Gérald de Palmas
Gérald Gardrinier (ʒeʁald ɡaʁdʁinje; born 14 October 1967 in Saint-Denis, Réunion), better known by his stage name Gérald de Palmas, is a French singer-songwriter.
Also recorded as Gerald de Palmas · De Palmas · Gérald Gardrinier
Gérald de Palmas

Photo Claude TRUONG-NGOC · Claude Truong-Ngoc / Wikimedia Commons - cc-by-sa-3.0 · CC BY-SA 3.0
- Name
- Gérald De Palmas
- Birth Name
- Gérald Gardrinier
- Born
- 14 October 1967
- Birthplace
- Saint-Denis, Réunion, Overseas France
- Occupation
- Singer-songwriter
- Full name
- Gérald Gardrinier.
- Nationality
- France
- Fields
- rock music · folk-pop
- Honours
- Victoires de la Musique – Male artist of the year · Victory for the male variety revelation
- Languages
- French
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
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Documentary summary
Gérald Gardrinier (ʒeʁald ɡaʁdʁinje; born 14 October 1967 in Saint-Denis, Réunion), better known by his stage name Gérald de Palmas, is a French singer-songwriter.
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Note VALÉORINE
Gérald de Palmas (born 1967) is a composer, musician and recording artist, among other activities, of French nationality. The composer was born Gérald Gardrinier in Saint-Denis. Gérald de Palmas is a member of Les Valentins and lived in Saint-Gilles.
The work spans folk-pop and rock music. Languages used include French. Honours include Victory for the male variety revelation.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 26 September 2026
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Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q1335192 · wikipedia · Gérald de Palmas
In this article
Biography
Biography
The recorded working language is French. Subjects and genres recorded for the work are rock music and folk-pop. Residence is recorded at Saint-Gilles. Distinctions recorded are Victoires de la Musique – Male artist of the year and Victory for the male variety revelation.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Gérald De Palmas • Birth Name — Gérald Gardrinier • Born — 14 October 1967 • Birthplace — Saint-Denis, Réunion, Overseas France • Genre — Pop • Occupation — Singer-songwriter • Label — Universal Music • Website — www.depalmas.net
Early life
Early life
Gérald de Palmas was born in France. His father was a land surveyor from Brittany and his mother was a French teacher from Réunion. At the age of 10, De Palmas' family left Réunion, to live in Aix-en-Provence, France. At the age of 13, he discovered ska music, and became a fan of the UK band The Specials. Then he met Étienne Daho and formed a group called Les Max Valentin together with Edith Fambuena and Jean-Louis Pierot. They released the single 'Les Maux Dits' in 1987, but De Palmas was uncomfortable with this group, and went solo. After seven years of writing and singing solo, Da Palmas won a talent contest on the French M6 TV network.
Career
Career
In 1994, Gérald de Palmas, or just De Palmas as an artistic name, released his first album La dernière Année (The Last Year), which contains the hit song Sur la Route (On the Road). He won a Victoires de la Musique award in 1996. De Palmas released his second album Les Lois de la Nature (Laws of Nature) in 1997. The album was less successful than his debut album, probably due to the dramatic change in his style. He was in the slumps for two and a half years, until 2000. That's when Jean-Jacques Goldman restored his confidence and wrote a song for him titled J'en rêve encore (I still dream about it). De Palmas composed and wrote 10 of the 12 songs on his third album Marcher dans le sable (Walking in the sand). He was reborn as a star in 2002, as he won the Victoires de la Musique and the NRJ Music Awards, while playing more than 180 concerts. His songs even crossed the Atlantic, when Céline Dion sang his hit song Tomber (falling) in English, titled Ten Days. At the end of that year, Live 2002 was released on DVD and on CD, to commemorate his great tour of 2002. Two years later, De Palmas returned with his fourth album Un homme sans racines (A man without roots), a more intimate album with less music, but still in the same melancholic style. After having problems with Universal, Gérald de Palmas came back in November 2009 with his new album "Sortir" (Leaving) with the hit single "Au bord de l'eau". His latest album is "La beauté du geste" released in the summer of 2016.
Albums
Albums
• Year — Album — Charts — Certification • FR — BEL Wa — SWI • 1994 — La dernière année — — — — — — • 1997 — Les lois de la nature — 32 — — — — • 2000 — Marcher dans le sable — 2 — 2 — 28 • 2001 — La dernière année — 50 — — — — • 2004 — Un homme sans racines — 1 — 6 — 36 • 2009 — Sortir — 2 — 4 — 32 • 2011 — Sur ma route — 10 — 8 — — • 2013 — De Palmas — 11 — 11 — 68 • 2016 — La beauté du geste — 3 — 14 — 56 • Live albums • Year — Album — Charts — Certification • FR — BEL Wa — SWI • 2002 — Live 2002 — 3 — 7 — 28
Singles
Singles
• Year — Single — Charts — Certification — Album • FR — BEL Wa — SWI • 1994 — "Sur la route" — 14 — — — — — La dernière année • 1995 — "Comme une ombre" — — — — — — • "Sans recours" — — — — — — • 1997 — "Comme ça" — — — — — — — Les lois de la nature • "Mary Jane" — — — — — — • "Les lois de la nature" — — — — — — • 2000 — "J'en rêve encore" — 7 — 4 — — — Marcher dans le sable • 2001 — "Une seule vie (marcher dans le sable)" — 30 — — — — • "Tomber" — 35 — — — — • 2002 — "Regarde-moi bien en face" — — — — — — • "Elle s'ennuie" — 35 — — — 73 — Live 2002 • 2004 — "Elle danse seule" — 22 — — — 46 — Un homme sans racines • "Au paradis" — — — — — — • "Elle habite ici" — — — — — — • 2009 — "Au bord de l'eau" — — — — — — — Sortir • "Dans une larme" — — — — — — • 2010 — "Mon cœur ne bat plus" — — — — — — • 2011 — "L'étranger" — 59 — — — — — Sur ma route • 2013 — "Je me souviens de tout" — 130 — — — — — De Palmas • 2016 — "Il faut qu'on s'batte" — 44 — — — — — La beauté du geste • "Le jour de nos fiançailles" — — — — — — • Featured in • Year — Single — Charts — Album • FR — BEL Wa — SWI • 2012 — "Toi + moi" (Maurane, Le Forestier, Keim, Darmon, Zenatti, De Palmas, Foly, Leroy, Les Enfoirés) — 187 — — — —
Identity and origins
Identity and origins
Gérald de Palmas was recorded at birth as Gérald Gardrinier. He also worked under the name Gérald de Palmas. The authorities additionally record the headings Gerald de Palmas, De Palmas and Gérald Gardrinier. His recorded language was French. Other recorded relations include Raoul Nativel.
Identity
Identity
Gérald de Palmas is recorded as having received Victoires de la Musique – Male artist of the year and Victory for the male variety revelation.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Saint-Gilles
Residences
Saint-Denis.
Birth place
Awards
• NRJ Music Awards: • Best francophone male artist (2003) • Best francophone album (Marcher dans le sable) (2002) • Victoires de la musique: • Best male artist of the year (2002) • Male revelation of the year (1996)
Literature
Scholarly footprint
A count of publications is evidence of attention, not of standing, and is given here only as a measure.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Wikidata, structured authority record Q1335192: Gérald de PalmasWikimedia Foundation
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
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