Paul MORIHIEN

Paul MORIHIEN was born in 1917 in Paris's 14th arrondissement. He was the son of a merchant. Around the age of 12, he stood out for his talent for swimming.

In 1933, he became friends with Dimitri PHILIPPOFF, whom he met at the pools of the Sporting Club Universitaire de France (SCUF). At the start of the Second World War, with Dimitri, he met Tony HATOT, Lionel MARCU and Mario LEWIS at the RCF (Racing Club de France). Together, they formed a high-level water polo and swimming team.

Meeting with the artistic community

During his military service, Paul MORIHIEN met Jean MARAIS, whom he regularly picked up hitchhiking. On December 7, 1941, Jean MARAIS introduced him to Jean COCTEAU. From that date, Paul became Jean COCTEAU's private secretary and took care of the painter's administrative tasks. The latter lent him funds to enable him to open a bookstore and a publishing house at the Palais Royal. He published COCTEAU, GENET, and more. He met COLETTE and the LAZAREFF couple, with whom he developed a mutual sympathy.

Holiday Clubs

In 1948, he introduced Lionel MARCU to Edith FILIPACCHI, Henri FILIPACCHI's wife. They opened the Olympic Games Club in Calvi for the summer of 1948. The experience was repeated the following year under the name of the Olympic Club.
In 1950, under the leadership of the LAZAREFF couple, who were attracted by the concept of vacations, Lionel MARCU, Mario LEWIS and his wife Judith BLITZ (Gérard's sister), he participated in the creation of the Magic Villages Club. This club was aimed more specifically at readers of ELLE magazine, while Gérard BLITZ's Club Méditerranée was aimed at readers of L'Équipe.

Friendship Paul MORIHIEN / Gérard BLITZ

Paul was very close friends with Gérard BLITZ, they came from the same background and had many friends in common, but in 1950, the two partners embarked on different projects. During the merger of Club Méditerranée SA / Villages Magiques in 1956, Paul joined Gérard and was particularly involved in the publication of Trident.