Pierre-Lavabre Square

Here is Pierre-Lavabre Square, a small, discreet square in the centre of Béziers named after a local resistance fighter who was deported during the Second World War. It is especially marked by the large mural dedicated to Jean Moulin, which you have just passed. He was born very close by in 1899: his birthplace is at 6 Rue d’Alsace, just a few minutes’ walk away. The future hero of the Resistance spent his childhood there before becoming, in 1937, the youngest prefect in France. During the Occupation, he played a decisive role: he was the one who succeeded in uniting the Resistance movements to create the National Council of the Resistance on behalf of General de Gaulle. Arrested, tortured and later killed in deportation in 1943, he is now honoured in the Panthéon among the great figures of the Nation. The mural you see here shows him at a window, like a familiar face still watching over his city. On the ground floor, a trompe-l’œil recreates his art gallery in Nice, which served as a cover for his clandestine activities. The drawings displayed in the window are his own, reminding us that he was also an art lover and a true artist. The whole composition creates a meaningful link between the public figure, the resistance hero, the artist and the child of Béziers, giving this small square its full commemorative dimension.