On 21 March 2026, singer and businesswoman Rihanna and her partner A$AP Rocky were spotted in the French city of Epinal. The reason for their visit remains a mystery, although the mayor of Epinal suggests they might have been interested in a real estate listing.
When Epinal-local Charles Petit, who works for the entertainment company Omega Spectacles, first spotted Rihanna at the train station, he was convinced he had found a doppelgänger of the famous singer. However, once A$AP Rocky appeared next to her and Petit was halted by a bodyguard when trying to approach the Fenty owner for a picture, he quickly realised he was dealing with the real deal.
After having taken a selfie with Rihanna, Petit posted the picture online, immediately sparking the curiosity of many. Why was Rihanna visiting a town in eastern France, with just 32,000 inhabitants? According to Christophe Petit, father of Charles and owner of Omega Spectacles, the singer has not been planning a concert in the local area.
“No, unfortunately we don’t have any projects together. This photo is just a coincidence. My son, Charles, was waiting for the same train as the singer, her partner, and their bodyguard. We’ve worked with Pierre Garnier and the violinist Esther Abrami, but this would be a big step up indeed,” he told the French newspaper, Le Parisien.
According to the mayor of Epinal, Benoît Jourdain, the singer could have been visiting a local house that had recently been listed for sale.
“From what I’ve heard and read, she’s apparently interested in a beautiful villa – an architect-designed house by a pupil of Jean Prouvé in the 1950s style – in the hills above Épinal. But to be perfectly honest, I didn’t know who Rihanna was until someone mentioned her to me…”, Jourdain told Le Parisien, adding he is not sure whether or not the information is correct.
The house that Jourdain speaks of and that might have caught the interest of Rihanna and A$AP Rocky is called La Maison du Docteur Gauthier in Saint-Dié-des-Vosges. Built between 1961 and 1962, the 270 square meter villa was made for Pierre Gauthier and his spouse Françoise Prouvé, daughter of the famous French architect Jean Prouvé, according to the “load-bearing core” principle. The house has been listed as a historical monument since 2005 and was put on the market for €1.2 million, but has now been sold.
Only the future will tell whether or not Rihanna and A$AP Rocky turn out to be the new owners of La Maison du Docteur Gauthier.
