Pompidou’s Delight: Château Poujeaux, 2011 – 2022
At first glance Georges Pompidou (1911 – 1974) was perhaps not the ideal figure to lead France after the departure of Charles de Gaulle (1890 – 1970).
Born in the Auvergne to schoolteacher parents, Pompidou had been well educated and developed a deep understanding of poetry and language, enough to follow his parents into the classroom. Years spent teaching Latin and literature were interrupted only by a brief period of military service before 1940, and this career only came to an end when he joined de Gaulle’s cabinet in 1944. A career in politics seemed to beckon.
Things did not go in Pompidou’s favour, though, at least initially, and in 1954 he found himself ousted from government. He then took up a senior position at the Banque Rothschild Frères where he worked for four years, during which time he became closely acquainted with brothers Guy and Philippe de Rothschild (1902 – 1988). Presumably he thought this was it; with a senior position and a good salary, Pompidou surely believed he was coasting to a comfortable retirement.
But it was not to be. In 1958 de Gaulle returned to power, and Pompidou joined him, eventually developing a political reputation of his own. Along the way it became apparent he had also developed some expensive tastes, including cigars, fine dining, sports cars and modern art, especially the work of Picasso, Braque, Léger and Kandinsky. Wisely, Pompidou had kept these new foibles to himself; he knew that such extravagant tastes would not be well received by the French public, many of whom could still remember the hard times of ration cards and the black market.
This stood him in good stead when de Gaulle resigned in 1969. Pompidou swept to power, becoming President of France on June 20th, 1969.
A few weeks later, Pompidou (pictured below, left, in 1969, with former prime minister Antoine Pinay) found himself seated at the grand dining table in the Palais de l’Élysée, in eager anticipation of one of his favourite activities; lunch. There were just two places laid at the table; in one sat Pompidou, while at the other was his old banking colleague, Baron Philippe de Rothschild, better known to us as the proprietor of Château Mouton-Rothschild. Looking after them was Marcel Le Servot (1923 – 1989), the head chef of the Élysée kitchens.
