Jeanne Giraud
(1925 - )
At the beginning of Labyrinth – at the beginning of the contemporary section, that is – Jeanne is living in her home town of Carcassonne in southwest France. Her house nestles beneath the medieval Cité walls. A former history teacher, she has worked with Audric Baillard as his researcher – and his friend – since her retirement twenty years ago.
She is the epitome of calm precision in everything she does. This is despite her extraordinary experiences during the Occupation.
Having watched the Nazis take possession of the Cité in World War II, Jeanne, together with her husband, joined the Résistance. For several years, she helped smuggle refugees – gypsies, Jews, other résistants – over the Pyrenees to the relative safety of northern Spain. In 1944, her husband was caught, interrogated, tortured and executed.
Her grandson, Yves Biau, is a police offer with the Police Judiciaire, département de l'Ariège, and is present at the site in Sabarthès where the Labyrinth cave is discovered.
