Truck stops: their return to grace on the Nationale 7

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One letter, one number: the Nationale 7, forever legendary. It's the road to the sun, the vacation road on which we find drivers in no hurry like Laurent Argaud and his son Félix. In their 2CV, year 76, there's no speed limit, just the desire to enjoy without stress. " We discover lots of things. In Monterlivan, we stop to buy nougat, for example. In Burgundy, we stop more to buy wine. But it's a connection, the main road is the Nationale 7 ," says the vacationer.

The Nationale 7 is also the blue route on which we often meet friendly truckers like Michel Buchin. This route seems like an alternative, but it's a change from the highway. " On the Nationale 7, it's comfortable. You can stop and eat. It's less monotonous ," admits the trucker.

Whether you're a driver or a vacationer, when it's time to stop, one instinct is to head to the roadside restaurant. The one at kilometer 557 is an institution. People come from far and wide for its generous, no-nonsense cuisine. Opened after the war, it's been in the same family for 55 years. Philippe Aubert is the third generation. He replaced his uncle, Pierre. Before them, the owner was Jacqueline, his grandmother. Back then, trucks weren't as comfortable. Truckers needed room and board.

" These were establishments which, in the 60s, even 70s, were open almost all day, 24 hours a day. According to my grandmother, the truck stops were capable of doing a steak, fries and salad at 6 a.m. ," says Philippe Aubert, manager of the "Les Châssis" truck stop in La Roche-de-Glun (Drôme).

Today, opening hours are no longer limited. But from 4:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., the kitchen is always busy. Up to 150 meals are served per day. Everything here is homemade. Thanks to the volume, the menus are affordable, between 13 and 22 euros. " We're not in the best time to be able to afford the comfort food we used to be able to afford. That's why it's important to keep these restaurants open, with entry-level options and affordable prices ," proclaims Guillaume Sutur, chef at the "Les Châssis" roadhouse.

A formula that works. Starting at 6 p.m., the lineup of trucks intensifies in the restaurant parking lot. Michel Buchin, our truck driver, arrives among the first. The departure time allows ushers to organize parking. That evening, about a hundred truck drivers, like Michel, stop there, relieved to have finished their long day. At the table, service begins at 6:30 p.m. The drivers come from all over France and even Europe.

" That's what's great about the truck stop, we don't know each other, and then, after 30 minutes, we're chatting ," one of them comments. " All day, we're alone in the truck. Here, at least in the evening, we don't even talk about work, " adds a second. Michel, for his part, is having dinner with his friends. They've been coming here for years. So, this truck stop is a bit like home. " It's almost my first home. I'm more often at the hotel restaurant than at home ," explains one of them.

These restaurants, unlike any other, were born in the 1930s. There was no highway, so trucks used the main roads to deliver. At their peak, there were as many as 3,500 truck stops. Pierre Angelleti, the former owner of the truck stop, knew this golden age well, having spent 50 years behind the counter: " At the time, all the truckers were there, it was full, morning, noon, and night. Because they had a certain kind of freedom. The drivers said what they wanted. They organized their work themselves. They had money, they were well paid. It was okay, they were making money back then. "

Today, out of 300 truck stops in France, only about ten remain on Route Nationale 7. To attract customers other than truck drivers, at lunchtime, Le Châssis relies on employees of local businesses. And tourists, like Laurent Argaud, allergic to motorway service areas.

" Very often, in these cafeterias, it's not necessarily very traditional cuisine, it's more industrial. Whereas here, I feel that we really feel that it's family cooking ," says the vacationer. A touch of nostalgia, a hint of the picturesque... The truck stops, still living witnesses of the great era of the Nationale 7, intend to put up a fight.