In Cadolive, Jean-Bernard Avagnina is a familiar figure. Since 1995, he has been traveling the region’s roads, first as a multi-purpose agent, then as a field postman and finally as a cycle postman, team manager. However, nothing predestined this former soldier, who came from an electronics career, to become one of the most popular faces of La Poste.
His journey, made up of rises in rank, challenges met and a return to his roots after Covid, tells a much bigger story than that of a simple mail distributor. It is that of a man for whom the profession of postman is a vocation.
From printed circuits to postal rounds
Jean-Bernard Avagnina is not a postman like any other. Coming from an electronics field, he could have worked in industry or telecommunications. But in 1995, after a short stint in the army, he chose to join La Poste. “I needed stability, but also human contact. Electronics was fascinating, but too lonely.”
He began as a versatile agent, handling five tours in Gardanne and its surroundings, as well as a departmental tour. “At the time, we did everything: sorting, distribution, reception at the post office… It was intense, but educational.”
In In 1998, he obtained a permanent contract, then in 2001, he successfully passed the internal competitions to become a cycle postman. “A source of pride! Cycling is freedom, and it’s good for your health.” Quickly, his qualities of rigor and organization will propel him into team leadership.
For nearly 15 years, Jean-Bernard Avagnina supervises teams, manages tours, trains new people. “I loved transmitting, organizing, making sure everything worked. But over time, paperwork took over the field. And then, there was this constant pressure…”
Postman, a connecting profession
The arrival of Covid in 2020 acts like an electric shock. “Seeing my colleagues stressed, the tours disrupted, people worried… It made me think. I realized that what I was missing was direct contact with users.” One morning, he made a radical decision: he handed in his grades and went back down to the field. “I needed to get back to the essentials: delivering the mail, talking to people, being useful on a daily basis.”
Since his return to distribution, Jean-Bernard Avagnina has been in charge of the Cadolive tour. “Here, everyone knows each other. People wait for me, talk to me, tell me about their lives. Sometimes, I’m the only one they see during the day.” For him, the postman is not just a mail distributor: “We are a bit of a psychologist, a bit of a social watchdog. We identify elderly people who are less well, we pass on information between neighbors… We are a link in the village.” And despite the reorganizations, the closures of post offices and the drop in mail, he remains optimistic: “As long as there are letters, packages, greeting cards, there will be a need for us. Because behind every envelope, there is a story.”
Jean-Bernard Avagnina a hundreds of anecdotes to tell. Like that time he helped an elderly lady fill out her paperwork because “no one wanted to do it”. “People think we’re just there to hand out bills. But in reality, we’re the last ones to go door-to-door for free. And that’s valuable.”
Decline of mail
Jean-Bernard Avagnina is making no bones about it: the volume of mail is falling, post offices are closing, and postmen are increasingly called upon for additional missions (delivering meals, looking after the elderly, etc.). “We are asked to multi-task, but it is also an opportunity. The profession evolves, but the main thing remains: we are at the service of people. As long as there is that, I will be happy to do this work.”
And when we ask him if he plans to retire, he smiles: “Not right away! As long as my legs are strong and people need me, I’ll be here. After all, who else will bring them their letters…and their smiles?”
