Pierre Salinger, former journalist and former California senator, was born on June 14, 1925, in Sacramento, California, to a French mother and an American father of Prussian descent.
In 1959, he joined Senator John F. Kennedy's team, becoming his press secretary for the 1960 presidential campaign. In 1961, he was appointed spokesman for President John F. Kennedy and the US government on January 20.
In 1968, after serving as campaign manager for Robert Kennedy's presidential bid, he left for France following Kennedy's assassination.
From 1973 to 1977, he was a senior reporter for L'Express.
Then, in 2000, he kept his promise: “If George W. Bush becomes president, I will leave the country for France.”
He then settled with his wife Poppy at La Bastide Rose in Le Thor in the Vaucluse region.
He died on October 16, 2004, in Cavaillon and was buried on October 21 at Arlington Cemetery in Virginia, alongside his friends John and Robert Kennedy.
In 2005, the association “Les Jardins de Poppy” became “the association for the creation of the Poppy and Pierre Salinger Foundation.”
On June 1, 2006, the Pierre Salinger Museum was inaugurated at La Bastide Rose, as well as the square named after him in Le Thor.
The Association for the Creation of the Poppy and Pierre Salinger Foundation is the logical continuation of the association “Les Jardins de Poppy.” The latter was founded in March 2004, at the behest of Pierre Salinger and his wife Nicole, nicknamed Poppy.
Displeased by the tense atmosphere between the United States and France, caused by differing positions on Middle East policy, they wanted to maintain a link between the two countries, which had always been friends, despite the upheavals that had shaken them. It was therefore in the field of culture and art that Pierre and Nicole (Poppy) Salinger decided to exhibit monumental sculptures in the garden of their home, La Bastide Rose, in Le Thor, near Avignon.
La Bastide Rose is also a charming guest house, steeped in history...
The Pierre Salinger Museum
La Bastide Rose
99, chemin des Croupières,
84250 Le Thor
Tel.: +33 (0)6 78 43 57 33
