CASTEL LIFE, LIFE OF HARDSHIP ? | M6 | 66 minutes

Who hasn’t dreamed of living the life of a château? In 2023, there were almost 3,200 châteaux to renovate or refurbish on the prestige real estate market, twice as many as in 2019. But for many owners, the life of a chateau owner can also mean a life of hardship. Between endless renovations and financial ruin, the dream can quickly turn into a nightmare.

Near Avignon, Emmanuel Renoux owns Château de Thézan, on which he has already spent over 3 million euros. With his partner, this former luxury goods marketing director spends his time cleaning, renovating, repairing and, above all, getting out his checkbook! So to replenish the coffers, the couple came up with an idea: organize tours of their property and reach 15,000 admissions this season.

Alice Guyot, not yet 30, is the daughter of “serial-châtelains”. A family tradition she decided to perpetuate by taking on a 15-year debt to buy Château de Bridoire, near Bergerac. Quite a gamble, especially as she has also just given birth to a baby girl. She will have to juggle her life as a young mother with her new life as a chatelaine. For Martin and Jérémy, however, debt was out of the question. So to make their dream come true, the two friends launched an online appeal for donations and raised nearly 700,000 euros to acquire the Fontenay estate in the Sarthe region. In return, they had to be accountable to the 2,000 or so Good Samaritans who, thanks to their generosity, are now co-owners.

For her part, Erin Choa is one of the foreign buyers who have fallen head over heels in love with our heritage. The 30-year-old Australian has just bought the Château de Bourneau in the Vendée. Her dream: “to restore this magnificent site to its former glory”. To achieve this, she relies on renting out her estate and organizing receptions such as weddings.