Thierry Le Roi cuts a striking figure. Dressed in a beige jacket, blue scarf and a Panama hat, he works at Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, leading visitors on tours of its most famous, beautiful or unusual graves.
Mr Le Roi is a guide, though he describes himself as a “custodian of memories”. His tours of the cemetery, which he calls “necro-romantic safaris”, are playfully entertaining, bordering on a one-man show.
Clients have been coming for two decades now. One couple from Luxembourg booked him twice, 10 years apart, while another woman once told him his descriptions were so vivid she felt the deceased had been brought to life through the medium of his words.
“We are not here to cry over Balzac. I am here to bring these figures back to life through stories and through the monuments their families left,” he told The Connexion.
Mr Le Roi’s familiarity with graveyards began at the age of 10 in his hometown of Nantes (Loire-Atlantique). Once a week, on his way to visit his great-aunt, his route would take in Miséricorde Cemetery, and he would marvel at the epitaphs, graves and artistry.
When he moved to Paris in the early 1980s, he lived on Rue Vitruve near Père Lachaise, admiring the cemetery from afar and wandering in occasionally.
After a trip to Egypt and an inspiring interaction with a guide there, he turned his hand to creating tours some two decades ago.
The Connexion talked to Mr Le Roi about his job, why Jim Morrison remains the most visited grave and what he himself would like engraved as his epitaph.
Connexion: “I am a custodian of memories.” What does that mean?
It comes from an Egyptian guide – my inspiration for doing this job – who we booked while on vacation. He understood that he had tourists in front of him, not Egyptologists.
He told stories. He shared information in a relaxed and playful way. It was neither academic nor didactic. It stayed with me. I thought I could adapt that approach to Père Lachaise, where there are thousands of figures.
When I take visitors round the cemetery, I bring characters back to life, sometimes those who are completely unknown. Saying their name brings them back. I find the term ‘guide’ a little pompous.
Connexion: Where did the idea of a ‘necro-romantic safari’ come from?
Thierry Le Roi: It borrows from necrology (the study of death), but without the melancholy aspect. The ‘romantic’ bit refers to the location itself, of course, but also the many romantic figures buried there.
It is also part of a business plan to stand out and set myself apart from the competition.I started to market my tours as ‘safaris’ after being inspired by a ranger who said: “They are there.
Absolutely, they are there. But we may not be able to see them.” He was referring to animals, but I thought the same applies in Père Lachaise!
Connexion: I once interviewed a waiter from the historic Café de Flore, who told me there is an element of theatricality to his job. I thought the same about you…
I have two ways of approaching a personality and a grave. When there is nothing to see visually, I focus on the person and the story. For example, the humorist Pierre Desproges has a simple, plant-covered grave. I read some of his sketches or witty lines.
I focus on the tomb when there is funerary art, such as with the Romantic painter Théodore Géricault, or the bust of Honoré de Balzac, or Frédéric Chopin and the weeping figure on his grave. My first tours focused only on funerary art. I realised I had to adjust or I would not survive in this job.
There are also graves I simply have to show, such as Jim Morrison’s – a must-see. I think it stems from his fame, his personality. He was the singer of The Doors, and sadly a member of the ‘27 Club’…
Connexion: … found dead in his bathtub.
The much-visited grave of Jim Morrison, singer of The DoorsMassimo Parisi/Shutterstock
I do not go into too much detail on that. We know the circumstances. I avoid that topic. It is good that some mystery remains.
I ran an experiment in the 2000s where I sat next to his grave for a whole weekend to watch and listen to what tourists say and how they behave. I heard every language in the world. I do not understand why his grave is visited to the extent that it is.
Connexion: Philippe Charlier (renowned French coroner, forensic pathologist and paleopathologist) said cemeteries are the first places he visits when on holiday. Is that the same for you?
TLR: Yes, I have done the same for the past 20 years. Each country has its own funerary traditions. I recently returned from Shanghai.
I knew what to expect in the cemetery because I know their traditions, but in my opinion it is not a must-see. Rome, Milan, Vienna, Barcelona, Highgate in London, and some old American cemeteries are monumental.
Connexion: He also said: “Cemeteries tell us a lot about the living and the dead; about the relationship those who survive have or don’t have with the dead; and about the way the dead remain a tangible presence in the world of the living.” What is your view?
TLR: There is a form of detachment. Visitors come to Père Lachaise as they would go to the Musée d’Orsay or the Eiffel Tower. They do not come to mourn. I also make sure it is not in that spirit. I try to remove the religious or sacred element from the tour.
Some people do not understand why we visit these places. Perhaps they have a different relationship with death. We are not here to cry over Balzac. I am here to bring these figures back to life through stories and through the monuments their families left. I work in a spirit that is very much alive. Visitors often tell me that.
Connexion: Have you ever thought about living full-time on the premises, much like curator Benoît Gallot?
TLR: Benoît Gallot lives in official on-site accommodation. He is not the only one. There are also caretakers. My view is that one should not live at one’s place of work. If you are too close, there is the risk you may become bored.
Connexion: In 2010, it was reported that your chosen epitaph was: “The only true voyage is not to visit new landscapes, but to have new eyes,” by Marcel Proust. You have said in more recent interviews that it is now “See you soon.” What made you change your mind?
TLR: I love that first quote because it is the very essence of my tours. But I think the journalist who quoted me in that interview went too far in assuming I wanted it as my epitaph.
It is also a little long – at €15 per letter, a quote of that length becomes expensive, whereas “See you soon” costs around €170. That’s more reasonable!
