The revolutionary and the hackberry

At the gateway to the Verdon, between Sillans la Cascade and Montmeyan, a dead-end road leads to the village of Fox-Amphoux, perched at an altitude of 540 metres.

An unusual name
Fox-Amphoux, what an odd name! The castrum of Fors is mentioned as early as 1097, while the castrum of Amfos appears in 1233. Fors-Amfos became Fox-Amphoux in 1471. In addition to this unusual name, Fox-Amphoux also stands out for being the village where you can admire a five-hundred-year-old hackberry tree that owes it to Paul Barras not to have been felled. But what does the revolutionary have to do with this majestic tree, which has stood for half a millennium in front of the village church?
This is the story

The village is home to the oldest hackberry tree in the country, whose trunk measures over five meters in circumference and is said to be a venerable 470 years old. It is said to have been planted in 1550, on the death of François Premier. Under the Ancien Régime, it was customary to plant a hackberry tree in front of churches, as it was reputed to be a "cassa diaule" (devil hunter). With the arrival of the French Revolution, hackberry trees were cut down, since they were associated with religion as protectors of churches. The one at Fox Amphoux owes its survival to "citoyen" Barras, who prevented it from being felled.


A prestigious Foxois
A famous figure of the French Revolution, Paul Barras was born in Fox on June 30, 1755. Along with Tallien and Fouché, he was responsible for the fall of Robespierre, and greatly favored the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte. He died in Paris on January 29, 1829, and is buried in the Père Lachaise cemetery.
A tree of many uses

Hackberry is renowned for the quality of its wood. In Sorède, in the Pyrénées Orientales region, a workshop still works hackberry as it did in the 13th century to make whips, while in Sauve in the Gard region, forks are made from its branches. The fruit, the micocoule, is edible: yellow or burgundy in color, it's fleshy and has a crunchy core rich in lipids, which are good fatty acids; as for the pulp, it tastes like caramelized apple. It can also be used to flavor alcohol; the oil extracted from its pits is used in cosmetics and medicinal ointments. Its flower buds can be eaten in spring, and its leaves, rough to the touch, resemble those of nettles.
Paul Barras' birth certificate
I searched for the birth certificate of Paul Barras

The year one thousand seven hundred and fifty-five and the thirtieth day of the month of June was born noble Jean Nicolas Paul François de Barras, son of noble François and dame Elisabeth Pourcelly his wife, and was baptized on the fourth of July next the godfather messire Jean Nicolas de Raphaelis d'Agout chevalier Marquis de Rognes the godmother mademoiselle Louise Françoise Gabrielle d'Albert du Chaine marquise de ce lieu all signed.
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