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Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Peeled, flattened, and dried until it resembles a gold coin: in Brignoles, the plum became a pistole, before falling into oblivion and then being reborn in the orchard.
Fruit from Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur.
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In Brignoles, in the Var, the plum is a perdrigon violet: an oblong fruit with black or reddish skin, and sweet, orange flesh. Dried and flattened, it was served at the court of the kings of France from François I onwards and was highly prized. The Jardin du Luxembourg preserves traces of the perdrigon violet dating back to Catherine de Médicis, and Louis XIV had them planted at Versailles after his journey to the Midi in 1660. A luxury product exported abroad, the pistole was packed in boxes adorned with the town's coat of arms, or laid out on the Christmas table among the treize desserts.
Its name comes from a coin: peeled, stoned, and flattened, the plum resembles a gold coin. Accounts do not agree on when it was christened. For some, it dates to the 16th century and François I, who in 1538 received dried plums resembling coins from the empire of Charles V; for others, the 'brignolles' first sold under that name only became 'pistoles' at the end of the 18th century. As for the plum tree itself, legend has it that the Crusaders brought it back from Damascus.
On 23 December 1588, at the Château de Blois, Henri de Guise felt unwell before attending the Estates General. He asked Saint-Prix, a servant to the king, for something to revive him; Saint-Prix brought him, as chronicler Palma Cayet recounts, 'four prunes de Brignoles': the duke ate one and put the others away in his silver box. In Agrippa d'Aubigné's version, he had first asked for candied lemon peel, but it was plums that were brought to him once again. A few minutes later, he fell beneath the swords of Henri III's men.
The trade in pistoles gradually died out from the end of the 18th century. Chocolate, the arduous preparation, competition from prunes that were easier to produce in Tours or Agen, the departure of the Counts of Provence, and erratic harvests under the mistral are the reasons put forward. The plum tree was neglected in favour of other crops, vines foremost among them, and remained tucked away at the back of gardens for nearly two hundred years.
Legend offers its own version: locals furious at seeing the seigneur de Vins refuse to pay his taxes allegedly ransacked his land and chopped down his plum trees — 18,000 according to two accounts, 8,000 according to a third. A single tree is said to have survived, hidden in the presbytery garden, and plum cultivation reportedly shifted to Digne.
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A tree discovered behind the presbytery in Brignoles enabled Paul Florent, an engineer at INRA in Avignon, to identify the perdrigon violet; in the late 1990s, he founded the Confrérie de la Pistole. Marc Richard, a Brignoles resident passionate about history, then tracked down a few more in the surrounding countryside. The first Fête de la Prune was held in 2004, an event the town has renewed every year since at the end of summer, and the Association de la Prune de Brignoles was founded in 2005.
The association entrusted the Conservatoire Méditerranéen Partagé with a revival programme for this micro-sector: an inventory of local cultivars, a reference orchard, plantings with local winegrowers, and an ethnographic study into processing techniques. In the summer of 2025, the harvest yielded 650 kg, including 500 kg from the conservatory orchard at the municipal greenhouses and 150 kg from the Gaëtans orchard, a first since it was planted twenty years earlier.
Appearance
An oblong fruit with black or reddish skin and orange flesh. Dried, peeled, stoned, and flattened, the pistole resembles a gold coin.
Taste
Sweet flesh. The pistole is described as 'a little sweet treat', even if one member of the association concedes that the plum 'does not have an extraordinary taste in the mouth, but can easily be processed'.
the perdrigon violet, which ripens in late August.
the plum peeled, stoned, flattened, and dried; it is also called pâté de Brignoles in historic Lyonnais recipes.
pâtes de fruits, jams, and Saint-Louis filled biscuits.
the inventory of intangible cultural heritage devoted to candied fruits of Apt cites the prune de Brignoles among the varieties suited to candying.
The harvest takes place in August, when the plums are fully ripe: they are brought down by gently shaking the tree.
The plums are peeled with a knife made from Provence cane, then threaded onto small wooden sticks.
After about eight days, the plums are unthreaded and the stone is expelled by pressing with the fingers.
The plums are flattened and rounded, then placed on drying racks.
Drying is completed on the racks, turning the fruit regularly.
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The prune de Brignoles is enjoyed in every form: as jam, dried, as pâte de fruit, or in cakes. Cooked, it also lends itself to syrups, coulis, aperitifs, and eau-de-vie. In the summer of 2025, the harvest was destined to end up in jam and aperitifs, and restaurateurs in Provence Verte announced they were adding it to their menus. At the Fête de la Prune, a gourmet market of plum-based products and demonstrations by local chefs and pastry chefs give it pride of place.
The pistole has one unusual quirk: it catches fire if brought close to a flame. It can also be found in historic cuisine: in Les délices de la campagne, an early book, a duck stuffed with wine, sugar, cloves, and cinnamon could be garnished with raisins from Damascus and Corinth, 'Brignoles', and pruneaux de Tours.
The prune de Brignoles does not benefit from any official sign of origin or quality. The revival programme includes studies to eventually work towards an official quality sign (SIQO); in 2020, contact was made with the INAO with a view to obtaining a PGI (IGP).
Association
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