Mériel 1910, in the days of Jean Gabin: his childhood in VR

Before he was Gabin, he was “Jean”, a kid from Mériel who hated learning by heart. The Musée-Médiathèque Jean Gabin now offers “Mériel 1910, au temps de Jean Gabin”, a virtual-reality experience created by Timescope: a few minutes in the village of his childhood, where the grown-up actor meets the little boy he once was.

“Mériel 1910, au temps de Jean Gabin” is a two-minute virtual-reality experience made by Timescope for the Musée-Médiathèque Jean Gabin in Mériel (Val-d’Oise, north of Paris). It reconstructs the village’s Grande Rue around 1910, in front of the actor’s house and school, with the voice of his grandson, the actor Alexis Moncorgé. It opens on Saturday 14 November 2026, together with the exhibition “Jean Gabin, la guerre, c’est pas du cinéma”, for the fiftieth anniversary of Jean Gabin’s death. No booking, from age 7.

The experience is inaugurated on Saturday 14 November 2026, at the same time as the exhibition “Jean Gabin, la guerre, c’est pas du cinéma”, to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the death of Jean Gabin, who died on 15 November 1976.

Jean Gabin, whose real name was Jean Alexis Gabin Moncorgé, was born in Paris in 1904. Yet he spent his childhood in Mériel, in the Val-d’Oise, where his parents, café-concert performers, had settled. It is that Mériel, the one of the early twentieth century, that we have reconstructed.

What you experience in the headset

Jean Gabin meets you in the Grande Rue of Mériel, around 1910. In front of his house, then near the school, he sees himself at six and tells you about his friends, his escapades and his hopes for the future.

We will say no more: it is up to you to enjoy the nods between the child’s dreams and the man he would become.

Behind the scenes

A family affair. It is Alexis Moncorgé, actor and grandson of Jean Gabin, who lends his voice to his grandfather. The soundtrack also features an excerpt from the operetta “L’Amour malin”, sung by Ferdinand Moncorgé, the actor’s father. Three generations of Moncorgés thus cross paths in the experience.

An adult who sees himself as a child. The voice-over is meant to be that of the adult Jean Gabin, moved, meeting the kid he was and sinking back into his memories. No dates, no history lesson: it is a confidence.

Reconstructing the Grande Rue of Mériel in the 1910s. We started from old postcards of Mériel and from the photographs kept by the Musée-Médiathèque, which commissioned the experience. Jean Gabin’s house appears at the end of the Grande Rue: it is one of the few houses in the neighbourhood to have survived the bombings, and the actor spent his childhood there.

For the boys’ school, next to the town hall, we relied on postcards of the period, in which his schoolteacher appears.

Little Jean’s costume is inspired by a photograph of him in his garden, around 1910.

Jean Gabin as a child in a garden in Mériel around 1910, white beret, dark coat and a hoop in his hand, black-and-white photograph

Jean Gabin as a child in Mériel, in the 1910s. This photograph inspired the character’s costume.

A 1907 postcard of the Grande Rue in Mériel, with a charcuterie-grocery and residents posing on the pavement

The Grande Rue of Mériel on a 1907 postcard, one of the sources for the reconstruction.

How to experience it

The experience is available at the Musée-Médiathèque Jean Gabin, 1 place Jean-Gabin, in Mériel (Val-d’Oise), from Saturday 14 November 2026. It lasts two minutes and is experienced seated, with a Pico G3 headset. The museum is open to individual visitors on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 2 pm to 5 pm (last entry 4:15 pm); admission is 7 euros, 5 euros reduced, and free for children under 12.

It complements the visit to the collections devoted to the actor’s career: after meeting the child, you discover the man he became.

And if you are in Paris. Gabin was born in Paris in 1904. To go much further back into the history of his native city, try The Origins of Paris, our experience that retraces two thousand years of the capital’s history on the banks of the Seine.

Questions we are asked

Do I need to book? No. The experience is permanent: just ask for it at the Musée-Médiathèque reception, without booking, subject to availability.

Do I need to know Jean Gabin to enjoy the experience? No. The story follows a child in his village; the nods to his career are a bonus for those who know it.

Is it suitable for children? Yes, from age 7, the minimum age recommended for the headset. The story, simple and without a history lesson, is easy to follow. It is well suited to school groups.

In short

What: “Mériel 1910, au temps de Jean Gabin”, a virtual-reality experience about the actor’s childhood, made by Timescope.
Where: at the Musée-Médiathèque Jean Gabin, 1 place Jean-Gabin, Mériel (Val-d’Oise), from 14 November 2026.
Voice: Alexis Moncorgé, the actor’s grandson.
Length: two minutes, no booking, from age 7.

Sources

Old postcards of Mériel, 1900s-1910s: Grande Rue, boys’ school and town hall (Mériel municipal archives and Archives départementales du Val-d’Oise).
Photographs of Jean Gabin as a child, including one in the family garden around 1910.
Photographic collection of the Musée-Médiathèque Jean Gabin, Mériel.
Musée Jean Gabin, opening hours, prices and the exhibition “Jean Gabin, la guerre, c’est pas du cinéma” from 14 November 2026.
Jean Gabin, Wikipédia, for his dates (born 17 May 1904 in Paris, died 15 November 1976).
The Origins of Paris, opening times and booking.