I discovered the choir "Au clair de la rue" in Nantes during the World Day to Overcome Extreme Poverty on October 19, 2015.

About twenty of its members were performing on a stage set up on a square in Nantes, in front of a crowd of passers-by. The songs did not necessarily sound right, but more than the music, it was the unconventional composition of this choir that appealed to me.

Created in 2007 by Serge "The Gallic", a former fisherman who became homeless, and Yannick, a former engineer, the choir "Au clair de la rue" had for first objective to allow the friends of the dead of the street to pay a last tribute to them and to say goodbye in dignity. 

When I met the choir, almost ten years after its creation, it was going on its way, composed of people in social difficulties with or without a fixed abode and a solid network of volunteers. I started to go and photograph the rehearsals. Then the concerts. Then funerals.

Little by little, I got to know and appreciate the people who made up this motley crew and, it must be said, a little unlikely. 

The disappearances are numerous but the tone is never tragic and the song brings together these women and men with sometimes chaotic paths.

A space of socialization, of letting go and of well-being in difficult daily life, "Au clair de la rue" is certainly one of the most atypical choirs of the French landscape. For several years now, I have had the opportunity to accompany them from Nantes to Geneva via Rome.