Au Coeur du Grand Desert

In the spring of 1932, following a successful first expedition in 1929 aimed at mapping the region, H. E. Prince Sixte of Bourbon Parma returns to the Sahara for a new mission aimed at opening a new trans-Saharan route, accessible by car, which would connect in the fastest way, Alger to the Lake Chad region, for commercial purposes.

The Prince is accompanied by Comte Hector de Béarn and Comte de Neufbourg (respectively Navy officer and « remarkable cartographer » and lieutenant pilote-aviateur de réserve, both also members of the 1929 mission), Captain Brunaux, M. Jean Goreaux, M. Lanfear and M. Dumoutet.

The mission crosses Algeria through Ghardaia, El Golea, Fort Miribel (built in 1894 and now abandoned by the military and used periodically by drivers crossing the desert), Oued Chebaba (today Hassi Chebaba), In Salah, Tamanrasset, In Guezzam, Taket Koutai. In Niger, the mission travels through In Gall, Agades, Zinder, N’Guigmi, Bosso, then stops twice in Nigeria (Maiduguri, Kano) before returning to Zinder, Birni konni, Dosso, Niamey, crossing to Mali for Gao, Tabankort, Tessalit. Back to Algeria starting with Reggan, Beni Abbes, Mascy.

The mission is immortalized in a film, Desert Blanc and told, among others, in the Quarterly Bulletin of Friends of the Sahara in July 1932.