L'improbable histoire des Passantes

The improbable and extraordinary story of Georges Brassens song "Les Passantes"

In 1944, a young man who had been forcibly conscripted decided not to return to Germany for the STO (compulsory labour service)... He found refuge in Impasse Florimond, where he was taken in by Jeanne and the Auvergnat. This young man of 23, wandering around the flea markets at Porte de Vanves, had to choose between a sandwich or a book for lack of money.
It was while leafing through Antoine Pol's collection that he came across the poem ‘Les passantes’, and thought it might make a good song. The young man's name was Georges Brassens...
And so began an improbable story, a cross-fertilisation between the author and the composer, which led to this legendary song, the result of the ‘non-meeting’ between these two men.
It wasn't until 1972 that Brassens sang it at Bobina, to an enthusiastic audience...

This is the story of a legendary song, the extraordinary odyssey of a poem that, from chance to chance, finds its destiny.
This astonishing journey reveals the improbability and fragility of artistic creation.