The French political class mourns Gérard Collomb. Emmanuel Macron and his wife thus saluted in a press release on Saturday the memory of a “dear friend”, “a mayor who dedicated his exceptional talents of dialogue and imagination to building a city in his image”, a “man of State which embodied republican ascension and authority.”
The former mayor of Lyon, who died on Saturday at the age of 76, was an “early supporter” and an “architect of the victory” of Emmanuel Macron in the 2017 presidential election. His “republican and his experience in security issues” earning him “to be appointed Minister of the Interior, Minister of State in the government of Édouard Philippe”, recalls the Élysée.
A man “free in his speech”, according to the Élysée
“Place Beauvau, for sixteen months, he implemented a policy of proximity for the police, firmness in the face of illegal immigration, legislative and operational rearmament in the face of the terrorist threat, and defense of republican and secular values,” continues the text. “Gradually withdrawing from national life, but still a municipal and metropolitan councilor, free to speak his mind, Gérard Collomb returned to Lyon, where even when accomplished, all his paths of combat and progress brought him back.” Gérard Collomb, however, distanced himself from the head of state after his resignation from Beauvau in 2018.
On According to the Prime Minister, he “served the French all his life, as mayor of Lyon, as Minister of the Interior. We are losing a great man.”
François Hollande also returned to the journey of the former minister. “Gérard Collomb loved his city of Lyon passionately. First as a parliamentarian, as mayor for nearly 20 years, he not only served it with dedication but transformed it with ambition.” He “was also an activist. He contributed to the re-foundation of the PS with François Mitterrand then Pierre Mauroy. He thought he would continue his social democratic commitment by choosing to follow another path. As minister, he did not have time to translate into action his lucidity about the risks of fracturing our society. Gérard was endowed with inexhaustible tenacity, rare courage and keen intelligence.
Éric Ciotti “will remember the relevance of his dark diagnosis”
The secretary general of Renaissance said he learned “with emotion of the death of Gérard Collomb. He was one of the first to join Emmanuel Macron. We owe him so much.” On On the same social network, Éric Ciotti indicates that he learned this news “with great sadness”. According to the president of LR, the former minister was “a great republican. We will remember the relevance of his grim diagnosis when leaving Place Beauvau: “Tomorrow, we will live face to face”. This unfortunately happens every day. He served Lyon and France with passion and competence. His commitments were often disappointed and poorly rewarded.”
The Minister of Labor Olivier Dussopt believes for his part that “The city of Lyon would not be what it is without him”, concluding his message with: “Builder, visionary. THANKS “. For the former Minister of the Interior, Christophe Castaner: “Gérard Collomb was Lyon. A man of grassroots and conviction, an actor of political overcoming, committed to the service of France and the Ministry of the Interior, he knew how to inspire and write a new page for the country. Respect for the scholar, the enthusiast.”
A “transformative and humanist” mayor
The RN also joined the tributes from the political class. For Marine Le Pen, “the destiny of Gérard Collomb is inseparable from that of the city of Lyon. His fear of a fractured France must challenge us more than ever.” “Today we live side by side… I fear that tomorrow we will live face to face.” This was the warning issued to France by one of its former Ministers of the Interior,” wrote on X Jordan Bardella, the president of the National Rally.
The death of the former minister also obviously caused a reaction among personalities in his region. For Laurent Wauquiez, president of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, “Gérard Collomb dedicated his life to Lyon. He shaped her as much as he loved her. A man of great culture and great finesse, he was a great servant of his city and his country. We will miss his lucid vision of the ills of our society.” The environmentalist mayor of Lyon Grégory Doucet salutes this “transformative and humanist mayor who will have forever marked the history of Lyon”.