Web comment from an admirer of Paul Magès under "La Déesse de la route"

In this document

This is a printout of a comment notification posted under the video La Déesse de la route, broadcast on France 5. The author, an internet user with the pseudonym "fred73ds", addresses a descendant of Paul Magès directly p. 1.

The message, very enthusiastic and punctuated with numerous exclamation marks, salutes the memory of the engineer: "Your Grandfather was a Saintly man!!!!!!" and "He was a Genius like we will never see again!!!!" p. 1. The internet user introduces himself as a "young DS owner" and expresses his admiration for "the hydraulic system that your grandfather invented" p. 1.

The page also includes the usual functional links of a comment interface (reply, see all comments) as well as a small generic blue star-shaped avatar, with no particular informative value p. 1.

No date appears in the document, nor any elements allowing for the precise identification of the internet user or the recipient of the message.

Context

La Déesse de la route is the nickname given to the Citroën DS, presented on 6 October 1955, whose design and, above all, ride comfort have marked automotive history. This comfort relies in large part on the hydropneumatic suspension, developed by Paul Magès within the Citroën design offices, the first plans for which date back to 17 February 1944 (Hydropneumatic suspension plans with differential interaction).

France 5 has dedicated documentary programmes to the history of the DS, in line with a heritage memory maintained by enthusiasts and owners' clubs of this model, which are particularly active on the internet. This family memory is today extended by the descendants of Paul Magès, notably via the Paul Magès Association, who perpetuate the memory of the engineer.

Archivist's perspective

This document stands out from the usual technical or administrative pieces in the Magès collection: it is a spontaneous testimony to the popular legacy of the engineer, several decades after his achievements. It illustrates, on its modest scale, the emotional recognition that his work continues to arouse among DS enthusiasts.

Its interest is primarily human and memorial rather than documentary: it does not provide information on Magès' technical work itself, but testifies to its reception in contemporary automotive culture. Its presence in the collection is likely explained by the preservation, by the descendants of Paul Magès active in the transmission of his memory, of this mark of tribute received online.