"In any case, we will be the biggest gathering of Smurfs in the rain." Decorated shops, passers-by dressed in blue: thousands of Smurfs converged on Landerneau (Finistère) on Saturday. Not to demonstrate against the pension reform, but for a new attempt at a world record, after the one that had made the buzz in 2020 in the midst of the Covid-19 epidemic. The record to beat was 2,762 people in disguise. But with just over 2,6,000 Smurfs in hostile weather, the record narrowly escaped the small Breton town. "The rain has chilled some people. But the most important thing is that we had a great time," said Jules Lesieur, co-president of the association organizing the Landerneau carnival.

Bodies and faces painted blue, white or red trousers and caps: Smurfs, Smurfettes or Great Smurfs began to gather in the early afternoon in the Breton city (16,000 inhabitants), 25 km east of Brest. "We wanted to help the Finisterians reach the world record," said Anne-Louise Prigent, a 48-year-old real estate agent who came dressed as Smurfette with a friend. "The Smurfs are nice, they hide wrinkles and we like to be blonde," joked Nathalie Klogot, a 43-year-old nurse.

"It gives balm to the heart"

Many merchants have lent themselves to the game by decorating their windows with figurines, comics or stickers of smurfs. "It's a demonstration for joie de vivre," smiles Christelle Merour, 50, in her hair salon, where all employees are dressed up as the famous characters of the Belgian author Peyo. "Having these kinds of small events, it feels good for people, it gives balm to the heart. If people are having fun, that's the main thing," adds Morgane Derrien, 25. "It's nice, it's a good atmosphere. Everyone loves it, it allows us to have a purpose to have fun. These days, it's not easy," smiles Benoit Kermarec, 59, owner of the bar-tabac, dressed in a white cap and a blue T-shirt.

Officially, it is still the small German town of Lauchringen, on the German-Swiss border, which holds the world record for the largest gathering of Smurfs, on February 16, 2019. A year later, on March 7, 2020, Landerneau broke this record by welcoming 3,549 Smurfs. But the feat had not been validated by the Guinness Book, due to a missing document, according to the organizers. Not homologated, the 2020 attempt had nevertheless made noise in Landerneau... and beyond the Alps. Some media in Italy, where 60 million people were then confined in the midst of the Covid-19 epidemic, had criticized an "irresponsible" demonstration.

The previous attempt had made the buzz

"We must not stop living as long as we can, it was also an opportunity to say that we are alive! ", had defended Patrick Leclerc, mayor various right of Landerneau. It was only the day after the rally that the prefect of Finistère banned gatherings of more than 1,000 people. "The coronavirus doesn't matter!" exclaimed one participant. "We're going to smurf the coronavirus!" added another.

Video of the rally had been viewed hundreds of thousands of times. The world record attempt, intended to publicize the Landerneau festival, had "exceeded all our expectations," said Alain Péron, one of the organizers of the event.

Before Germany, the previous record was held by Welsh students, who set it at 2,510 participants in 2009 in Swansea, according to the Guinness World Records website.

  • Society
  • Smurfs
  • Brittany
  • World record