To dedicate a museum to Louis de Funès is to reverse decades of dissatisfaction. More than anyone else, Louis de Funès is the popular actor. By his success (never denied), because he speaks to the body (through laughter) as well as the soul, because he has until now been denied the sesame of cultural legitimation. (…) In one way, de Funès is a singular genius, a force set apart, difficult to define, but this has allowed him to carve out a place for himself in the collective imagination, to become a social phenomenon. It would take pages to fully explore this mystery full of pleasure, childhood, nostalgia for Sunday evenings and mirror effects between a people who watch and a man who plays a part. (…)
Fernandel was from Marseille. Bourvil forever provincial. De Funès is national. He speaks to us in our lowliness, our aggressiveness, and our fragility too. And to finish, I leave you with a mystery. To my knowledge, Louis de Funès has never played the role of a son. This orphan had no choice but to be loved.

Nicolas Mathieu

When the museum in Le Cellier closed, our family received many messages from people feeling disappointed that there was no longer anywhere in France dedicated to my grandfather. I had no immediate answer to give because to create a museum, you need a beautiful collection but also and above all, to meet the right people who know how to find a way out of a dead end, how to transform an inevitable closure into an unexpected opening. We had the collection. We met the right people at the right time. Nicolas Bouzou, co-author of my last book, introduced me to the Town Mayor, Frédéric Masquelier, as well as Grégory Bozonnet, his Chief of Staff, who were immediately interested in the project and instrumental in its implementation. The team then introduced me to Clémentine Deroudille, who immediately made me feel confident that the museum would be cleverly thought out, entertaining and elegant, just like my grandfather was. Our whole family is delighted that this museum is now in Saint-Raphaël and we are sure that the public will be too.

Julia de Funès

He would be glad to know that every time one of his films is broadcasted, it’s a huge success. He would be happy to have his museum. In this business everything is forgotten,  we must remember De Funès. The younger generation must know who this extraordinary man was who made France roar with laughter and they are not so numerous to have done it. He founded a genre that has always been scorned by elites and movie buffs. It took years, years, years for comedians to be rewarded at the Césars. It was a magnificent actor, to dedicate a museum to De Funès is great.

Michel Drucker