He d’Artagnan Castle, hero of the novel Alexander Dumas The three Musketeersis located in the town of Lupiac, on a 243 meter high hill in the Gers department France. King Louis XIV’s most famous musketeer was born there, Charles de Batz de Castelmore, better known by the nickname Chevalier D’Artagnan.

Considered a historical monument since 1993, this place could become a museum or the second residence of the president of a giant distribution company. It has been for sale for two years.

(FILES) A July 17, 2002 view of the Chateau de Castelmore, in the village of Lupiac. The future of the Château de d’Artagnan in Lupiac, Gers, is at the center of a duel between a private buyer and local authorities concerned about the loss of a property they dream of transforming into a tourist and cultural attraction . (Photo by Nathalie SAINT-AFFRE / AFP) Photo: AFP

With an ocher facade of 700 square meters, the local communities of Gascon are fighting for it, who dream of transforming it into a tourist and cultural center, and the president of Auchan Retail, Yves Claude, who is planning a private housing project, A source close to the case told AFP this.

The bolero, the Italian opera and the Peruvian ceviche are declared intangible cultural heritage of humanity

The hero of Dumas’ novel is still popular in France. More than 3.3 million viewers watched the film The three Musketeers, by Martin Bourboulon, released in April 2023, and the second, Milady, which has been on the billboard since early December, still fills theaters.

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In 2022, the department of Gers, where Lupiac is located, wanted to acquire the castle located about 120 km from Toulouse and worth one million euroschairman Philippe Dupouy explained to AFP.

But then the owner of the castle asked twice as much, and negotiations failed.

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On December 19, the Association for Land Planning and Rural Settlement (Safer) of Gers, which has a preferential right to the castle due to the 150 hectares of agricultural land surrounding it, was interested in the purchase proposal of the president of Auchan Retail, Yves Claude, who wants to convert it into his second home.

Safer’s position was very poor within the community, which does not want the building to fall into the hands of the private sector. AFP reported that, according to its sources, A final decision on the case would be made on January 22. (F)