Bélesta.
I Believe in the Good Local Life
We got in touch with Eric Paihassa and his wife Nadine through our friends from Odense Leif Søndergaard and Rie Hedegaard. They have a holiday home in the southern French village of Bélesta. We talked over tapas and local wine on Leif and Rie's terrace with a breath-taking view of the Pyrenees. Leif and Rie interpreted. After the conversation, Eric and Nadine showed us the cosy house they had built themselves, and some of her fine works of art.
I travel on TV
I get up at five in the summer and six in the winter. I skip breakfast, and just have a cup of coffee and a glass of water. Our little dog has to go out to pee, the chickens get grain and salad. Then I take the car and drive to my job for the municipality in the neighbouring town of Ile-sur-Têt. I work for Park and Road, driving the bulldozer, tractor, truck and all the other vehicles we use. I have most work to do in connection with the celebrations, for example the New Year's celebration, the city festival and Bastille Day on July 14.
In the summer, when it's hot, I have a completely unofficial job of putting water in the refrigerator and taking it out to everyone who works outside. The person in the office has a comfortable 24 degrees, outside with us it can be forty degrees or more. I'm called Eric le Rouge. We have an hour and a half lunch break, where I stay in Ile-sur-Têt and eat with six or seven colleagues.
The working day ends at five, then I return to “real life”. I call everything I can see from our house my garden, it is probably 10 million square kilometres. At home, there are no cars and noise, we have peace and quiet. In the evenings, I relax and watch TV. I like historical programs and travel programs. I travel with the TV. When I was thirty, it was different, back then I did gardening and stuff like that in the evenings. Today I need to relax. At the weekends, we used to visit family, but now we mostly stay at home and rest.
My childhood was completely normal
My family is more diverse than Nadine’s, she has deep roots here. I was born in the hospital in Perpignan and grew up in Ile-sur-Têt. I spent my holidays with my maternal grandparents in Marquixanes. They came from the Aragonese and Catalan regions respectively and spoke Spanish, not French. My grandfather came from Barcelona, my grandmother from Granada. She had blond hair and blue eyes like Rie. Maybe we have Viking blood in our family. I speak French, Spanish, some Catalan and Occitan, and a little English. I am 60 years old, and the youngest of four siblings, two boys and two girls. I never knew my one sister, she died when she was one year old.
My childhood was completely normal with a lot of stupidity. I didn't like school, I didn't like the way the lessons were taught. I wasn't good at writing and reading, but when I was told things, I did fine. I hated French and math, but loved history and geography. Those subjects could be experienced as pictures. I now pursue that interest with TV documentaries.
As a young man, I rode a motorcycle, I wasn't careful, I drove fast and ended up in three accidents. One of my legs can still wiggle back and forth. I also drove a truck between France, Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and England from 1986 to 91. The truck transported fruit and vegetables, Coca Cola, liquid soap and other goods. It always had to be loaded. The last year after Nadine and I met, I only drove here in the area. Those trips were work, not vacation.
As a soldier, I once flew in a plane without windows and with bullet holes from the war in Chad in 1983. Since then, Nadine and I have flown to visit Rie and Leif in Odense. It was the first time we had a holiday together outside of France. Odense is a lovely city. We had hoped for cool weather for a change, but there was a heat wave the week we were in Denmark.
We did everything with our own hands
Nadine and I met in her father's vineyards. I came to Bélesta from Ile-sur-Têt to help with the grape harvest, my job at the beginning was to carry the picked grapes in a basket on my back. When someone else got the job, I had to cut the grapes, I wasn't good at that. Nadine showed me how to do it. - Here Nadine added, that it took Eric a long time to learn.
As we walked there next to each other, Cupid's arrow hit us and we fell in love. It was in 1990 and after three years we got married, I'm not religious, so the wedding took place at the town hall in Ile-sur-Têt. There were eight guests, I found a witness in a café and invited him to a nice lunch. The marriage was a bit of a formality, we had been together for three years at that time.
Nadine was pregnant with our common son when we got married. He is 31 years old now. She already had a daughter, who is now 39. I want to adopt her - not so that she can have my name - but so that the children will have equal rights to inherit. - Then there is nothing more for me to do, I guess.
In the four years from 1992 to 1996, we built our own house on Nadine’s father’s field. We picked up materials from ruins and dumps, felled trees and did everything ourselves. We didn’t use any professional craftsmen. The robins came and begged when we had lunch. We didn’t take out any loans, and I sold the motorbike to buy timber for the roof.
10 years ago, I had a dream of moving north, where it’s cooler, maybe all the way to Brittany. We were also looking at some options, but Nadine’s ill mother lived with us. So, in the end we decided to stay in Bélesta.
I am looking forward to retirement
Everyone has some form of faith, but I don't like the church and the symbols. Priests and bishops are dressed elegantly and have a ring that you have to kiss. Spanish churches are full of gold, where does it come from? It was robbed in the name of God during massacres in South America. People got a sword in the stomach for the sake of God and gold. Religion causes a lot of problems. I don't believe in the Pope, we are all popes. I believe in a modest life with good ethical values.
I am not envious of others who have more than us. Nadine and I have what we want. In hunter-gatherer society, everyone was equal, envy came with the farmers. This has caused problems and conflicts. Speech has led to people losing the intuition to live peacefully with each other. The word has created a lot of trouble.
In big politics, I am surprised that the world's super-rich billionaires will not contribute to helping the poor in Africa and Asia. What do people want on Mars, there is enough to do here on Earth.
I was a member of the city council in Bélesta for a while, but it was not politics like in big cities. It was about practical things in the village. I have worked with decisions about the roads, the cemetery wall, the festivals, etc. - Bread and circuses for the people. When the debates lasted until 11 pm, I fell asleep. So, I quit when my term ended.
I hope for a future together with Nadine and for a good local life with room for work and festivity. We can hope, but we never know if it will last. Let's meet in the coming years and see how it goes. - Here Nadine added her concern about the consequences of mechanization, industrialization, artificial intelligence and lack of environmental consideration.
I will retire in two years, then I will have been in the labour market for 44 years. That's enough. My pension will be 1230 euros per month. That doesn't leave room for big dreams, but it is enough to have a good life. I look forward to sitting and enjoying the view of the mountains and nature. - I have no regrets.
June 2025.