Gaspard is quiet, pondering a huge plate piled high with crustaceons. Xavier makes fun of his pencil case-style man-purse. “He loves cheap things from the flea market. His room is like a ’70s museum. It’s full of video games that don’t work.” Gaspard responds: “Sometimes when I go to bed I speak to them and ask, ‘How was your day?’” If Xavier has a quirk, it is his love for red meat. We met for a breakfast interview in December 2005 and I counted five different kinds of flesh on his plate, including black pudding. “I also like horse,” he grins sheepishly. “But I know it’s repulsive to mention in the company of people you don’t know too well.“