Mimos 2025 in Périgueux: an opening around the fire that brings people together

The festival will kick off this Tuesday, July 1st at 9:30 p.m. in the station district, with "Pyromènes," a fiery parade that will end with a pyrotechnic finale.

"My concern is to be as close as possible to people. I needed to find a pretext for us to meet and be together." This pretext, this good reason, is fire, for Pierre de Mecquenem, who will open Mimos this Tuesday, July ^1st in the Périgueux train station district (Dordogne) with "Pyromènes."

He joined the company La Machine, where he has been presenting his fiery shows since 2007. "For me, fire is a limitless creative material. I explore it, experiment with it, and try to tame it."

This passion has been with Pierre de Mecquenem for a long time, as he testifies, in a gray blouse, hat screwed on his head, in the middle of editing "Pyromènes".

"I spent my childhood in Saint-Robert, in Corrèze. We lived in a large house with a big fireplace. I practiced the art of poking there, sitting in the inglenook fireplace, watching the fire, watching the food cook. I became aware of the influence of fire on each of us."

Some memories have left a deep impression on him. "On August 15th, the whole village would set off with torches and lanterns to go to the fireworks display site. It was a kind of ritual."

"Pyromènes," a true celebration of fire, is inspired by this design. It is both a walking tour and an installation. Spectators will have the choice between three routes starting from the Filature de l'Isle, the station footbridge (multimodal hub side), or at the intersection of Vélodrome and Gilbert-et-Claude-Nozière streets. They will walk along, following the Pyrophiles, bearers of flames or mobile braziers: 10 actors from the company and 20 volunteers recruited on site, recognizable by their yellow tunics.

"The Pyrophiles are somewhat naive beings. They possess know-how, but they need the locals," continues Pierre de Mecquenem. They ask them to help them keep the fire going, in a friendly stroll. We gather together, discovering the places in a different way by the light of the flames.

We will move "from sharing to the spectacular" with the great blaze that will take place on the Champarnaud wasteland, chosen based on the scale of the installations. First, there will be a tower-shaped blaze, then a large flaming wheel will start moving, accompanied by pyrotechnic effects in a crescendoing rhythm. "This loving and festive fire will allow us to be together and at peace. I am convinced that this is very important at this time."