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Gruissan-Vieux Gruissan
Saint Peter and the Labour Judges
In the 17th century, residents of Gruissan found the bow of a boat on the shore. They recognised the figurehead to be that of Saint Peter. Since then, they have dedicated a festival at the end of every June to this personage, including a procession, a serenade and much jubilation. The festival’s high point is a singular sight: labour judges dancing a polka in the church with the fishermen and their wives.
"About the middle of the 17th century, Gruissan fishermen found a finely carved wooden figurehead painted in many colours among the ruins of shipwreck on the shore", 
wrote historian Jean Carbonel. They immediately recognised Saint Peter: the bust, with the beautiful bearded head, carried two large keys. "The keys to heaven!" deduced the men who made the discovery. Gruissan residents, seafarers with a legendary reputation for courage throughout the French realm, experienced this event with unusual intensity. The statue immediately became the subject of great veneration due to the extraordinary circumstances of its discovery.
The feast of Saint Peter, which is celebrated in every seafaring town, takes on a unique importance here because of this statue.
On Sunday morning, a procession forms in front of the "Prud'homie" (the Labour Relations Board). Four fishermen carry Saint Peter on a red stretcher, while the small Gruissan orchestra plays a quadrille. Four judges dressed in their black gowns with a white tie complete the small company. The president of the Labour Board wears a cap with a gold braid, while the Assessors wear caps with a silver braid. Strolling behind, in order of importance, come the Mariners' Union, the Maritime Guard, the Labour Board Guard, and finally the fishermen and their wives (numbering several hundred) in their finest clothes.
The whole group, followed by the entire village and nearby tourists, heads toward the church in a musical procession. The clergy welcome the relic on the porch of the church before letting it enter the packed nave. Here again, the people sit in their appointed places. The Labour Court judges go to their reserved seats. The authorities, captains, the mayor, and the churchwardens (who keep the parish register) settle into the stalls, the wooden seats around the choir. Finally, the fishermen sit on the benches. The high mass starts with music by Lully issuing from the organs.
After a reading from the Gospel, the clergy sit down in the centre of the choir, while the four Labour Court judges stand at the back of the church in front of the fishermen, gathered near the baptismal font. A tune streams forth, no longer the great organ music, but rather a "Scottish" polka (an English dance similar to the polka, in quadruple time). The labour judges, followed by the fishermen, go back up to the choir, moving in time to the dance. They must follow a particular ritual. In their right hands, the labour judges hold poles topped with small gilded boats, symbolising labour. A lit candle glimmers in their left hands, representing faith. They proceed to dance toward the choir. Only the labour judges, the fishermen, and their wives are entitled to perform this ritual. The others in the church content themselves with remaining spectators, in spite of their desire to move to the sound of the lively music. Following the polka, the great organ music reasserts its authority, and the service ends.
Why a polka? Because its rhythm evokes the movements and undulations of the waves, which carry both the fishermen and their boats.
The orchestra plays while escorting the labour judges back to the Labour Board, and the bust remains at the church. The latter is transported back to the Labour Board at the end of the afternoon Vespers. The festival is complemented by a serenade the evening before, a tribute to lost sailors on Sunday afternoon, and two dances. Don't miss this festival to Saint Peter—it's like no other.
