Claude Lavezzi

Claude Lavezzi (also Claudio or Corsican : Claudiu ) (* 1920 in Bastia ; † April 2004 ) was a French militant communist of Corsican descent, supporter of the Corsican independence movement and restaurant operator .

Lavezzi learned to be an electrician. In 1936 he joined the Fédération des jeunesses communistes de France , the youth organization of the French Communist Party . In the Spanish Civil War he fought in the International Brigades . After the end of the Second World War, he worked for the Minister of Health François Billoux in the French provisional government. At the end of the 1950s he left the Communist Party, was temporarily a member of the left-wing socialist party PSU and was involved in the Algerian independence movement.

On July 7, 1970, he opened the Rôtisserie U Sampieru Corsu, named after the Corsican freedom fighter Sampiero Corso , in the Rue de l'Amiral Roussin in the 15th arrondissement of Paris . What was special about this restaurant was the type of payment: a price was given for the simple menu, but the money was not paid directly, instead each guest left the restaurant uncontrolled in a compartment at the exit. Rich people should pay more, while z. B. Unemployed and other socially disadvantaged people could eat for free. This system worked for years and a total of 175,000 free meals were served.

Claude Lavezzi's restaurant is also seen as the forerunner of the Restos du Cœur .

literature

• Gerlinde Böhm (script, direction, production): Corsican, cook and communist - Claude Lavezzi and his unusual restaurant in Paris . France / Germany, ZDF, 1996
• Günter Liehr: Travel differently: Paris. A travel book for everyday life . Rowohlt Taschenbuch Verlag, Reinbek near Hamburg 1982, ISBN 3499175096

Web links

Sample menu letters and pictures