The Living and the Dead: Highlights from the 26th Edition of the Rendez-vous de l’histoire

We can have the theme “The living and the dead” and bear witness to boundless vitality. The 26^e edition of the Rendez-vous de l’histoire, which took place in Blois from October 4 to 8, provided striking proof of this under the stubbornly summer sun of the banks of the Loire.

Chaired this year by Michel Pastoureau, the Blais event was once again full, as evidenced by the length of the queues to access some 600 free meetings and conferences offered throughout the five days of the event. Among the headliners were Pierre Lemaîtrepresident of the book fair, Jean-Noël Jeanneneypresident of the scientific council, Annette Wieviorka, Jean-Christian Petitfils, Vincent Despret or Marie Favereauwinner of the grand prize at the Rendez-vous de l’histoire for The Horde (Perrin).

It was obviously impossible to see everything, but “ a festival that works is a festival that creates frustration “, smiles Hélène Renard, responsible for the book fair. Free for the public, Les Rendez-vous de l’histoire has a budget of 1.2 million euros, largely financed by local authorities and the State, and which they fiercely defend. During the official opening conference at the Halle aux grains, the director of the festival Francis Chevrier thus deplored the withdrawal this year of the subsidy allocated by the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation. “ A first » in the history of the Rendez-vous, he underlined, calling for a renewed partnership with the services of the minister Sylvie Retailleau. Succeeding him at the microphone, the rector of the Orléans-Tours academy Gilles Halbout then ensured the return of the subsidy from the 2024 edition.

“Catch good ideas”

On the book fair side, booksellers and publishers responded. “ We note a certain renewal of the public. People come from far and wide to meet the authors and benefit from the exceptional richness of the offer », observe Joël Hafkin, owner of the Touraine bookstore La Boîte à Livres and a regular at the show since the first edition. If the Rendez-vous is an event where “ we usually sell well », they appear first as a communication tool for publishers. “ We don’t make any money at the showentrusts Nicolas Gras-Payendirector of Passés Composés. But the return on investment is measured in terms of exchanges with the profession, historians and the public. » « We are here to show that we exist, to capture the spirit of the times and catch good ideas », agrees Stéphane Goulhot, director of Félin. Installed in a 2 meter long stand, the publisher comes every year.

Launching ramp

The Blaisois meeting place is also a recognized launching pad. “ It was in Blois that last year I presented the first titles from my catalog, the pocket collection “Destins”remembers Cedric Michonfounder in 2022 of Calype editions. This allowed me to be spotted by many booksellers and greatly contributed to creating notoriety. » Building on this experience, the publisher returned this year to present its first large format: 1709 – the year the revolution did not break out of Gauthier Aubert. The price of success is that seats are expensive in the lounge. “ We had to refuse around twenty exhibitor requestsindicates Hélène Renard. There are around 200 stands spread over 2,800 m2, we cannot go beyond that because we want to maintain the human dimension of the Rendez-vous. »

This 2023 edition was also marked by several new features, including the creation of a podcast allowing you to listen to lectures from old editions. Within the digital agora, six films were also offered for the first time in virtual reality. Finally, for the second year in a row, the Rendez-vous organized a Game Jam at the end of September, a video game creation competition in which historians and computer scientists strive to transform doctoral theses into video games. During the festival, a stand offered the public the opportunity to test the games and interact with participants. Way to remind us that history is available on all supports and media.