Le Village de Sauzon – French Story & Translation

Let’s practice our French with this bilingual story and learn about the exclusive village of Sauzon, located on the pristine Belle-Ile-en-mer.

Use the floating blue icon in the bottom right to hide/reveal the English translations below or just click here.

Sauzon est une des quatre communes de l’île et un port très pittoresque, un port typiquement breton, une petite baie authentique, avec ses maisons de pêcheurs blanches, ses innombrables bateaux, et de chaque côté, des coteaux couverts d’ajoncs étincelants.

Sauzon is one of the four municipalities on the island and a very picturesque harbour, quite typical of a Bretton harbour, a genuine bay with small white fishermens houses, countless boats and on each side slopes covered with shining gorses.

C’est un endroit idéal pour se balader ou pour se reposer en prenant un verre ou un repas à la terrasse d’un restaurant, tout en observant l’activité du port.

It is an ideal spot to stroll around or to relax, with a drink or eating a meal on a terrace, watching the harbour activity.

French Poet Jacques Prévert and Sauzon

Sauzon était pendant longtemps fréquenté par les artistes, et parmi eux, Jacques Prévert (1900-1977), qui écrivit même certains poèmes sur Belle-Île.

Sauzon was once frequented by many artists, and amongst them, Jacques Prévert, who even wrote some poems about Belle-Île.

Kid Hunt on Belle-Ile

Jusqu’à la Seconde Guerre mondiale, Belle-Ile était tristement connue pour son bagne d’enfants. En 1934,  les mineurs « délinquants » qu’elle accueille au sein de sa colonie pénitentiaire se révoltent et s’enfuient, suite au tabassage d’un des enfants. Les bonnes gens des alentours sont appelés à la rescousse : «20 francs pour tout fugitif capturé».

Until the Second World War, Belle-Île was also known, sadly, for its penal colony for children. In 1934, some of the young “criminals” who were jailed there revolted and ran away because one of them got beaten up. Good people around town were asked to help, with the reward: “20 francs for each fugitive caught”.

La chasse à l’enfant pouvait commencer…

The hunting of children could start…

Jacques Prévert, choqué par un tel événement, écrit alors le poème La Chasse à l’enfant, dont voici le début :

Jacques Prévert, shocked by such an event, wrote his poem “Kids Hunting”, which starts as follow :

Bandit ! Voyou ! Voleur ! Chenapan !

Bandit!  Lout! Thief! Rascal!

Au-dessus de l’île, on voit des oiseaux

Over the island one sees birds

Tout autour de l’île il y a de l’eau

All around the island there is water

Bandit ! Voyou ! Voleur ! Chenapan !

Bandit!  Lout! Thief! Rascal!

Qu’est-ce que c’est que ces hurlements

What are these howls

Bandit ! Voyou ! Voleur ! Chenapan !

Bandit!  Lout! Thief! Rascal!

C’est la meute des honnêtes gens

That is the crowd of honest people

Qui fait la chasse à l’enfant

Hunting kids

If you liked this article, why not consider a stay at Suzanne’s home in Brittany to better your French? Here is more info about the French Immersion Residential courses recommended by French Today.

Michel

Bonjour! My name is Michel and I live in Brittany and also in Canada. I will share my love of these regions with you in my articles.

More Articles from Michel

Comments

DOWNLOAD YOUR FRENCH AUDIOBOOK
🎁 2.5 Hours French Audiobook - 100% Free / Keep Forever 🎁

Recorded at 3 different speeds + Study Guide + Q&A + Full Transcript

Item added to cart.
0 items - US$0.00

Can You Understand Today’s Spoken French?

It’s not just slang. The French everybody speaks in France today is NOT the overly enunciated, extremely formal French usually taught to foreigners.

TAKE YOUR FREE AUDIO TEST NOW