credit : A classic Peugeot 404...it's no Lotus! © shutterstock