It’s nice to talk to someone who is so enthusiastic about his job. “We are the king’s plumbers,” jokes Jean-Pierre Bianchin in the basement of the gardens of the Palace of Versailles. But one would say, talking to him, that Louis XIV still lives in the palace and will give a sumptuous party tonight. Bianchin invites the journalist to climb a ladder to look out over some gigantic cisterns with a capacity of 4,000 cubic meters. “Look at the (vaulted) ceiling,” he insists. We call it the cathedral of water. Isn’t that impressive?”
The Sun King spared no means for a residence, some twenty kilometers from the center of Paris, which should have been the envy of the world. Gardens and fountains fascinated him. He searched all over Europe for engineers and scientists to design a water distribution system that would feed the canals, ponds and fountains of the vast estate. The result was the most important innovation in hydraulic technology since Roman times, a marvel that still works almost as it did 350 years ago, based on the simple principle of gravity.
90% of the underground pipes, which have a total extension of 35 kilometres, are still from the time of their construction or from the period of Napoleon III, in the mid-19th century. “I only do maintenance on the valves, but not on the tubes, unless there are leaks,” explains Bianchin. The pipes were made of gray cast iron, an alloy of iron and carbon. In some places, those who installed the pipes engraved their initials or the fleur-de-lis on them.
Bianchin, 56, has been a plumber for 42 years, 22 of them in Versailles, after winning a contest. Born in a town near Toulouse, he started the profession as a boy, at the age of 14. Already then he worked on the restoration of historical monuments in the southwest of France, in palaces and cathedrals. “As soon as they assigned me to Versailles, I didn’t move anymore,” says Bianchin, married with three daughters. He considers it a great privilege to have been able to live all this time inside the Versailles compound.
What does it mean to you to work in a place like this?
–It is the Holy Grail, because I, by trade, am a plumber.
“A plumber’s dream, I see…”
Yes, it is true that it is the summum. It is plumbing on another level. It is a great satisfaction when I arrive at the palace.
Bianchin is now the chief plumber and is in charge of nine operators. He not only takes care of Versailles, but also the hydraulic part of other nearby historic estates, such as the Saint-Cloud park or the Marly gardens. The current big problem is the lack of water, which has made it necessary to reduce the frequency of the shows at the pumps and fountains. Although these are closed circuits, it is estimated that between 30% and 35% of the water is lost for various reasons.
– Is there anything in the world comparable to Versailles?
-Yes and no. There is a replica that was made near Saint Petersburg, in Russia, the Peterhof Palace. They wanted to recreate Versailles. I was lucky to be there about 15 years ago on a cultural exchange to pass on our know-how. They made some golden fountains that were magnificent. They have millions and millions of liters of water, but the pipes are nothing like ours. They had leaks everywhere. They don’t care, because they have so much water that they don’t know what to do with it. Here, if there is a leak, I immediately send my team. Not there.
Bianchin was also in charge for many years of the Lanterne residence, in the woods of Versailles, where prime ministers sometimes stayed on weekends. The current president liked the place and often takes refuge there with his wife, Brigitte. He also did it when he got the covid. The Élysée decided, perhaps for security reasons, that its own technicians would manage the water on the farm. Bianchin confesses, amused, that the person in charge of water in Lanterne often calls him for advice “because he doesn’t know how irrigation works.” Plumbers have their professional pride, especially if they consider themselves the heirs of those who served the Sun King.