It is 1 p.m. this Thursday in Lyon. Behind the Gerland stadium, the white trucks of prostitutes are parked in full sun. Jérôme Bénozillo, the bonnet maker from Lyon, arrives with his, gray and pink, signed in the colors of his brand. “I haven’t seen you for a long time,” Alicia says in despair. “I didn’t have a single condom left,” Jerome replies, white shirt and impeccably retro mustache. ” Me niether. I am very angry. It’s been two weeks without seeing you. I had to go to the Carrefour, but saw everything I took, they looked at me strangely, ”laughs the young woman, originally from South America.
For several weeks, its container of 1.5 million condoms had been delayed. The condoms and other objects provided by Jérôme are essential for these sex workers, who buy 20 euros from him for the 144 condoms. A much more affordable price than in stores and a much more confidential purchase. “Go to a pharmacy and buy 150 condoms, you will see how they look at you and how much it will cost you! “Assures the bonnet.
The law on prostitution prohibits him from canvassing his clients. He doesn’t really need it anyway. In the small street that borders the former garden of Olympique Lyonnais, horns sound and hands go up at the sight of his vehicle. Among the “girls”, some have been there since its beginnings, twenty years ago, to the point that a friendship was born between them. “I have seen some complicated times pass. It was hard to see them cry sometimes. I sold them condoms which they used to make money which ultimately went to their pimps. So I gave them free condoms so they could pass quietly,” he recalls.
The creation of a profession by chance
However, after two decades of career, Jérôme will soon stop. At 67, the only bonnet says he is a little “worn out”. “The day is fun. But in the evening, there are more people hanging around. I was mugged for 300 bullets a few years ago. They kicked my nose and my teeth. I had thirty days of ITT,” he recalls. A rare addict, however, of a profession in which he “had a blast”. “I’ve always felt like I made a living by giving people help, time and friendship,” he smiles. They do the oldest job in the world and I do the most beautiful. »
A job in which he fell a little by chance, at the beginning of the 2000s. After a period of unemployment, this professional salesman bought 5000 boxes of condoms to sell them in tobacconists. The project flopped and the boxes were lying around in the family garage. “I decided to give them free to the girls and several told me that it would be good if I came more often. And I got started,” says Jérôme. The invention by chance of the profession of bonnet maker, of which he is still the only representative in France. “It was legal, but I had four tax audits in six years,” he says. The police arrested me three times a week because they thought I was a pimp in disguise. »
Two buyers have already shown interest in taking over his business. “They want to develop distribution to sex workers all over France,” he explains. As for him, he already knows where he will spend his beautiful days: “I am going to do retreats for several months on an almost desert island in Greece”.
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