At 80 years old, Patrick Chesnais continues to regularly go to Île de Ré. But if we thought he was deeply attached to his haven of peace, the actor finally seems to have changed his mind…
On March 18, Patrick Chesnais blew out a symbolic candle: that of 80 years. On this occasion, the actor spoke about his new life, far from film sets, to our colleagues at Gala. He also spoke of his refuge on the Île de Ré…
Patrick Chesnais and his refuge on the Ile de Ré
It is true that this father of three children, all born to different mothers, is becoming increasingly rare on film sets: “There are a lot fewer roles for old people, let’s face it”. So, to counter boredom and because he can’t sit still, Patrick Chesnais takes care of his four-year-old grandson, the son of his eldest daughter Émilie: “I love my grandson. He’s four years old. He’s cute, he’s an absolutely superb little guy”. Above all, he embarked on a project of a new kind for him: writing a romance novel. “A love story between a man of a certain age and a young woman”he explained to Gala.
And to find inspiration and write in complete tranquility, what could be better than the calm of Portes-en-Ré, the northernmost village of Île-de-Ré? Patrick Chesnais and his wife, Josiane Stoléru, indeed found refuge there many years ago. This highly touristy hotspot, although it is the furthest from the continent, attracts a number of famous personalities, starting with Fabrice Luchini and Sandrine Kiberlain. But the couple, married since 2016, got a little tired of this place.
Patrick Chesnais plans to sell his house on Île de Ré: “I’m so bored”
“I don’t like the winter there, I’m too bored. Maybe I’ll try to sell it”even let go of the one who shares his daily life with “the woman of his life” for almost forty years. The 80-year-old actor is there less and less often… because he finds it a long time! Last January, Patrick Chesnais tried to settle there, before realizing that the village was too sleepy for him out of season. “I can tell you that you have to have big conversations with yourself, especially when the weather is not nice. The village is magnificent, but in winter, nothing is open. It’s terrible”he confided to our colleagues.
Already on the set of C to you a few years ago, he had expressed some reservations: “I love the Ile de Ré and at the same time, I love it a little less and I don’t know why (…) Maybe it’s the climate, maybe it’s because I’m never happy and it would be worse elsewhere. You know, with age, you want it to be a little less humid and a little warmer”. To believe that the “beautiful adored” by Claude Nougaro is finally no longer unanimous!
