The French singer Daniel Guichard, 77, has spent about ten years touring in a motorhome instead of staying in hotels and dressing rooms. His current vehicle, already his third, is an integrated Niesmann + Bischoff motorhome from the German brand. He bought it just before the Covid pandemic, and it has covered about 90,000 kilometres. He does not give the price but says it costs "the price of a house". "I like the motorhome because I don't like travelling," he said.
An old licence
A standard category B licence normally limits drivers to vehicles of 3.5 tonnes. Guichard says his licence dates from before 1976, so the law allows him to drive this kind of vehicle. Drivers today can no longer obtain that advantage. The downside is that his wife cannot drive the motorhome. He previously had a lighter Rapido, which she loved to manoeuvre.
His wife travels with him and, according to the singer, knows the vehicle best. She also acts as a speed warning and whistles when he goes slightly over the limit. At concerts the motorhome usually parks behind the venues, next to the lorry carrying his equipment, and in Paris it stays at the Bois de Boulogne campsite. Otherwise Guichard lives at his home in the Hérault department. The couple's next trip, he hopes, will be to Brittany. The singer also campaigns alongside the writer Alexandre Jardin against low-emission zones.