There are places in the world where lowriders make perfect sense: Crenshaw Boulevard on a Sunday afternoon, East Los Angeles at dusk, a block party somewhere deep in Compton with Nipsey Hussle coming through a pair of speakers the size of a small fridge. The French Riviera was not one of those places. Or at least, it wasn't supposed to be until these guys rolled in.
On a Friday evening in June, the photographer Tom Wheatley found himself on the waterfront of St. Raphaël, watching a 1981 Chevrolet Monte Carlo dance on its hydraulics while locals cheered from the sidewalks. "It's hard to believe this exists in Europe, on the French Riviera of all places," he told us afterwards. "It's like stepping into an R&B music video."
What Tom had stumbled into was a regular meet of Majestics French Riviera, the regional chapter of one of lowriding's most storied clubs. Majestics was established in Los Angeles in 1973 and has since grown to around 40 chapters worldwide, from Amsterdam to Japan and Hawaii. The French Riviera chapter came together eight years ago and today counts ten members, ten cars, and a reputation as the largest high-end lowrider club on the continent.
The cars that rolled through St. Raphaël that evening were something to behold: a 1960 Chevrolet Impala Convertible, a 1964 Impala Coupé, several Cadillacs including a Fleetwood and a Coupé de Ville, and a Buick Regal, all built to Majestics' exacting standards.
Chrome-plated undercarriages gleamed beneath polished subframes, while hydraulic setups ranged from simple lay-and-play systems to full competition builds capable of three-wheeling and hopping. Charly Bompas, who founded the Majestics Paris chapter and owns the Monte Carlo, runs ten batteries and two pumps to make his car jump. Getting parts this far from California is no simple task, and while the builds may be a touch more restrained than their American counterparts, the commitment behind each one is anything but.
"Without having experienced these cars in person, you just can't understand what they mean," says Tom. "It's a way of life that demands genuine dedication." That dedication is exactly what the Majestics ethos demands. Membership is not simply a matter of turning up with the right car. Only specific models are eligible, and every build must meet the club's exacting standards before it earns its place in the line-up.
Most of these cars are driven as much as they are shown, which made the slow cruise along the St. Raphaël waterfront all the more fitting. At little more than 20 km/h, with neon glowing beneath the chassis and stereos rattling the palm trees, the convoy drew cheers, camera phones and wide-eyed smiles wherever it passed.
Over the past eight years, chapter president Duardo has quietly built something few would ever have expected to find on the Côte d'Azur. Judging by the crowds lining the waterfront that Friday evening, it was exactly what nobody knew they wanted to see.
If the Majestics have you dreaming of chrome, hydraulics and impossibly clean American metal, you'll find plenty of inspiration in the Classic Driver Market. Whether it's a Chevrolet Impala, a Cadillac Coupé de Ville or simply the next project worthy of a polished undercarriage, your search can start there.
Photos: Tom Wheatley
