François Joseph Fournier

François Joseph Fournier (December 6, 1857 - January 13, 1935) was a self-taught Belgian adventurer and entrepreneur who explored Mexico and the island of Porquerolles. He was born into a family of modest means, in Clabecq, Belgium and died on Porquerolles.

The tomb of Fournier in Porquerolles

Fournier purchased the entire island of Porquerolles in 1912, apparently as a wedding present for his wife. He planted 200 hectares (about 500 acres) of vineyards which produced a wine that was among the first to be classed des Côtes de Provence.

On February 22, 1912, at an auction, he bought the island of Porquerolles for the sum of one million and one hundred francs. He obtained French nationality on June 28, 1914. François Joseph Fournier developed the island of Porquerolles with the model he had used in the Colonizadora: development of wine and fruit crops, creation of a cooperative, establishment of a flotilla of boats linking with the Tour Fondue on the peninsula of Giens.

References
  • Luret, William (1996). L'homme de Porquerolles (in French). Paris: Lattès. ISBN 270961636X.
  • "Porquerolles". France 3, 19/20 (in French). 24 August 1996.
  • "Porquerolles". France 2, MIDI 2 (in French). 13 March 1998.
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