A first Thalassa barge until 1998
It all began in 1975 with the launch of the program Thalassa, a maritime program presented by the late Georges Pernoud, died on January 11, 2021 at the age of 73 At that time, the offices of the program were integrated into the France 3 channel. When France Televisions moved to Cours Albert 1er, there was no room for the Thalassa production team.
"Georges Pernoud was looking for premises before finding the Touring Club de France barge, which until then had housed the Salvation Army. Their lease was coming to an end and Georges decided to install the show on this 1919 concrete barge designed by Le Corbusier explains Philippe Vilamitjana, former deputy director of the Thalassa program unit.
The whole team of the show moved to Pont Alexandre III from 1986 to 1998, in the heart of the barge transformed into an office. The reception of the visitors is done on the main deck, while the offices are in the hold, at the level of the Seine.
"The houseboats and the river navigation made the waterway hectic. I remember when we had people on board for appointments and we wanted to cut the visits short, we received them in the offices, in the hold. It was quite moving and they were quickly seasick laughs Philippe Vilamitjana.
Building a floating office for the Thalassa TV show
After several years, France Television moves again to Pont du Garigliano. The lease for the barge was coming to an end and it had to be destroyed. Georges Pernoud then has the idea to build the boat "Thalassa".
"It was a crazy idea! He succeeded in convincing the managers of France 3, who in turn convinced the ministry at Bercy, our shareholder, of the relevance of investing in the construction of a boat while there were funds available 2 of available office space in Paris. We also had to convince the autonomous port of Paris to obtain a place at the quay" continues Philippe Vilamitjana.
1.9 million euros are invested in the construction of the boat Thalassa, which is a boat in name only. Georges Pernoud wrote the specifications and followed the entire construction. The architectural firm in charge of the design was Flahault Design (now Chenet Design) and the construction was carried out by the Chantiers de la Haute-Seine in Villeneuve-le-Roi (94).
"The boat was built in 1997/1998 at the request of Georges Pernoud. It is not capable of sailing. It is a barge hull, it has never been a boat. It was above all a question of image for the show. It had to look like a boat and float. It had offices, recording studios, and the room in the back on the main deck with that famous round table." explains Pierre-Édouard Chenet, manager of the current site.
A floating office to bring all the teams together
Thus, the "boat" welcomes the teams of Thalassa and "Faut pas rêver" from 1998 at the end of the André Citroën park, near the premises of France Télévisions. 50 m long and 10 m wide, it offers a surface of about 600 m 2 to teams of about forty people. Since Thalassa is not designed as a real boat, it is not motorized. Thus, every two years for maintenance, pushers come to pick up the barge to move it on the Seine.
"It was the place, the home base for a team that lived largely around the world to shoot stories. The office was not the boat. The sea was our office. We were on the barge for editing or preparation of the shoot, except for the sedentary team: production, communication, Georges Pernoudeuros It was a unique setting of crew, conviviality, parties. The Thalassa parties were legendary at France Télévision
A new life as a restaurant
In 2018, the association Wake Up Café euros, which campaigns for the rehabilitation of former prisoners euros, bought the barge Thalassa from France Televisions. The boat is completely transformed inside euros again by the architectural firm Chenet Design euros to become a floating restaurant. Delivered in September 2020 and moored at the Quai Liberté, in the upper port of Javel (Paris 15th), the boat offers since July 18, 2021, services of guinguette of 1 er may to the end of October, while offering training and employment opportunities to people in rehabilitation.
