Urban Exploration - Jeanine and Claude's House

This is a visit to an abandoned house in the Haute-Loire department. It is located only 200 meters from a very busy road, yet unless pointed out by someone who knows it, it remains secluded and difficult to find. Unfortunately, like so many others, it has been savagely ransacked by looters. A classic tragedy... My thanks to Vincent Mouton-Noir for sharing the location of this home.

As is often the case, we knew nothing of this family beforehand. Their history was a mystery. What follows is what I was able to piece together or feel. This family history remains eminently personal and fragile; I approach this life story with immense respect.

A Life of Waiting
The house appears to have been factory housing, likely dedicated to staff. There are actually two houses, though one has been abandoned for a very long time, its interior hollow and floors mostly collapsed. It is an awkward dwelling with no street entrance; you enter from the back, arriving directly onto a staircase. It’s an old-fashioned setup. In 1986, the neighbor was Franco—who, according to 12-year-old Fabienne, was "as dumb as a chicken."

Jeanine, her husband Claude, and Jeanine’s son Loïc lived here.

Jeanine was born Jeanine V. in the village of Saint-Préjet-Armandon. She was born on July 19, 1945, and passed away on May 23, 2012, at the age of 66. Her son, Loïc, appears from letters to have been born around 1971 or 1972. Jeanine had a sister in Brussels who worked at the French Embassy. Before her marriage, Jeanine lived in a small hamlet called La Carielle.

In 1972 and 1973, Jeanine received a staggering number of letters from Claude G. in the Ariège region, who desperately wanted her to be his wife. The letters are repetitive but reveal Claude’s profound desire to live with Jeanine and welcome Loïc into his life. They eventually married, and Jeanine became Jeanine G.

Claude was born on May 30, 1940, and passed away on December 20, 2020, at the age of 80. Strangely, the house still contains eggs that expired in 2011 and other perishables from the same year. Did the house fall silent the moment Jeanine passed away?

Fragility and Tenderness
It seems life was not kind to them, or at least destiny did not spare them. Many letters find them separated—likely due to frequent hospitalizations. Claude spent much time in the hospital, finding the days long. Jeanine was also fragile; documents show she was recognized as a person with a disability.

Loïc and his partner Laurence had two daughters, Célia and Elsa. Photos show Célia as a newborn. Loïc’s life is traced through school records, from nursery school in Saint-Préjet to vocational high school in Commentry.

Photos show a deep love for animals: chicks being nursed inside the house, a crow being cared for, and many dogs. In older photos, Jeanine is seen with a typewriter; perhaps she intended to be a stenographer.

The letters from her final years reveal a staggering sadness. She was often in tears on the phone. In some photos, she looks like a little grandmother you just want to CHERISH (chouchouter). There is no other word. How many such melancholies do we pass by every day, on foot or by car, without ever knowing? It is so fragile. In 1997, a friend named Jacqueline wrote to her: "Don't let yourself sink into depression. You are still so young and your loved ones need you." At the same time, Jeanine's own mother was very ill.

The Last Word
We eventually found their grave in Saint-Préjet-Armandon. It is well-maintained, a testament to the family's love. Jeanine and Claude are buried together.

I believe they had a hard life, but they loved each other deeply. Claude was a heavy smoker with a stern gaze, yet he wrote words of pure tenderness to his "little blonde." He once wrote: "I'm afraid of the storms; the lightning is purple. I'd be less afraid if you were here." In another note: "You aren't here, so I can't tell you to make me a coffee. I miss you." The coffee maker is still there today—a 1970s orange model, sitting in the corner of the kitchen. Everything is motionless. We are witnesses to these lives that are now silent, extinguished, and forgotten.

In this documentary, there is a profile photo of Jeanine with a stranger. You feel as though you know her, as if she were family. We will never know exactly what happened in the end. This documentary is our tribute to this small family; it is filmed in their honor.

A gauche, c'est Laurence, la femme de Loïc.

L'inconnu à droite est Roland, un ami qui habitait en face de l'ancienne maison.