The big giant as seen from the 2nd floor in Le Havre

Le Havre – The Parade of Giants of the Royal de Luxe

One of the main events of the 500 years celebrations of Le Havre was going to be the parade of Giants produced by the Royal de Luxe. Although the company is based in Nantes, the appearance of the first giant was here in Le Havre back in 1993.

This year, two giants would be visiting the harbour city. One boy, the other his father. So it’s not a simple parade like those you can see in almost every city. This is STREET ART at its best. It’s not like you stand still, the parade passes you by and then you go home. Not in this case, since the two characters are independently walking through the city like two human beings; they go different ways, they stop, they eat, they cool down and they even take a nap. Eventually, they hook up somewhere in the city to go to sleep.

Here are a series of photo I took, first from the little boy, and then later that day of the father.

The first vehicles of the Giants parade in Le Havre
The first vehicles of the Giants parade in Le Havre

Early in the morning I could see cranes and a strange truck parked close to our house. Several people had already gathered.

A container found on the beach, belonging to the Giant parade in Le Havre
A container found on the beach, belonging to the Giant parade in Le Havre

Surprise, a container could be seen at the water edge of the beach. Had it been drifting towards the beach? Or was it an abandoned container? A few people were having a look at it.

The music band truck, part of the giant parade in Le Havre
The music band truck, part of the giant parade in Le Havre

Later on, it became apparent that the “strange” truck was a truck that held the music band of the parade.

The folks in the yellow shirts are volunteers to keep the parade moving.

A small crane appeared for the container
A small crane appeared for the container

Already many more people had arrived to see the show, many of them were around the container. A few minutes before the official start (10:00), a crane arrived…

Hookup to the container
Hookup to the container

… and started dragging the container onto the land.

Red dressed "Valets" hook up the cranes to the interior.
Red dressed “Valets” hook up the cranes to the interior.

Valets, dressed in a red coat and trousers started hooking up the crane to something inside the container…

First contact with the little boy Giant at Le Havre
First contact with the little boy Giant at Le Havre

… a small boy could be seen exiting the container.

The small boy giant moves to the "puppeteer" station
The small boy giant moves to the “puppeteer” station

The giant small boy is moved to the master puppeteer (seen on the right above).

And away the giant and support crew walk towards the Le Havre city centre
And away the giant and support crew walk towards the Le Havre city centre

The procession started moving, with the music car followed by the giant and 10,000’s of people (estimate of the day was 150,000 spectators).

Music truck of the Giants parade in Le Havre
Music truck of the Giants parade in Le Havre

A band was playing modern music while driving at a crawl speed.

The Giant walking
The Giant walking

The giant was walking thanks to two puppeteers (in sharp contrast with the “father” giant as you will see later on which required 10’s of people).

Intricate handling, all parts of the giant moves.
Intricate handling, all parts of the giant moves.

The two puppeteers move many parts of the giant, including his eyes…

High-flying job being a puppeteer of a giant.
High-flying job being a puppeteer of a giant.

This does not look like an easy job; you can’t have fear of heights and you’ll need to be able to withstand a lot of sun and heat.

Closeup of the giant boy in Le Havre
Closeup of the giant boy in Le Havre

Eyes and mouth can move…

The truck that follows the giant
The truck that follows the giant

This is the truck that holds the puppeteers. It looks like something out of the apocalypse of the future.

The valets and security staff precede the giant
The valets and security staff precede the giant

The yellow shirts hold a rope keeping the spectators away, while the ground valets (red coats) action parts of the giant.

Giants Royal de Luxe parade in Le Havre, rear view
Giants Royal de Luxe parade in Le Havre, rear view
Walking away for a trip around some of Le Havre's streets.
Walking away for a trip around some of Le Havre’s streets.

The giant boy went for a walk around several of the streets in Le Havre, followed by …..

A dense crowd follows the giant in Le Havre
A dense crowd follows the giant in Le Havre

… a very dense crowd, both in front and behind the giant.

Time for a nap for the giant boy at the beach of Le Havre
Time for a nap for the giant boy at the beach of Le Havre

Eventually, around noon, the giant boy arrived back at the beach, and he was fed something to eat and then ….

Siesta time for the little boy giant
Siesta time for the little boy giant

… he went for a nap (note: he actually snores…)

Later that day….

The boy giant arrives in Le Havre city centre
The boy giant arrives in Le Havre city centre

… after his nap, the boy giant went walking again. We caught up with him at the water basin in the city centre, close to the Oscar Niemeyer “Volcan“.

But this time has was not alone, since his father was looking for him. 15 minutes later….

The giant father arrives on the scene
The giant father arrives on the scene

Much taller and more functions, the giant father arrives looking for his son.

Very tall giant
Very tall giant

This is one very tall giant. I’m standing on the 2nd floor of a building’s balcony…

Giant moving past
Giant moving past

Here you can see a lot of red valets doing acrobatic things with this giant. They form an essential part of the “walk” of the giant.

How the giant moves
How the giant moves

Above is a animated file how the giant moves. The valets, two at a time, hold on to a rope and jump to the front. Their weight pulls up the knee of the giant, while the truck moves it forward, giving a very real impression of walking.

The whole giant crew waiting for their turn to jump.
The whole giant crew waiting for their turn to jump.

You can see that a lot of staff is needed to make the giant move effortlessly. The jumpers, the pullers and someone to operate the hydraulics.

Uncanny.

The other music band truck
The other music band truck

Like the little boy, the father giant has a band playing while walking through Le Havre.

Moving to different places in the city for strategic viewing.
Moving to different places in the city for strategic viewing.

People were moving continuously, either following the giant(s) or moving to a new viewing point.

At one stage the giant father stopped and was refreshed thanks to a firetruck that strayed water on the giant, and give him to drink. Fun…

Giant father moving to the next sector
Giant father moving to the next sector

In the mean time, the giant father is still looking for his child.

Street after street, the giant is looking for his son
Street after street, the giant is looking for his son

Finally, he turned towards the beach area again..

Through the harbour
Through the harbour

… after walking through the harbour, he finds his lost son close to the Muma museum. There he is kissed by his son, and both of them went to sleep after a long day. They will remain in Le Havre over the weekend to explore the city together.

Conclusion

A beautiful parade, not like any other you will have ever seen. You might think that “only” 2 giants is nothing, but it’s a whole show to be seen around the city. This is street theatre like never seen before. All of the Le Havre city centre was emptied out of cars for the whole week, enormous concrete blocks placed around the city to prevent mad truck attacks, and armed guards (police and army) all around but not in-your-face.

A great event that was very enjoyable, especially thanks to the great weather. Over 300,000 people are expected this weekend.

Click here to access the Royal de Luxe website.

Related Posts

  • 69
    It's Christmas Time In Le HavreIt's that time of the year again... Christmas and the holiday season. While it's freezing cold out there, and even during the nighttime, you will see these folks out: The skatepark despite the icy cold and nighttime was still occupied. You got to respect these folks who do their stuff…
  • 69
    The 500 Years Anniversary of Le Havre2017 is a very special year for the harbour city of Le Havre in Normandy. 500 years earlier, the French King Francois I ordered a city and its associated harbour to be built at the mouth of the Seine river. It took a legion of Dutch engineers to dry out…
  • 66
    Le Havre: Tall Ship Parade for 500 Years Celebration - 3 SeptemberA taste of what will be happening on the 3rd of September. For the 500 years celebration of the city of Le Havre, some 50 tall ships will be gathering starting on the 31st of August. On the 3rd of September, Sunday, all of them will be leaving the harbour,…
  • 65
    This is in the next city I'll be writing about. Guess where..This statue was taken in the city I'll be writing about next. It's next to an enormous religious building (a building that's worth a detour to see). Anyone recognise it? You known where this was taken???
  • 64
    Le Havre - End Destination Of The Tall Ships Race 2017To celebrate the 500 years anniversary of Le Havre, the Tall Ships Regatta race will finish in Le Havre this year. The race starts in the United Kingdom mid-April, and via Portugal, Caribbean, Boston and Canada, will end in the French harbour city on August the 31st. All these enormous…
Scroll to Top