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Patrick Gréaux is sitting on the terrace of his family home in Colombier, France, with a satisfied look at his latest project. Two screen doors he made before installing them on the kitchen and living room entrances. "We're swarming with mosquitoes at the moment," he remarks with a serene smile. The same serenity that befits those who have chosen to embark on a new stage in their lives. For on Friday December 19, Patrick Gréaux stepped down from his position at the Collectivité territoriale, where he headed up the Civil Status Department and the Elections Office. But I'm not retiring," he assures us. I've decided to leave the position. It's a bit like a contractual termination. I just didn't feel comfortable anymore. There are so many things I could still have done! I'm going to miss it, that's for sure... I put so much into it. It was like my company. Even if I'm not a team manager. I was managing my own files! "Patrick's guiding principle remains the same: "Being a civil servant means serving people. "However, even if he intends to remain available to support the person who will succeed him, Patrick now has more personal projects in mind. Nothing more normal after 38 years of service to the people of Saint-Barthélemy.
A child of Colombier
To begin with, the new holidaymaker (since he hasn't retired yet) has taken care to avoid being noisily awakened at dawn. I've deactivated the 6 a.m. alarm," he enthuses. Even though I still have the same natural rhythm. I've never slept in. "His wife Marielle crosses the terrace with the warmest of greetings. "She's my confidante, my support," Patrick says modestly, happy to be able to enjoy the festive season in the presence of his daughter Noémie (26) and son André (23), both now living in France. My daughter was born in Saint-Barthélemy," smiles Patrick proudly. I was able to register her birth with my own hand. "
Before being a scrupulous civil servant, constantly involved in his daily tasks, Patrick Gréaux carries with him a history of the island. "I was born in Colombier, in my parents' house," he says. At precisely 12.15am. That night, the doctor had to sleep at home on a folding bed because it was raining too hard," Patrick laughs. It's Ginette, my aunt, who always reminds me of that story. "He spent his childhood in the company of four sisters and three brothers.
There were lots of young people," he recalls. When school wasn't in session, we played every imaginable game to keep ourselves occupied. Our favorite pastime was kite-flying. We'd go up on the rock up there (he contorts himself in his chair and points to the rock), sometimes leaving the kites up all night. There used to be a lot of latanier trees there (with a glance, he points to an area now occupied by houses). We used them to make hoops and roll them. And then we'd build huts, climb trees! "
From "Chez Ginette" to the town hall
As a teenager, he left Saint-Barth to study in Guadeloupe. "My last little sister wasn't even a year old when I left," he recalls. At the age of 16 and a half, he obtained a BEP in accounting after two years spent in Lamentin. Then it was back to his island. The year was 1983, and job prospects were few and far between. I started working at my aunt's grocery store, Chez Ginette, in Anse des Cayes," recalls Patrick. I stayed there for four years. "One of his brothers whispered in his ear that the town hall was looking for young people to fill in during the vacations. "I immediately sent in a letter, and the next day the police came to collect me from home to tell me that Daniel Blanchard (the mayor at the time) wanted to see me," laughs Patrick, who joined the mayor's office in 1987.
"I knew nothing
I went through all the departments," he says. I was even an office guard! I used to go to the Post Office, fetch the mayor from his home, etc. "Young Patrick is committed and Daniel Blanchard sees it. As does Josette Gréaux, head of services, who takes the young man under her wing and trains him "rigorously", Patrick comments with a small smile that hints at a hint of understatement. "That's where I learned to work," he assures us. When I arrived, I knew nothing. "In 1994, Daniel Blanchard put him in charge of the elections department. This was followed by responsibility for the registry office.
As the years went by, Bruno Magras became mayor and then president of the newly-formed Collectivité territoriale. A change in status which, as Patrick Gréaux asserts, has changed little in his work. It's not like in town planning, for example, where elected representatives set the course," explains Patrick. Our boss is the public prosecutor. "
From all those years spent working for the town hall and then the Collectivité, he remembers a few anecdotes and other memorable episodes. "Particularly at the elections office, because when you're at the registry office, you forget," confides Patrick, adding: "You have to be passionate about the registry office. It was my second home. I used to go there on Saturdays and Sundays when there was a lot of work. "
Sense of duty, discreet efficiency
Patrick assures us that he was prepared for his departure. "I wanted to leave the Collectivité as I arrived, on tiptoe," he confesses. His only regret is that he was unable to pass on his knowledge by training his successor. After all, the person appointed by the local authority has only been in post for two months. No matter. Even if his mind is now turned towards his family life, DIY and above all the upkeep and embellishment of his garden, Patrick Gréaux is already committed to training his replacement in civil registry until 2027. "I've also offered to help out at the elections office," he explains. As he pointed out earlier, retirement is officially not on the cards yet! For Patrick Gréaux, a sense of duty and public service continue to prevail. A discreet efficiency and a taste for a job well done that the community will miss as much as the future retiree's soothing mastery of procedures during long election evenings.
In the years to come, if a kite flutters in the wind over a shimmering garden in Colombier, don't ask: you'll certainly be passing the house of Patrick Gréaux, a happy gardener.
