A human story. A story of shadows and light that takes form within a territory where everything intermingles in the harshness and communion of transfigured souls and bodies.
This territory is the Saint-François district, an island within the city of Le Havre.

At the origin of the city, together with the Notre-Dame district, it was founded in 1541 by Francis I.

Partly destroyed during the Second World War, it withstood the architectural overhaul orchestrated by Auguste Perret after the war.
Facing Perret’s concrete architecture, it spreads out, surrounded by three basins, between the rebuilt city center and the port, and is only accessible by bridges connecting it to other districts, giving it an insular appearance.

How does one convey the pride of belonging, the attachment to a territory, the resistance, the singularity of the people who inhabit and defend it? How can the power of an almost insular universe, its drama, and its historical continuity be revealed?

For three years, from 2020 to 2023, photographer Jérémy Charbaut

settled “Chez Lili”, behind the bar.
This convivial place, formerly called “Le bon coin”, is a symbol of the Saint-François district.

“A place is only truly known once a dream has been sown there,” says Édouard Glissant.
Between the Maison de l’Armateur, the fishing port, the fish market, the Bassin du Roy and the Halle aux Poissons, “Chez Lili” spills out onto a large terrace in the midst of a maritime and port landscape.

A haven for sea workers and locals, the bistro enabled the photographer to forge strong human bonds and to immerse himself at the heart of the district.
He explores, tries to read the people and the habits specific to each territory. He listens to stories, imbued with joy and sorrow.
Friendships form.