The Giants of Toulouse

In certain cities of France, you can encounter some very strange creatures. Some small and some giant. One day, you’re walking in the streets of Nantes and you’re suddenly facing a giant elephant. Or you’re chilling in Calais, and a dragon comes at you, breathing fire and smoke. Or you’re in the center of Toulouse and you see a Minotaur on your left. You blink, but no, you’re not dreaming. And be careful, because if it seems friendly, that might not be the case for the massive spider behind you!

Let’s be clear, these are not real animals. They are machines, guided by expert machinists.

Machines: A Short History

The man behind the magic is François Delarozière. In 1983, in Aix en Provence, he met the company Royal de Luxe, that was specialized in street theater. For them, François Delarozière designed and guided the construction of several machines such as The Giant, The Rhinoceros, The Little Giant, The Giraffes and The Little Girl Giant. Later, with Pierre Orefice, he proposed a project to the city of Nantes, that would become what is today “Les Machines de l’île“.

There is today a company called La Machine (created in 1999), that is led by François Delarozière, and it includes so much more than just the machines of Nantes. It has a dragon in Calais, animals in La Roche-sur-Yon, and also some other giant machines in Toulouse (since November 2018)! Which is why I’m now talking about this. I am a new inhabitant in Toulouse, and I recently visited La Halle de la Machine during a special weekend that the company organized in collaboration with Antigua i Barbuda, Titanos, Facteur Sauvage, Géraldine and Nicolas Schenkel, Monsieur Charly and RayoNantes.

Machines With Emotions

These machines are incredibly realistic and move perfectly, thanks to the fantastic machinists. Seeing Asterion (the Minotaur) move its eyelashes, its ears and its eyes, while breathing smoke, is just wonderful. Nearly every part of its body is moving: face, neck, hands, legs, tail… I haven’t seen the machines of Nantes, but to me, the Minotaur is close to perfection.

The spider (Ariane) is pretty cool too, with its multiple eyes, but its movements seemed a bit less natural to me. Also, it looks better (and scarier) at night. The dancer of Antigua i Barbuda was fascinating (especially at night), but way too creepy for me. It depends on which music is played though. The one at the beginning of the show that sounds like a music box creeps me out.

Whether it’s during a special weekend or on a normal day, I definitely recommend seeing those machines if you visit one of the cities where they appear. Here, it was even more interesting, as there were more attractions compared to a normal day. There were a lot of crazy activities for kids (most of them with a little bit of fire), and it felt like entering a different dimension where everything is cool and everybody is happy.

Toulouse: La Halle de la machine

Nantes: L’Île aux Machines

To see more photos of France, you can visit the gallery France.