Julien Guerrero
I live a good part of the year in a simple camper van that my grandfather bought in 1981, who sold it to my father in 1990, who in turn gave it to me in 2003.
SOCIETY – With the 2020s in our rear view mirrors, will we deny them the image of a great seesaw? A reversal of social poles that were considered immutable?
2020: Pandemic. Not only are the “upper” classes not immune, prestigious industries lying idle, but it is largely thanks to the “lower” classes that we are going through the ordeal as calmly as possible, thanks to all those little “ignoble” hands that suddenly surpass the others on the scale of nobility.
2021: 50°C at 50° north latitude in Canada. That’s it, we’re obviously getting into the tough part of global warming – we’re just getting into it. Far from new, the calls to curb the phenomenon are redoubling in their persistence, in their density, hoping to unleash a whole new shift: the future will no longer belong to those who “carbonize” themselves the most. Also, beware of the “high” categories who fail to install the update: they own only the present at most, the sense of history will soon be showered with more and more shame. Conversely, the “lower” categories, even if they would like to, do not have the means to “carbonate” so much and this becomes their example today, their strength tomorrow.
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Of course, it’s not about falling into Manichaeism. On the contrary, with more money we can initiate costly decarbonization measures. But the underlying trend remains what it is.
2022: The war in Ukraine and the energy crisis deal a deathblow to the old world, where the sober legitimately hoped to become greedy, as the surrounding discourse laughed at their sobriety and praised greed. Now the greediest see red, caught up in reality and the physics of things, and ask sober lip service, almost under the cloak: “Tell me… how do you manage to live with much less so not so badly? At the same time, freshly graduated students from AgroParisTech are advocating branching. The word is not just beautiful, it’s perfect.
Even if religion hardly speaks to me, it is clear that “the last shall be first and the first shall be last” has a unique resonance in our time. Isn’t that disturbing and fascinating at the same time? If we can fear the uncertainties and shocks to come, then we are fortunate to be among those generations who have witnessed such an unusual turnaround.
One foot in every world
Through life’s chances, I find a foothold in every world. I grew up in a fairly wealthy family, between a self-made father in marketing and a mother who was a teacher and then stayed at home for fun and for us with my brother. In addition, I am pursuing higher education in her. Wasn’t it missing a lot to lift me into “high” spheres? I went the other way: my situation is much more modest than that of my father at my age and that will remain. Without doing it on purpose, I did a bit of searching for it anyway, so if I had a complaint I’d send it back. But in the context mentioned, I am very happy about this “step backwards”: obviously we are all taking this path for physical rather than political reasons, and it is up to us to see it as an opportunity despite everything.
I live a good part of the year in a simple camper van that my grandfather bought in 1981, who sold it to my father in 1990, who in turn gave it to me in 2003. There, until recently, I would not have written any public text about this experience, misunderstood or looked down on. But the seesaw gives me the green light.
We rent a small apartment in Rennes with my wife, who has returned to university and does not yet have a job, while I am doing my doctorate at the university in Dunkirk, where the vehicle is parked. So we live on my monthly €1,470 – let’s say €1,900 with various aids – so two rents are out of the question.
I’ll return to Rennes by car if I can, taking lots of friendly carpools with me – empty trips aren’t an option either. However, I don’t like this fuel consumption. I’ve always loved horseback riding, but it’s a guilty pleasure. One day I asked myself: Will I have used a lot more gas or more food by the end of my life? I did a table corner calculation… I’ll let you guess the trend. So I gradually go to the train. From now on, a full tank of the car will last for more than a month and this is just the beginning; As for the motorhome, which I move very little, its current full equipment is more than a year old. From the few places I park, I walk or take the bus to the office.
Yes, winter is cool and wet, especially in Dunkirk. The grimaces of the media when they talk about 19°C or 17°C make me laugh. Until then I’ve tried not to go below 15°C except when washing when I press even higher! But of course I cut everything during the day, when I’m away and at night. I don’t freeze under my blanket and sleep like a baby, even if it’s down to -7°C in the car early in the morning.
This year is something special: I am so outraged by the Russian atrocities that I have developed a love-hate relationship with my gas heater. While some climb from 21°C to 19°C, I like to lower my threshold to 10°C. There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad gear. I organize myself. And I’m firmly waiting for the negative: you and I will have a good laugh!
RV, train, senator, train, RV. Where is the problem ?
Attention, in summer the vehicle can turn into a blast furnace. But now I accept that summer is hot, winter is cold, night after night and day after day. Because, stupidly, it is the diversity of life and, to a certain extent, its charm.
No, I don’t have electricity, but I have a backup battery that I charge in the office to work on the phone and computer in the evenings. The lighting? Yes, I’ve come “back to the candle”! And imagine I love it. It’s beautiful, it’s warm, it’s alive. One speaks badly of cities like Dunkirk or Brest without ever having been there; I think candles are similar.
No, I don’t look shaggy or full of bugs. I find water here and there, I have two basins to wash myself quietly while listening to music, my outfit is right. One day I even had to speak to a former senator in Paris: RV, train, senator, train, RV. Where is the problem ?
At the weekend, when the office is closed, I use the public toilets – by the way, many thanks to the “little hands” who take care of them.
In three years I have seen the city and national police, border police and customs. Everyone assured me very warmly that they were not bothered by the vehicle despite my long standstill.
Last but not least: I buy everything organic and regional if possible, including cheese, honey and wine, in specialist shops and not in supermarkets. Although a bit tight financially, for me it’s a matter of ethics that I wouldn’t give back for anything in the world.
Also, let’s be clear: I will never advocate neediness. Suffered poverty, indecent and unsustainable, must be fought wholeheartedly, because it is less about poverty than about misery. But chosen poverty, dignified, not only tolerable, but light as the breeze, virtuous because reasonable in today’s world, and makes us vibrate with a different richness, yes, I can only wish it all.
Of course, I’m not saying that everyone would benefit from living in a motorhome. As absurd or even despicable as it may seem, exercise has its merits, and those who indulge in it have a say in 2022.
Let the “high” categories, who are firing on all cylinders in search of an intense life, rest easy: I like so much how they get drunk on intensity, excess, a little madness, and I succeed. If one day they ask me how to do it, even under my coat, I’ll be happy to tell them.
AA graders burning with coals in search of an intense life are reassured: I like as much as they get drunk on intensity, excess, a little madness, and I succeed. If one day they ask me how to do it, even under my coat, I’ll be happy to tell them.
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